Tips, Tricks & Thoughts:
Tips
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Block Stand-Up Hack
1 CommentReading Time: 2 minutesMembers
Read more: Block Stand-Up HackOur J/109, in common with most boats with spinnakers, has turning blocks for the sheets that must reorient to loads from different directions, depending on the point of sail, and therefore uses loose blocks on pad eyes. The problem with this is that spinnaker sheet blocks tend to bang on the deck with motion, in […]
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Great Source For Epoxy Use Tips
1 CommentReading Time: < 1 minuteFree
Read more: Great Source For Epoxy Use TipsWhile researching for a discussion we were having about epoxy shrinkage (or not), I came across a great site with a ton of information and tips on using epoxy resin to make repairs. I particularly liked their myth-busting post. Despite having used epoxy for over 40 years, including for a refit that turned into a […]
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RIP Good Old Boat Magazine
30 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesFree
Read more: RIP Good Old Boat MagazineI have been a subscriber to Good Old Boat magazine ever since I had lunch with Mike, the then editor, while attending the 2019 Annapolis Sailboat Show. I signed up first because I liked Mike and felt that he was a genuine guy who had done real cruising and really wanted to help get other […]
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WakeSpeed And Victron Get Even More Cuddly
13 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesMembers
Read more: WakeSpeed And Victron Get Even More CuddlyI’m on the Beta test list for software Upgrades to the WakeSpeed WS 500 alternator regulator. Not because I like testing new software—only marginally more fun than having a root canal, in my view—but because I’m a huge fan of the regulator and firmly believe it’s currently by far the best option for charging most […]
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Cover The Negative Terminal On Batteries
23 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteMembers
Read more: Cover The Negative Terminal On BatteriesOne of the things I love about my job is that, despite having maintained and refitted boats for over 50 years, I’m still learning, often as the result of the discussions we have in the comments. This has certainly been the case here as I think about reducing short-out risk on batteries, particularly lithium. One […]
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Another Danger With MRBF Fuses
22 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesMembers
Read more: Another Danger With MRBF FusesThe great discussion on my recent article about proper battery fusing and particularly the potential danger of MRBF fuses failing closed, instead of opening the circuit in the event of a short circuit, reminded me about another big downside of these kinds of fuses that actually negates the supposed advantage of being able to install […]
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Insurance Claim Denied
9 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesFreeRead more: Insurance Claim DeniedIt’s possible that our insurance companies will deny a claim if anything on the boat is found to be not compliant with with the terms of the policy, even if the defect in question had nothing to do with the loss.
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Site Improvements—Login
8 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree
Read more: Site Improvements—LoginI have added a login form that appears on the article, so you can login without leaving, and as soon as you do the whole article appears.
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Under-Torquing Is Dangerous, Too
9 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesMembers
Read more: Under-Torquing Is Dangerous, TooHere’s something that I only recently really wrapped my aging brain around: the danger of under torquing fastenings, other than the obvious one of them coming loose.
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Why We Need a Torque Screwdriver
18 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteMembersRead more: Why We Need a Torque ScrewdriverStainless steel is not as strong as it looks. For example, the recommended torque on a 10-24 (~5mm) 316 SS machine screw is just 23.8 inch-pounds (2.68 newton-metres). Login to continue reading (scroll down) Learn About Membership Get to know us for FREE
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Lithium Start Batteries
5 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesMembers
Read more: Lithium Start BatteriesThere are now battery vendors advertising drop-in lithium batteries rated for engine starting. If ever there was a solution looking for a problem, this has gotta be it. Login to continue reading (scroll down) Learn About Membership Get to know us for FREE
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Getting The Most From AAC
13 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFree
Read more: Getting The Most From AACHaving got the new site design built, installed, and pretty much debugged, I finally got to a project that has been on my todo list for ages: a video tour of AAC. I edited viciously to keep it down to 5 minutes. It’s mainly targeted at new members and those considering joining, but please have […]
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Gales at Anchor Are Not That Scary
25 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesFree
Read more: Gales at Anchor Are Not That ScaryI don’t watch a lot of videos, in fact hardly any, but I was searching for something else when I stumbled on this video over at S/V Delos. Now, there is no question that hurricanes are scary. You don’t have to tell a guy from Bermuda, who cruised the western North Atlantic for over 50 […]
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Is Boat Electric Drive Green or Greenwashing?
