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Q&A: Crossing The Atlantic In A 32-foot Boat
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Read more: Q&A: Crossing The Atlantic In A 32-foot BoatQuestion: I received a Cris Craft 32′ cruiser/racer as a gift. This is my first boat and I’d like to sail it to France from NYC. I’m preparing it for solo sailing and would like your opinion on it’s survivability. A Sparkman& Stephens design…it has a fin keel and a lovely interior. It has been […]
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Rudder Options
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Read more: Rudder OptionsOne of the biggest challenges with lifting keel boats is how to design a rudder for them that really works? Jean-François Eeman, one of the partners at Boréal, shares their approach to this tricky problem.
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The Real Story On The MacGregor 65
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Read more: The Real Story On The MacGregor 65[We just got a great comment by Lawrence Trimingham from Bermuda, on our post on a late season crossing in a MacGregor 65, that we thought was so interesting that we are putting it up as a post. Lawrence has literally lived with the boat “man and boy” since his father bought Bermudian Escape 20 […]
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Is It An Expedition Or A Cruise?
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Read more: Is It An Expedition Or A Cruise?Last week a friend gave us a catalogue of “expedition” cruises offered by National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions. The glossy photograph-filled magazine touts cruises that you can take to some of the world’s most remote places. The sales pitch runs along the lines of: Buy a ticket, fly to Chile, board a luxury small cruise […]
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About Fig Leaves And Installing Seacocks
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Read more: About Fig Leaves And Installing SeacocksInstalling a seacock properly is not a trivial project and that is especially true on an aluminum boat. John takes you through the process of installing a new seacock on Morgan’s Cloud.
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Q&A: Grounding The Engine On An Aluminum Boat
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Read more: Q&A: Grounding The Engine On An Aluminum BoatQuestion: I was wondering if you think the engine should be grounded to the hull or not [on an aluminum boat].
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Q&A: A Late West To East Atlantic Crossing
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Read more: Q&A: A Late West To East Atlantic CrossingQuestion: I am a fairly experienced Swedish sailor; however, I have never “crossed the pond”. We have decided to buy a MacGregor 65. There are several for sale at good prices in the US, but very few in Europe. We will miss the most appropriate season [to cross the Atlantic]. Hence, I want to ask […]
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New Engine For “Morgan’s Cloud”—What We Chose
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Read more: New Engine For “Morgan’s Cloud”—What We ChoseAll engines have tradeoffs, but by really thinking about the theory we have learned in the first chapters as we select a new engine, we can make a big difference to efficiency and reliability. Here’s an example.
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A Tale Of Two Water Heaters
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Read more: A Tale Of Two Water HeatersLast year our venerable and functional 9 gallon Allcraft water heater (on the right) finally bit the big one after 15 years of faithful service. And, wouldn’t you know it, Allcraft had gone out of business.
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Selection Criteria For The New Engine For “Morgan’s Cloud”
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Read more: Selection Criteria For The New Engine For “Morgan’s Cloud”Up to now in this online book we have looked at the theory behind designing an efficient engine and drivetrain for a displacement cruising boat. Now we will dive into a real world example as John shares the story of the last repower of Morgan’s Cloud.
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Visiting The Gizmo Guru
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Read more: Visiting The Gizmo GuruLast weekend we had a pleasant break from our re-power project while visiting some good friends in Camden, Maine and giving a slide-show to some members of the Ocean Cruising Club. While there, our friends suggested that we visit Ben Ellison, author of Panbo, the popular blog on marine electronics, on his aptly named motor […]
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Cummins Engine—Rebuild Or Replace?
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Read more: Cummins Engine—Rebuild Or Replace?Initially we were firmly in the rebuild camp, as were most of the experts we consulted. After all, at 6000 hours our engine is, in the words of David in his comment, “[a] baby and has many hours running [still] available”. Rebuilding would also save all the expense and aggravation of changing all kinds of […]
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Cummins Marine Diesel Engine, Problems
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Read more: Cummins Marine Diesel Engine, ProblemsEarly failure of a Cummins M92B engine installed in a expedition sailboat.
