Fire at sea. Those three words strike fear into the heart of any prudent mariner. John takes a look at a new fire extinguisher that may be uniquely suited for use on cruising boats.
With all the recent hullabaloo about internet privacy, it’s time to update our privacy policy. Here it is in plain old English with some interesting stuff mixed in to keep it from being boring and it might even help you decide what to do about practices on other sites.
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.
There’s so much writing about the latest and greatest gear in the cruiser’s world. Here’s a pleasant break from that in which Colin shares simpler gear that takes him back to a time when his fascination and love for voyaging was still fresh and new.
The availability of comparatively inexpensive, and proven effective, AIS/DSC POB beacons means that all of us must think long and hard about what changes we need to make in our Person Overboard (POB) procedures. John and Phyllis share the recovery technique they will be practicing in future.
A thought on yacht design that will help us end up with a better boat.
The Quick Stop person 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.
We are about to make some big changes to the software that runs this site. Here’s why, as well as the details of improvements and possible issues that may crop up.
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.
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