Question: Do people always use double pole breakers on a floating DC 24 volt system, on the branch circuits? If so why? I understand they are now two ungrounded conductors, but the return path to the batteries is the same. This is for a steel boat.
It is amazing how often people look surprised, and even mildly alarmed, when I tell them that we own an aluminum boat. The next tentative question(s) is almost always about electrolysis and the general longevity of the material.
I think I’m going to take a break from responding to comments on the Adventure 40 (Model T) subject. Frankly, I’m finding that the ratio of negative to positive comments is starting to bother me.
As the old saying goes, you pay for your pleasures, and that’s certainly true when it comes round to the annual re-fit. The many little jobs that were just too awkward afloat, added to the big ones like antifouling, can all back up and lead to a formidable worklist. And to top it all, there’s [...]
When we were formulating our long-term list of places to visit during our cruising life, the Pacific northwest was high on our list. And having spent Christmas and New Year on the shores of British Columbia and Vancouver Island, we can confidently say that as a cruising ground it has now gone well up the [...]
When we arrived in Lagos, Portugal, I recognised a very smart looking cutter berthed near us as belonging to people I knew, so when I could see there was someone aboard I wandered over to say hello. After a brief chat, I was told that this obviously ocean-ready yacht was now up for sale due [...]
When we ordered Pèlerin, we had some pretty specific ideas about what we wanted from her as a home, and as a voyaging machine – and then we had to find a way of making these two contradictory requirements meet in practice. In effect we have two boats – one is a floating home with [...]
Whenever we lift our OVNI out at a boatyard, she soon attracts a lot of attention. Partly that’s due to the sight of a sizeable boat (seemingly) without a keel, sitting on her bottom, but especially the rudder in its kicked up position, pointing out behind her.
Pèlerin, our boat and home, is an OVNI 435 cutter designed by Philippe Briand, built for us and launched in 2008. Here is a brief introduction to her, what has worked for us, and what we’d do differently if we were starting again.
There’s no mistaking the profile of certain boats, so it was easy for us to recognise the red yacht transiting the Caledonian Canal one day in early April, despite the near blizzard conditions at the time. ‘Vagabond’ is a well-known yacht in polar circles, and there is really nothing quite like her visually.
After nearly 20 years of going North, our decision for 2010 was to head South in search of new horizons and the sun. Last year in the Hebrides was wonderful, but when the weather broke in August we were glad to move on, and we know we’ll be back one day.
After a good nights sleep aboard I was rested and looking forward to a short sail aboard the Boreal 44. But as Jean-Francois Eeman arrived with breakfast, things didn’t look promising as we looked out through the drizzle onto a flat calm river. Eventually though we agreed to go out and look for some wind out [...]
A really interesting thread of comments has developed about rudders and other movable appendages on the French aluminum expedition yacht from Boreal.
Having spent half a day going around the Boreal factory looking at the boats in build, I was looking forward to seeing the completed item. The boat that is used by the factory as their demonstrator Juan Sa Bulan 3 was built for Jean-Francois Eeman and his family with two small children, and they kindly [...]
Installing a seacock properly is not a trivial project. First you need to install a backer plate and then you need to figure out how you will bolt the flange of the seacock down.
For most of us, our boat is a compromise – very few of us can afford a pure custom built boat for our chosen form of voyaging, especially if that includes high latitudes. Of course, there are boats that can be modified for more ‘off piste’ voyaging with greater or lesser difficulty and cost, but [...]
Question: I was wondering if you think the engine should be grounded to the hull or not [on an aluminum boat].
To continue our series on different ways to get out voyaging, here is a link to an interesting site about the build of a near sister ship to Hamish & Kate Laird’s Seal, one of the most interesting aluminum boats we have ever seen.
Steve Dashew over at SetSail has just published some interesting photographs of, and comments on, an OVNI. This is the type of boat that our European Correspondent, Colin Speedie has written about extensively here at AAC.
We were out walking on the foreshore here in Nova Scotia a few days ago and came across this remnant of what I’m guessing was a commercial wharf. Clearly it had been in the water for quite a while before it fetched up here in a winter blow.