Risk is what’s left over when you think you’ve thought of everything.
Morgan Housel
John's Tips, Tricks and Thoughts
Weekly Digest:
No Position
We were out sailing our new-to-us J/109 when I realized that neither of the default screens on the plotter or TZiBoat showed position. Pretty standard these days…and oh so wrong. Imagine a person overboard and we need to radio for help, but first have to dig through a bunch of screens to find our position. Two minutes to fix (above photo), but worth thinking about.
Brion Toss Rigging
Great to see that the incredible legacy of Brian Toss lives on after his tragic death in 2020. See the web site:
eWincher 2 On Test
Just received our new eWincher 2. Why would I buy one for a little 35′ J/109? Is it because I’m an old fart? Not really, more to do with ergonomics.
Will be updating our three part in-depth on the eWincher with that, and what we think of the improvements to the second generation.
Victron Chargers Rock
I’m loving this little charger I bought. I will write more in an upcoming article, but the ability to check out, on my phone, exactly what happened in the last charge cycle is amazing. Tells me a lot about battery health and how to set up the charger best for our usage.
iPad Clamp
Well, this is better than duct taping it to the companionway, but it still feels like a kluge. Probably OK for round the bay, but I need to make it more waterproof and improve power feed. Even then I’m glad there’s a plotter below for backup and offshore use. Nice clamp from Scanstrut.
White Paint Is Our Friend
Before and after shots of a small locker in our J-109. Way better to paint the water damaged ply than mess around with varnish trying to fix it. Brightens the boat up too. We like semi-gloss, not gloss. White is brighter inside the locker too.
Mast Climbing Harness
Just received a Spinlock Mast Pro Harness for evaluation and to use as part of a two part article on going aloft that Matt and I are working on. Big thank you to @spinlock_HQ