Tips, Tricks & Thoughts:
Tips
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Happy Holidays
11 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesFree
Read more: Happy HolidaysAs you can see in the above picture, it looks as if we will have a white holiday season here at AAC World Headquarters, also lovingly known as “The Hovel”. We call the yellow addition that we built some years ago, when we moved ashore, “The Folly” because that’s what adding on to a hovel […]
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Estimating Distance Hack
9 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesMembers
Read more: Estimating Distance HackTo be good boat handlers we need to develop the ability to estimate distances reasonable accurately by eye.
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Reducing Boom Dip Risk
13 CommentsReading Time: 3 minutesMembers
Read more: Reducing Boom Dip Risk©2024 Bill Greenwood While we were discussing preventers, a couple of members mentioned being worried about the boom end dipping in the water while restrained by the preventer, particularly if the preventer is attached somewhat inboard on the boom to oppose a centre boom mainsheet. Certainly a rational worry. Here’s what to do about it: […]
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Enabling DSC on Crew Overboard Beacons in Canada
13 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree
Read more: Enabling DSC on Crew Overboard Beacons in CanadaA month ago I had a good old rant about the DSC feature of Crew Overboard Beacons not being approved by the Canadian authorities. Well, AAC Contributor Matt Marsh went way better than ranting by writing an eloquent and well-researched letter to François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science, & Economic Development. And, better yet, all […]
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Good Sailcloth Explainer
3 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree
Read more: Good Sailcloth ExplainerWhile I was researching for my recent tips on buying sails I came across a great page over at North Sails explaining the tradeoffs of pretty much all the fibres used in sailcloth. One quote jumped out at me: Ultra PE fiber [Spectra/Dyneema] is expensive, but very long sail life ensures high value in these […]
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A Book That Will Help You Afford A Cruising Boat
5 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesFree
Read more: A Book That Will Help You Afford A Cruising BoatSo is this a book full of refit tips so you can buy an old boat cheap and fix it up to go cruising? No, better than that.
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Battle Born Smart Batteries Initial Review
15 CommentsReading Time: 4 minutesMembers
Read more: Battle Born Smart Batteries Initial ReviewSome initial thoughts about this new offering and whether or not we should put it on our list of lithium batteries to consider for an offshore boat.
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Q&A How To Run Reef Clew Pennants
22 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesMembers
Read more: Q&A How To Run Reef Clew PennantsQuestion Member Philip asks: …The big problem I keep seeing is that the conventional approach just pulls downward on the sail, without maintaining any outhaul tension, which messes up the sail shape. Do you – or anyone else here – have any proven ideas to address this problem? Answer You are right to be concerned […]
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Gifting AAC Membership
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Read more: Gifting AAC MembershipWith the holiday season coming, don’t forget that you can gift AAC membership.
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The Off-Axis Weakness of Anchor Swivels
63 CommentsReading Time: 4 minutesMembers
Read more: The Off-Axis Weakness of Anchor SwivelsThe effect of an off-axis load on anchor swivels has long worried me, and now we have some solid numbers.
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Maxime Needs to Pass The Adventure 40 Baton
59 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesFree
Read more: Maxime Needs to Pass The Adventure 40 BatonThere’s an opportunity to take over the Adventure 40 project, with much of the work already done.
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eWincher 2 or SE?
2 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesMembers
Read more: eWincher 2 or SE?Phyllis and I have long been fans of the eWincher electric winch handle and owned the original, which we let go with the McCurdy and Rhodes 56, and the Mk2, which we use on our J/109. We have also published the most in-depth review available anywhere. Last year eWincher brought out a less expensive SE […]
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Experience and Cunning Beat Youth and Speed
8 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree
Read more: Experience and Cunning Beat Youth and SpeedWould you believe it? 65-year-old Jean Le Cam is in first place in the Vendée Globe, in his brand new, but non-foiling IMOCA 60? Will he hold the lead all the way around the planet? Probably not, but who cares, he is in front now. And who knows, a dagger-board boat will be easier on […]
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Ideal Cruising Boat Size Podcast
5 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree
Read more: Ideal Cruising Boat Size PodcastAfter reading my When Is A Cruising Sailboat Too Big? chapter in our How To Buy a Cruising Boat Online Book, Ben and Teresa, of Morse Alpha Expeditions, suggested we do a podcast on the subject together, so we did. And to make this much more relevant, Kim Stephens, who is, along with her husband […]
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Don’t Rely On Crotch Straps For Tether Arrest
10 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesFree
Read more: Don’t Rely On Crotch Straps For Tether ArrestThis Tip was originally part of a larger article that we just deleted because it’s out of date—we do that a lot—but this part is still valid and important.
