The Offshore Voyaging Reference Site
A good galley, storage, and head layout are much of what makes an offshore live-aboard cruising sailboat great. The A40 design nails these requirements.
The world seems messed up, but people are back out cruising and there are other good things to focus on.
Boats are not square so it’s often necessary to mount gear at an angle and/or on a curved surface. Here’s the easy way to do that.
John highlights four more dangerous mistakes he has made and seen many others make too. With these mistakes fixed, he is now reasonable happy with his system.
Stuck for a Christmas gift?
From 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.
John reviews Olin Stephens’ autobiography, just in time for holiday gift giving.
After 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.
Thoughts on backup systems, fall arrest as against fall prevention, and gear recommendations for going up the mast.
In the last Adventure 40 article, I examined hull, cockpit and rig. Now let’s move out of the cockpit and go forward.
Ten years after starting a project to create a safe, reliable and fast offshore cruising sailboat ready to go around the world, we have a design.
Part 2 of a buyer’s guide examining the trade-offs between the three ways to set, strike and furl a mainsail on an offshore cruising boat.
Part 1 of buyer’s guide examining the trade-offs between the three ways to set, strike and furl a mainsail on an offshore cruising boat.
An in-depth, narrated demonstration of hoisting, reefing, un-reefing and striking the mainsail with a LeasureFurl® in-boom system.
Cross-bank battery charging with DC/DC chargers or alternator-to-battery chargers.
There has been a huge amount of internet coverage of the tragedy south of Nova Scotia in which Volker-Karl Frank and Annamarie Auer-Frank were fatally injured on the CNB 66 “Escape”. Here’s the story of the boat’s safe recovery by a crew from Nova Scotia.
A well set up cruising boat electrical system separates the house and engine start batteries. Here’s how to make sure both are properly charged.
We all know that any cruising boat should have the engine and house banks separated, but that’s just the start of what we need to know.
Andy Schell and John Harries do a podcast together. Lithium batteries, seamanship, refits, and much more.
John’s take on the causes of the two fatalities on the yacht Escape south of Nova Scotia in June 2022, and some thoughts on how similar tragedies can be avoided.
Charging batteries fast has all kinds of benefits: less engine wear, fuel savings, less carbon. But how far can we go?
Selecting battery master switches and deciding how to wire them is a fundamental part of a good cruising live-aboard electrical system.
The Adventure 40 will be, above all, a great sailboat, and great sailboats have well-thought-out rigs.
Most production boats have battery boxes that are nowhere near strong enough for use on an offshore boat. Let’s fix that.
Just because the battery-supplied systems on cruising boats are low voltage, that does not make them safe. Here are some tips to reduce the chances of a nasty injury.