So what boat size is optimal for offshore voyaging? There is no one number. Rather, we must understand our own expectations before we can zero in on that. John tells the story of a smart guy that saved him from getting this wrong.
John
John appeared on Andy and Mia’s popular podcast On The Wind for the third time. Here are the details.
Phyllis and John have spent the last few months researching buying a smaller cruising boat. Here’s what they have learned so far. Also some thoughts on getting a good survey.
John’s back from his one week busman’s holiday (vacation) single-handing a borrowed boat on a whistle stop tour of the Bay of Fundy.
Lots of articles about storm survival lately here at AAC. It’s important stuff, but it’s time to move on to other things. Here’s a preview of what’s coming soon…after John and Phyllis take a break.
Building series drogues to Don Jordan’s design from single-braid Dyneema and Spectra has suddenly become popular. But there’s a big problem that will make retrieval difficult to impossible.
We strongly believe that the series drogue designed by Don Jordan is the best storm survival option. A belief based on good science and interviewing some of the best offshore sailors of our time about their experiences. John continues that learning and data gathering process in this article.
Saildrives are becoming ever more common on cruising boats. But are they a good idea, or just yet another way to make the builder’s life easier while making the owner’s harder? John has some thoughts.
There are always lessons to be learned from a disaster, and this one can teach us many things, as well as remind us all of some fundamentals of good seamanship.
There are a huge number of second-hand fibreglass cruising boats for sale, but very few good ones. Here is how to weed out some of the junk.
Randall Reeves and John spent a couple of hours discussing storm tactics in general and the series drogue designed by Don Jordan in particular. Here’s an excerpt.
One of the common debates in any sailor’s bar is which hull material is best. John settles the argument…it depends. But he does make some solid recommendations for hull materials most of us should avoid and the one that the majority should choose.
When an anchor that thousands of sailors rely on seems to have a dangerous flaw, we need to write about that…and we do. Also, some thoughts on the the Vulcan and the Mantus anchors.
John and Phyllis want to buy a 40-foot sailboat. There are thousands of second-hand boats for sale, but most of them are not fit to go offshore. So how do we weed through all the junk to find a decent and safe boat at a fair price? And what about refitting an older boat? This is the first of a series of articles to answer those two questions.
We finally finished our transfer to a new membership system and so I have written about the many improvements it delivers for our members.
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