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Cruising Sails—Two Cloth Fibres To Avoid
10 CommentsReading Time: 3 minutesMembers
Read more: Cruising Sails—Two Cloth Fibres To AvoidSince I have recommended sailcloth made from high-modulus (low-stretch) fibres for cruising boats, I’m thinking I should expand on that to avoid confusion. Let’s do that: Back around the end of the time I was sailmaking, a new sailcloth burst on the scene that promised to pretty much banish shape-robbing stretch. It was made from […]
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My Favourite Cruising Sailcloth
48 CommentsReading Time: 3 minutesMembers
Read more: My Favourite Cruising SailclothStill looking pretty much as-new with the shape in the right place and a nice clean run off the leach after 12 years and about 25,000 miles. Note that I should have eased the outhaul a bit in these conditions and the bottom batten is in the pocket too tight (adjustable). The combination of these […]
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Ocean Signal MOB2 AIS Crew Overboard Beacon Review
19 CommentsReading Time: 3 minutesFree
Read more: Ocean Signal MOB2 AIS Crew Overboard Beacon ReviewPhyllis and I have long been fans, and early adopters of, AIS/DSC crew overboard (COB) beacons and we both wear one at all times when sailing, even inshore and in benign conditions. We also completely changed our person overboard recovery strategy to rely on the AIS beacons—definitely all-in on this technology. And, further, the several […]
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Sails—Cross-Cut or Radial?
27 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesMembers
Read more: Sails—Cross-Cut or Radial?This bi-radial genoa is old, but even so the shape is still pretty decent with a nice entry and good run off the leach. It would probably be even better if it was full tri-radial. A question from a reader made me realize that we have some gaps in our sail recommendations that will be […]
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Wakespeed WS500 Pro, Shipping
0 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree
Read more: Wakespeed WS500 Pro, ShippingAl Thomason, co-founder and the designer behind our favourite alternator regulator, the Wakespeed WS500, gave me a call to say that the Pro model is now shipping to dealers and distributors and that the price is US$50 more than the original WS500, so around US$650. The harness, which will continue to be sold as an […]
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There Is No Substitute For A 406 Mhz EPIRB
9 CommentsReading Time: 4 minutesMembers
Read more: There Is No Substitute For A 406 Mhz EPIRBPhyllis running a self-test on the EPIRB on our McCurdy and Rhodes 56 prior to a passage to Bermuda. We had the EPIRB in a float-free mount attached to the radar stand immediately above the liferaft. I’m increasingly hearing of cruisers going offshore with a satellite device as a substitute for an EPIRB: Garmin Inreach […]
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Q&A Inspecting an Aluminum Boat Hull
30 CommentsReading Time: 3 minutesMembers
Read more: Q&A Inspecting an Aluminum Boat HullQuestion Member Michael Asks: …I am looking for a used aluminum yacht…I have read all your articles on how to care for an aluminum yacht. However, how to look for serious problems on a used (25 years old) aluminum yacht? I know that I can check the electrical installation with a meter, but can I […]
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Lock Stitch Brummel Splices
6 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesFree
Read more: Lock Stitch Brummel SplicesI have now been doing and using bury splices in 12-strand Dyneema long enough to have come to the conclusion that these splices should aways be lock stitched, regardless of whether or not they were made with a Brummel lock. Without lock stitching it’s just too easy for something to snag the splice near the […]
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Great New Book From Lin Pardey
3 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesFree
Read more: Great New Book From Lin PardeyLin very kindly sent us a pre-release copy of her new book Passages: Cape Horn and Beyond (available October 15th). I have long been a fan of Lin’s writing but this is my favourite yet, I inhaled it. And that’s coming from a guy who does not read (or watch) a single cruising account from […]
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Near-Useless Radar Reflectors
36 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteMembers
Read more: Near-Useless Radar ReflectorsIt amazes me how many of these tubular radar reflectors I still see on boats years after two credible studies have shown them to be pretty much useless: Login to continue reading (scroll down) Learn About Membership Get to know us for FREE
