The Offshore Voyaging Reference Site
There are two opposing views on chain catenary: those who believe that having a lot of chain on the bottom increases holding, and those who have observed an all chain rode being pulled bar straight in any winds above about 30 knots and therefore hold that catenary does nothing useful in anchoring. Who is right? Read on to find out, and also for John’s recommendation for the best chain grade to use.
Here is Part 2 of John’s tips on how to decide which old salts to listen to, as well as how to decide between conflicting opinions expressed by experienced voyagers.
Colin shares some techniques he was reminded of while spending the summer cruising the south coast of Newfoundland, a challenging place to anchor if ever there was one.
Blindly following the teachings of old salts, no matter how experienced and well meaning they are, can lead to poor gear choices and big mistakes once out there. But how do we decide who to believe or between two conflicting opinions? John has ten tips that even the most inexperienced offshore sailor can use to make that easier.
Several questions have repeatedly surfaced within the hundreds of comments on our Heavy Weather Tactics Online Book. So I have pulled those together in this chapter and added my thoughts.
John believes that AIS crew overboard beacons are the biggest advance in crew overboard (COB) recovery in his lifetime. That said, we have recently discovered two issues that meant that for much (maybe most) of the first season after we fitted them to the Spinlock lifejacket/harnesses that we wear at pretty much all times when underway, they would not have self-activated. And while most of the fault lies with us, our experience does bring to light two potential problems that others relying on the auto-activation features of the MOB1 beacon from…
So now that we have bought AIS Crew Overboard Alarms, all is safe and good, right? No, not really. We also need to make sure that we are going to get an alarm on the boat that will set a rescue in motion. And that’s a lot more complex than just relying on a beep from our AIS receiver or plotter. But never fear, John has done the research, come up with a good solution, sailed with it for a season, and even made a video of a live alarm…
There are few subjects that offshore sailors like to discuss and argue about more than which is the best storm survival strategy and related gear. But it’s time to stop the debate because it’s a solved problem.
John has long advocated for preventers rigged from the boom well outboard to the bow as the only right way. We now have solid engineering, and a tragedy, to show how important this is.
The most common reason for yacht abandonment at sea is being capsized by a rogue wave. But is rogue a good description of these boat-killing waves? And are there things we can do to reduce roll-over risk?
Based on the great comments from experts on a previous post, Phyllis and John have substantially changed their thinking on fighting a fire aboard.
The single biggest bitch we hear about battery monitors is that they are always wrong. John shares how to fix that and make your batteries last a lot longer too.
Being able to accurately monitor our batteries is a vital function for all cruisers, but which of the multitude of systems offered should we buy and install? John defines the functions we actually need, and then recommends a monitor.
It’s tempting, when selecting a complex piece of gear like a battery monitor, to dive straight into the details and features, but that’s a near-sure route to a bad decision. First let’s take a giant step back and look at the two main types of monitors and decide which is right for each of us.
Trevor Robinson updates what he has learned about using and maintaining a series drogue built to Don Jordan’s design. This is not theory, but true testing over a gruelling circumnavigation in the Southern Ocean, including multiple deployments in gale and storm force conditions. Anyone who goes to sea in small boats will benefit from reading this.
John puts his lazy streak on display with five rigging hacks to do less work, but still do things right.
It’s always easier not to fix our boats right, and using the excuse that everyone does it like this is a tempting way to excuse doing extra work and spending more money, but the sea does not recognize excuses.
In the previous four parts of this series on mast tuning, we got all the basics taken care of, now we just need to go sailing to complete a great tune.
These days, most boats with AC generators have significant DC (12- or 24-volt) battery banks that need to be charged regularly by the generator. But often that process is horribly inefficient. The good news is that the fix is easy, simple, and relatively inexpensive.
Setting up a rig to be safe and functional offshore is all about getting the details right. Here are some vital things to know and do.
John bored you to death with a lot of mast tuning theory in the last chapter, but here’s the pay off: a step-by-step guide that will yield a good tune every time.
In Part 1 we got the mast upright in the athwartship plane so it was not leaning over to one side or the other. Now let’s set the fore and aft rake and bend. But before we set off on that long and winding road we need to make sure we know what the destination is, and that’s what this chapter is about.
Getting the rig properly tuned is vital for any sailboat, but it’s not easy to do right. John takes the mystery out of the process with a step-by-step procedure that works.
John takes an in-depth look at the benefits and drawbacks of carbon foam, liquid filled, and AGM lead acid batteries, and then reveals his thinking if faced with battery replacement today.
John recently replaced the house battery bank on Morgan’s Cloud. But before starting the project he had a big decision to make: which battery type. Here’s a look at the options he considered, starting with lithium.
