The “C” Word—Corrosion

by Colin October 1, 2008
Stainless steel stanchions are isolated in plastic sockets to avoid corrosion on this aluminum OVNI 435.

If there is one simple word that springs to mind amongst the uninitiated in relation to aluminum boats it has to be corrosion. If we had a pound for every time someone warns me against bringing spare change aboard and then dropping it we wouldn’t have to worry about a cruising budget—we’d have money in [...]

A Rugged Boat For The High Latitudes

by John June 1, 2009

A few weeks ago we met up with our friends Michael and Martina on their beautifully designed and built custom Hutting 54 Polaris. They were kind enough to give me, camera in hand, a tour and to patiently answer my many questions.

Morgan’s Cloud’s Designers Have A New Website

by John October 1, 2009
McCurdy & Rhodes sailboat Selkie under sail.

McCurdy and Rhodes, designers of Morgan’s Cloud, have a new and very classy web site. The firm is now run by Ian McCurdy, whose father, Jim, was a founding partner and designed our boat.

S/V Polaris, Built For The Arctic

by John December 1, 2009
The red drums contain a shore survival kit in case the crew is forced to abandon. The blue bag is a small light inflatable that is both a backup to the larger tender and intended to assist in getting ashore during the freeze-up.

Those of you who have read some accounts of boats wintering over in the polar regions may have visions of dented hull plates, narrow escapes and three inches of frost on the INSIDE of the boat. That is not the Polaris way.

France: The Source For Aluminum Sailboats

by Colin December 1, 2009
Ovni 385 under sail

The summer of 2009 was a good one in Scotland, at least compared with the rest of the UK and Ireland. But as is generally the case, once the weather breaks, that’s it, the summer is over, and it’s time to make tracks.

OVNI Photographs At SetSail

by John March 25, 2010
The underside of an aluminum OVNI sailboat, showing the lifting keel.

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.

Building An Aluminum Boat In South Africa

by John March 25, 2010
An old Perkins 6.354 diesel engine out of a farm truck that they are salvaging for S/V Eva.

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.

Keeping The Water Out

by Colin July 3, 2010
Rainy Night In Spain From Boat Cockpit

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.

Vagabond–An Extraordinary Polar Yacht

by Colin August 18, 2010
Vagabond-400x265

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.

Rudder Options, Staying In Control

by Colin October 17, 2010
OVNI's always attract attention

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.

New Versus Old

by Colin December 11, 2010
It's taken us a long time to get here - rounding Cape St Vincent in company

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 [...]

Keeping The Water Out #2

by Colin February 2, 2011
A motor boat negotiates its way around floating logs, British Columbia

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 [...]