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Read more: Wire Tie Best PracticeOur new-to-us J/109 was filled with wire ties like the one on the left. Horrible things because when changes and additions are made people tend to just add more wire ties over the existing bundle. So, as I clean up the wiring, I’m replacing the ones on the left with those on the right (first […]
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Read more: Don’t Play With Your Phone When On WatchI think we would all agree that smart phones are seductive and, as a gadget freak, I’m as susceptible to their siren call as anyone. Here’s a really good reminder to me, and everyone else, from none other than the US Coast Guard, of why we should not give in to smart-phone temptation: For approximately […]
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Read more: How To Do Amateur Engineering¹From time to time we get a question asking us to opine on whether a modification to the boat or rig will be strong enough. Let’s look at that.
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Read more: Q&A—New Lead Acid Batteries From VictronMember Kimbal asked: I’m looking at an ad on Yachtworld for a boat that has “New Victron Super Cycle AGM batteries – 3 x 125ah (2022) – Note: These batteries are a new type of AGM which approach lithium in some respects, and matches the Carbon Foam Firefly batteries performance – capable of up to […]
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Read more: All This and Sailing, TooJohn reviews Olin Stephens’ autobiography, just in time for holiday gift giving.
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Read more: Cruising With Starlink ReportsWe have received some favourable reports from Members about using Starlink while cruising. First on a tip we already published. And recently two more: Three weeks ago I installed a Starlink antenna on BJoyce. Contrary to some skeptics this thing works GREAT! Hasn’t buffered once and fast. No limit on devices or anything else. The […]
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Read more: Is It Time To Consider a Robot For Watchkeeping?OK, that was a clickbait title, if ever there was one. Anyway, I have been vaguely interested in the AI lookout and collision avoidance technology that has been used in the singlehanded racing game for some years, called OSCAR. Now I see that the company has rebranded as SEA.AI and their entry level product is […]
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Read more: Tools: The Little Details MatterI just took the Edson steering system on our J/109 apart to service it. A fiddly job that requires undoing a bunch of fasteners in awkward places only accessible through the top of the steering pedestal after removing the compass. This job was way easier and probably took half as long using my new Wera […]
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Read more: Going Up The Mast—Our SystemAfter over 50 years of going up masts John shares the system he and Phyllis are now using as well as highlighting the many dangerous mistakes he has made over the years.
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Read more: Heritage Intrepid 35As most of you know, I’m a sucker for most any boat from the drawing boards of McCurdy and Rhodes. Normally, to get a M&R boat you are looking at custom boats, or those from Hinckley, so deep pockets required. But, while I was researching something else, I discovered that, back in the 70s, the […]
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Read more: Sailing In Close QuartersI have to confess that over the 30 years we owned our McCurdy and Rhodes 56 I let my close-quarters sailing skills get rusty. It’s not that the boat is unhandy, far from it, with main and staysail she can be sailed into the smallest and most crowded of spaces. But somehow, in the the […]
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Read more: The Best Cruising BoatThe photo shows our new-to-us J/109 and AAC member Frank’s Ovni 435 hanging out together in the workshop at East River Shipyard here in Nova Scotia. It would be hard to imagine two more different boats, and yet I like both boats a lot. Which is best? Wrong question. They are designed for different purposes. […]
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Read more: Quote Of The Day
The reason that ‘guru’ is such a popular word is because ‘charlatan’ is so hard to spell. William Bernstein I strongly recommend keeping this quote top of mind when watching YouTube.
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Read more: Going Up The Mast—FundamentalsThoughts on backup systems, fall arrest as against fall prevention, and gear recommendations for going up the mast.
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Read more: Don’t Use Old Sailcloth For a Jordan Series DrogueThere’s an article on DIYing a Jordan Series Drogue (JSD), AAC preferred and recommended storm survival equipment, over at This Old Boat. There’s some useful stuff to learn in the article; however, the author makes the terrible mistake of using old discarded sailcloth that she bought from a boat salvager for the cones. We know […]
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Read more: Simple Alcohol Heaters Are No MoreI have been thinking about heat for our J/109 lately. Not a full-on system for the Arctic like we had on or McCurdy and Rhodes 56, but rather something to take the chill off on a cold morning in early or late summer. One idea I had was one of those portable alcohol heaters that […]
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Read more: Portable Solar Panels For CruisersThe good folks over at Ocean Planet Energy are selling these foldable and portable solar panels. A couple of these will provide a cruising boat with around 100 amp hours at 12 volts over the course of a reasonably sunny day at anchor. To me this is a way better idea, at least to supplement […]
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Read more: On Vacation (Holiday)
Phyllis and I are on the road visiting our families this week and next, so there will be few, or maybe no, Tips, Tricks and Thoughts until late November.
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Read more: Adventure 40 Reveal—On DeckIn the last Adventure 40 article, I examined hull, cockpit and rig. Now let’s move out of the cockpit and go forward.
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Read more: Ocean Racing Back In The DayIf you raced offshore back in the seventies and eighties you probably wore Line 7 foul weather gear and a Lirakis harness. The less said about the non-breathing heavy PVC former—it was waterproof but that did not help much since we stewed in our own juices—the better. But the latter was the first widely available […]
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Read more: Don’t Guess AntifreezeI confess I used to just flush out the systems on our boat until the antifreeze came out the end looking “pink enough”. But that approach can either result in a lot of expensive damage if the antifreeze is overly diluted by the water in the system, or end up being wasteful and expensive when […]
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Read more: Going Up the Mast—An Industrial Fall Prevention ApproachMatt brings his professional engineer’s understanding of forces and his construction site fall-arrest training to bear on one of the most potentially dangerous tasks we sailors are called upon to do.
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Read more: The End of Skill?Two companies have just announced that they are going to build an autonomous motorboat. Yes, the crew will be able to sit aboard and do absolutely nothing…except drink their faces off…while the boat runs itself. Never mind whether or not this is even doable (way past my pay grade to judge). The thing that gets […]
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Read more: Easy To Grab Rope TailIf we have a short rope tail, here’s a knot that gives us more to grab than the classic figure-eight stopper knot. The above is the sprit extension line on our J/109. I have no idea what it’s called or where I learned it. Might be Boy Scouts 60 years ago. Anyway, it’s quick and […]
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Read more: Long Live Free-Standing RadarsBased on 30 years of radar use in some of the foggier and icier waters in the world, I have long advocated for free-standing radars, at least for those who venture into these waters, rather than integrating radar into a plotter. So it’s way-cool to see that Furuno have just brought out two brand new […]