The loads on a modern offshore cruising boat are substantial so we sailors need to really think about how we handle them. John discusses two common mistakes and what we can all learn from them.
Colin and Jean-Francois Eeman, Boréal Yachts’ Managing Director, pick up where they left off in Part I and talk about Boréal’s plans for the future—it’s exciting stuff.
Eight years ago a new boat builder launched one of the most innovative cruising boats we have seen in a generation. Since then, Colin has been an eye witness to, and participant in, making those boats ever better. Now he and Managing Director Jean-Francois Eeman sit down to discuss what Boréal has accomplished and reveal some of their plans for the future.
John had been putting this project off for years, but it turned out to be easier than he ever would have believed possible. He shares how that happened and eight vital things he learned.
A recent tragedy, together with excellent work by Drew Frye over at Practical Sailor, has exposed a dangerous weakness in a snap hook used on tethers by many offshore sailors. John explains the problem and calls on manufacturers to take the lead on getting these hooks off boats.
The Quick Stop crew overboard recovery maneuver has become the standard taught in most every safety at sea seminar. But how effective is the method really likely to be, particularly for short-handed crews offshore? John takes a look.
Assuming that we have decided to buy and use auto-inflated lifejackets, we have yet another decision to make: Which of the two available activation devices should we select, hydrostatic or dissolved tablet? John interviews an expert and makes a selection.
Can we stay safe just by following generally-accepted rules like always wear a lifejacket? John doesn’t think so and takes a deep dive into the issues we need to think about.
The apps to use on computers and smartphones to keep track of tasks on a cruising sail or motorboat.
John provides specific tips, including a meeting script and scope of work outline, to help you get a quote or an estimate from a boat yard and then manage the project to stay at least close to that agreed price.
Many boat owners just shrug and say to themselves that all boatyards are a bunch of incompetent crooks and we are going to get screwed no matter what we do. But it does not have to be that way. John shares what he has learned over some forty years of managing boat projects, both large and small, about how to keep costs at least semi-reasonable and how to decide what tasks are best delegated to a boatyard.
An in-depth analysis and comparison of Bluetooth smartphone-based crew overboard beacons as against AIS beacons.
John writes about a new weather forecast product that just might be the most significant weather advance for offshore voyagers since the GRIB file.
John continues to make backing-in approaches easy, with four detailed step-by-step recipes (complete with diagrams), one for each wind direction.
The general wisdom, repeated over and over again on wharves, in sailors’ bars, and on the forums, is that it’s difficult to back a boat into a tight space, and impossible if said boat has a long keel. But that’s just dead wrong. John shares backing techniques that will work, and even make the process easy, with most any boat.
Managing a boatyard stay is all about good planning and getting the details right. Colin provides vital tips that will help from haul to re-launch.
A simple guide from Colin on how to select, manage and (perhaps?) enjoy your stay in the boatyard, wherever it may be.
How to select the right rope diameters, attach sheets and halyards to sails the right way, and keep chafe from ruining your day.
Andy shares how he used his understanding of the weather and strategic route planning, together with high-tech tools, during his recent Atlantic crossing, to make a faster and better passage than just sticking with the normal route would have.
Detailed recommendations, including brand names, for running rigging for cruising sailboats.
The final chapter in John’s magnum opus on aluminum boat care. Includes some good news about how durable the material really is and some thoughts on why you might want to buy a boat built of it.
Andy takes a deep dive into the world of automated weather routing, integrated with navigation, and all running on an iPad, a very different approach than the one John has detailed earlier in this Online Book. You can decide which works best for your type of cruising.
What started as a simple list post is now a care manual for aluminum boat owners. If you are an aluminum boat owner or are considering buying an aluminum boat, don’t miss this series, it could save you tens of thousands of dollars and untold heartache.
John tackles a frequently-asked question about how to dock with twin rudders.
A quarter century of caring for an aluminum boat has taught John a lot and he is sharing it all.
Learning everything we need to go cruising can be overwhelming, but John helps by exposing seven commonly-recommended skills we actually don’t need to master and, better still, sharing simple filters that will help all of us decide what’s not important so we can focus on what is.
In Part 3 of his analysis of the Golden Globe Race, Colin examines the boats selected, cost of refits, and most importantly, how that relates to realistic budgets for cruisers planning to buy an old boat and upgrade it for ocean voyaging.
John explores a little-known selection criteria that every anchor buyer should know about.
So you bought a satellite phone or Iridium GO! to get email and weather information while at sea. But what software should you get? Here is the AAC benchmark product that we know, based on 20 years of use, will do the job well.
Are you considering a hydro generator? Here’s everything you need to know, warts and all, from an experienced user.