60 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesMembers
Read more: Is Boat Electric Drive Green or Greenwashing?Here at AAC we are all over anything that will reduce carbon emissions, but we also don’t like the pretengineering so prevalent in the electric drive business. Login to continue reading (scroll down) Learn About Membership Get to know us for FREE
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Great Source: How Lithium Batteries Charge
3 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesMembers
Read more: Great Source: How Lithium Batteries ChargeI have been deep into researching lithium batteries, and particularly how they charge, while writing new buyer’s guide chapters for our Electrical Systems Online Book. One of the best sources I have read is a post by Eric Bretscher, over at Nordkyn Design. Before you go read it, a few thoughts: Login to continue reading […]
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Get Sticky and Go Home
6 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteMembersRead more: Get Sticky and Go HomeI will clean this up…tomorrow. While we are on the subject of fun you can have with epoxy—see the last Tip—here’s another. Login to continue reading (scroll down) Learn About Membership Get to know us for FREE
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We Can Never Have Too Many Gloves
8 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesMembersRead more: We Can Never Have Too Many GlovesI have been doing a bunch of work on our J/109 with epoxy resin lately. Nothing structural, just mounting some hardware, and improving the mounting for a couple of turning blocks. Stuff that requires replacing core and bonding backer plates. This kind of work involves handling things covered in epoxy and then handling tools…and then […]
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Source For Custom Jacklines
8 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesFree
Read more: Source For Custom JacklinesWe have long advocated for jacklines made of heavy Dacron webbing, but in recent years it has been difficult to source them already made up. But now there is a new vendor offering custom jacklines. One suggestion, I would not use their Jackline Assembly, consisting of a shackle and cover. The problem with this approach, […]
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AAC Menu Improvements
5 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesFree
Read more: AAC Menu ImprovementsAs happens with any new site design, I’m improving a bunch of little things to make the site easier to use. The latest around the menu: Sticky Menu This design (and the old) have a sticky menu that appears only when we scroll up. The idea is that if we realize we are in the […]
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Q&A—Weather Information In The Southern Hemisphere
9 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesMembers
Read more: Q&A—Weather Information In The Southern HemisphereQuestion Member Terence asked: When we went to Polynesia, we used Predict Wind. We could get weather in all latitudes. Next year we will again be sailing south of the US Pacific Ocean Prediction Center maps. Need I again use Predict Wind to get what I need? Someone asked the same question about the south […]
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Just What The World Doesn’t Need
51 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesMembersRead more: Just What The World Doesn’t NeedI generally don’t get political around here, and we have a rule against that in our comment guidelines, but sometimes a situation is so egregious that I simply can’t keep my opinion to myself: Login to continue reading (scroll down) Learn About Membership Get to know us for FREE
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An Interesting Sailboat Electrical System Upgrade Case Study
7 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesFree
Read more: An Interesting Sailboat Electrical System Upgrade Case StudyScuttlebutt have an interesting two-part story about upgrading the electrical system in a J/105. Worth a read, even though this is a racing boat. To me the takeaways are: All useful, but the biggest takeaways are: Much more on electrical system upgrades:
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How To Blow Up Your Alternator
8 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesFree
Read more: How To Blow Up Your AlternatorAnytime I write about batteries and charging someone is bound to bring up one of the clever gadgets that fool a stock alternator into charging at a higher current for longer without resorting to external regulation. Some of these gadgets, particularly the VRC-200 from Nordkyn Electronics, are undoubtedly very clever—here’s another one I wrote about. […]
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Plumb Bows Are Just Another Rule-Caused Fashion
5 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteMembers
Read more: Plumb Bows Are Just Another Rule-Caused FashionThis bow may look old fashioned, but it works. An exchange between Matt and member Charlie in the comments to Matt’s excellent article got me thinking about the latest design fashion to draw boats with plumb bows. Login to continue reading (scroll down) Learn About Membership Get to know us for FREE
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Dark Mode at AAC
7 CommentsReading Time: 2 minutesFree
Read more: Dark Mode at AACMember Charlie R suggested in a comment to a Tip about the new AAC site design I’m working on that it incorporate dark mode. Initially I was skeptical because there is no consensus among web site experts that dark modes do anything useful, and I have always believed, as many web designers do, that the […]