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An Engineless Junk Rigged Dory—Another Way To Get Out There
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Read more: An Engineless Junk Rigged Dory—Another Way To Get Out ThereIn the last couple of weeks we have written about some ways to get out voyaging without spending a huge amount of money, at least relatively speaking, and in turn got several great comments from our readers. In the same vein, last week we had dinner with an interesting couple who built their own boat […]
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Three Navigation Mistakes That Can Wreck You
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Read more: Three Navigation Mistakes That Can Wreck YouAlthough we are not Luddites bemoaning the take over of electronics and warning of the dire consequence of over reliance on them, we are aware of several dangers in their exclusive use:
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Knowing Where It’s At
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Read more: Knowing Where It’s AtWe start this book by looking at the most important aspect of good and safe navigation. More important than fancy electronics. More important than paper charts. More important than radar. Situation awareness—knowing where you are at all times.
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Another Reason We Have An Aluminum Boat
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Read more: Another Reason We Have An Aluminum BoatWe 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.
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Fire Blankets
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Read more: Fire BlanketsFire blankets are a great idea, particularly to smother a grease flare-up in the galley without the mess of a dry powder extinguisher, and we have long carried one on Morgan’s Cloud; however, it was bulky and ugly and so was relegated to a locker up forward, much reducing its effectiveness in a fire where […]
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Q&A: A Novel, But Probably Smart, Way To Cross The Atlantic, East To West
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Read more: Q&A: A Novel, But Probably Smart, Way To Cross The Atlantic, East To WestQuestion: I’m thinking about sailing to Greenland from my home in Germany. My boat is a very sound 33-foot steel sloop, which I have singlehanded often. The natural way to go to Greenland from the German coast seems to be to use the stepping stones: Norway and/or Scotland/Shetlands, thence to Faroe and Iceland and on […]
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Mooring Failure, The Loss Of “Kantele”
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Read more: Mooring Failure, The Loss Of “Kantele”On 28th December last year a beautiful Saga 40—an English design not to be confused with this boat—was lost when she went ashore at Sint Eustatius in the eastern Caribbean when a mooring provided for yachts by the local marine park, STENAPA, failed in what looks from the photograph to be benign conditions.
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Bohlken Westerland Barograph
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Read more: Bohlken Westerland BarographIn these days of readily available weather forecasts and satellite- or HF radio-delivered GRIB files, it could perhaps be argued that the barometer has been supplanted as a weather forecasting device. However, in our opinion, that supposition would be a serious mistake.
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Q&A: Atlantic Crossing, East To West, Via The Arctic
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Read more: Q&A: Atlantic Crossing, East To West, Via The ArcticQuestion: We are toying with the idea of sailing the northern route [to North America from Scotland] with stops in Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland. Is that nuts? I know you have done it at least once if not more times. Our boats are sound, an Alden 48 and a Shannon 43, and we want to […]
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Q&A: Have You Ever Looked Into Diesel Outboards?
1 CommentReading Time: < 1 minuteFreeRead more: Q&A: Have You Ever Looked Into Diesel Outboards?Question: Have you ever looked into diesel outboards?
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Of Cockpits, Wheelhouses And Engine Rooms
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Read more: Of Cockpits, Wheelhouses And Engine RoomsContinuing the theme of making the right decisions when selecting a voyaging boat, this chapter tackles the thorny question of engine space, cockpit space, and a covered area to operate the boat from. Can you have it all? Read on to find out.
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Running Away With Home
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Read more: Running Away With HomePhyllis and I recently prepared for and executed a two-month trip that included 11 flights and a month on a sailboat wintering over in Greenland. Since we were traveling on some small aircraft, all of our combined checked baggage had to total less than 40kg, together with two small 8kg carry-on bags. Included in this […]
