The Offshore Voyaging Reference Site
John answers the question of whether to use one anchor or two.
Meeting daily electricity needs using power and solar while at anchor is one thing, but what about when passagemaking? Solar can only do so much and wind generation works best when sailing to windward. So is hydro the answer? Colin talks about the pros and cons of hydro generation.
There are very few cruising boats these days that don’t have a solar panel fitted somewhere, and many have some pretty substantial arrays. Based on five years of real-world experience, Colin gives some tips and recommendations for how to get the maximum benefit from solar.
Should you install a wind generator on your boat? Find out from someone who has cruised with one for 5 years—invaluable real-world experience.
Let’s start this book off with some simple rules you can put to work immediately to make maintaining your boat less frustrating.
Through a combination of planning, frugality, solar and wind power, Colin and Lou have never had to run the engine of their OVNI 435 to charge their batteries when at anchor. How did they manage that? Read on to find out how.
There are probably more myths and downright wrong recommendations published about reefing than any other subject. In this chapter John exposes one of them and then goes on to explain how to do it right.
In this chapter John outlines the steps he takes to get Morgan’s Cloud anchored in the right spot the first time.
Laziness is the single biggest enemy of good seamanship. Here’s an example of when I was lazy…and paid the price. But really, I got off light, it could have been a lot worse.
What about buying a brand new boat? That should be great if you have the money, right? Yes, but with caveats. And if you think that buying a brand new boat will enable you to just jump aboard and go voyaging, this sobering story will show another far more likely scenario and highlight the traps to avoid in buying a new boat.
Roller furling headsails are ubiquitous, but they are not without their drawbacks. John looks at ways to deal with that and make roller furling work well at sea.
It seems like a logical way to own a good offshore sailboat. Buy an older and a bit rundown but fundamentally decent boat and refit it. But does it really work? To explore that important question, I have a true story to tell you.
It’s rare these days to see a cruising boat with hank-on headsails. But are such sails only for the traditionalists stuck in the stone age of offshore sailing? Maybe not. Here is a convincing case for hank-on sails, at least on smaller boats.
Considering buying a steel boat? If so, you owe it to yourself to read Colin’s chapters that examines a beautifully built steel boat and shares what it really takes to do steel right.
Phyllis examines the challenges a woman faces when she goes cruising with a more experienced partner.
In this chapter I’m going to write about how we receive voice (well, not really voice, per se) and text forecasts while at sea and in remote places.
So how did the new engine work out over time? What worked well and what did not? It’s all here, together with solid recommendations for transmissions, exhaust systems, and drive line.
In this chapter I’m going to get into the details of how we request and use GRIBs to get the maximum amount of information for the minimum data size and cost, when at sea or in remote areas with no internet.
Deciding where to seek shelter with a storm on the way, particularly when far from home and in unfamiliar waters, can be one of the most stressful calls we voyagers are called upon to make. John shares his decision making process when choosing an anchorage to ride out a fall storm.
Starting with this chapter I’m going to focus on weather reception tools that we use when we are offshore or in remote places where the internet is not available. Let’s start with weatherfax and why it’s still important.
In the last chapter I wrote about the importance of understanding the weather systems in a wide area around you rather than just looking at a GRIB or forecast for your immediate area. I believe this is so important that I’m going to write about another storm to drive the point home.
In this chapter I’m going to discuss a real world example of how we used the tools we have discussed in this book to manage a weather risk while transiting Hudson Strait and the northern coast of Labrador—no place to get caught by bad weather.
Most windlasses fitted to production cruising boats are simply inadequate and can leave you in very deep yogurt when things go wrong. In this chapter we show you what to look for in a good windlass and tell you about a feature, the lack of which contributes to about half of the dragging incidences we see.
There are probably more misconceptions and just plain wrong information circulating about anchor chain than most any other piece of cruising gear. For this chapter I went to the experts at Peerless Chain to get the real facts.
Phyllis tells an all too common sad story and then moves on to tips to prevent it happening to you.
You will never get everything done on your boat. This we guarantee. So one of the most important skills you can have as a boat maintenance technician is prioritization. In this chapter John tells a story of when he got his priorities wrong, and what he learned from that.
Colin shares the details on the Harken roller reefing system they installed on their OVNI 435.
There are few things more unseamanlike than a lot of clutter on deck. But, on the other hand, we all like our toys. Here are some thoughts (with photographs) on the things you really don’t want to festoon your boat with.
Colin and Louise carry a dedicated hanked on storm jib ready to go when necessary. Colin tells us why and how.
John writes about how we rig an anchor trip line on Morgan’s Cloud.
Today our boats are more complex than ever before. And yes, there are benefits that go along with some of this complexity. But, as a general rule, simple is almost always more seamanlike than complicated.
Code 0 or lightweight genoa? Colin discusses the choice they made on Pèlerin, their OVNI 435.
Installing the new engine was a huge and expensive job, so how did it work out?
Fully charging your batteries after each discharge on a live-aboard cruising sailboat is simply not practical. Instead, most of us will cycle our batteries between 50 and 80% of their capacity. The bad news is that this will ruin your lead-acid batteries (regardless of type) in a distressingly short time due to sulphation. However, there is a solution: equalization. In this chapter we cover what it is and how to do it.
What with spending a lot of time in the high latitudes and keeping boats on moorings year round in Bermuda, John has a lot of experience dealing with heavy weather while anchored or on a mooring. In this chapter he gives some tips for preparing your boat to safely ride out a storm.
We have never seen the point of anchor swivels. In our opinion all they do is add a potential point of failure to the anchoring system and provide no benefits in return. But they are, in fact, even more dangerous than we thought. In this chapter we explain why and even tell you how to ameliorate the danger if you really must have a swivel.
Many anchoring experts advocate hybrid anchor rodes made up of a long length of chain attached to an even longer piece of rope. But is this really a good idea? We examine the practical real world issues in this chapter.
Most marine battery chargers are, in fact, battery killers. Yes, that includes most of the fancy three stage units we all pay so much money for. Here’s why and what to do about it.
Regularly equalizing our lead-acid batteries can save us a lot of money and aggravation by extending their useful lives as much as five times.
John, who has done three of them, fervently hopes that this will be his last repower. Read along as he spends three months fulltime at one of the best diesel repower shops in the world, sweating the details to make this installation the best it can be.
Colin answers the most important question: how does she sail?
One 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.
Colin moves on to examine the boat in detail with many photographs.
An in-depth look at the hull form and construction of the Boréal 44.
All 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.
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.
A recent article in French sailing magazine Voiles et Voiliers looked at 7 different gennaker furlers, both for ease of use and ability to handle heavy loads. The results are surprising.
An introduction to French lifting keel boats and how Boréal have refined that proven concept.
Continuing 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.
These days, with all the focus on the latest whiz-bang gadgets, many sailors are forgetting to think about and spend money on their boat’s primary means of locomotion. In this post we look at why spending time and money on good sails is vital. Not only is a boat that sails well more fun, it’s also a lot safer.
I have written a lot about weather up to this point in the book, but in many cases routing for the combination of the prevailing weather and any current or tide can be the most important contributor to a comfortable and safe passage. In this chapter I look at a real Gulfstream passage and discuss what to look for.
John shares the checklist he uses to prepare Morgan’s Cloud for a gale or storm when at anchor or on a mooring.