Balancing Battery Bank and Solar Array Size
It’s easy to assume that the bigger the battery bank and solar array the better, but there’s a much better way to optimize the system for a live-aboard cruising boat, which will save a bundle of money too.
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Going Up The Mast at Sea
Up to now in this series we have been looking at going up the mast in sheltered water, but when we need to go up offshore everything gets hugely more difficult and risky. As usual, preparation is the key to safety and success.
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A Simple Way to Decide Between Lithium or Lead-Acid Batteries for a Cruising Boat
With all the claims and counterclaims for the two chemistries, how on earth do we make the right decision?
Good news, it’s not hard.
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Adventure 40 Reveal—Galley, Head, and Aft Storage
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.
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Gear Leveling and Mounting Hack
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.
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Going Up The Mast—Four Dangerous But Common Mistakes
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.
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How To Do Amateur Engineering¹
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.
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Going Up The Mast—Our System
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.
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Going Up The Mast— Fundamentals
Thoughts on backup systems, fall arrest as against fall prevention, and gear recommendations for going up the mast.
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Adventure 40 Reveal—On Deck
In 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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Going Up the Mast—An Industrial Fall Prevention Approach
Matt 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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Adventure 40 Reveal—Hull, Cockpit, and Rig
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.
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In-Mast, In-Boom, or Slab Reefing —Performance, Cost and Safety
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.
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In-Mast, In-Boom, or Slab Reefing—Convenience and Reliability
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.
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Cross-Bank Battery Charging—DC/DC Chargers
Cross-bank battery charging with DC/DC chargers or alternator-to-battery chargers.
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