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Read more: Updated: Our Tips On Using Tablets For NavigationWe just updated our 11 tips to make navigating with a tablet easier and safer chapter based on our experience of doing just that on our new-to-us J/109.
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Read more: The Rolls Royce of iPad Waterproof CoversWhile I’m not a fan of relying on tablets exclusively for navigation, on smaller boats like our new-to-us J/109 they can be a good option, at least in conjunction with a plotter. However, the big problem can be how to charge a tablet and still keep it waterproof. The product pictured above solves that problem. […]
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Read more: Dive Weights Are Useful In The WorkshopIt’s amazing how often I use the stack of dive weights I needed to get neutral when wearing my Arctic-level dry suit, (bought when we were cruising the high latitudes) to hold stuff down or together while glue is kicking off. In the photo above the weights were invaluable while I was splatting¹ new TreadMaster […]
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Read more: Winch-Cleaning SolventI have always cleaned winches with kerosene, but I hate the smell and I’m guessing that breathing the vapours for hours is not good for us. So last winter I tried this water-based degreaser from WD-40, even though I don’t like or use their spray lubricant. The stuff really works. After a good soak the […]
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Read more: Check For Correct Winch Pawl SpringsWe have to check everything on a new-to-us boat. The top spring is for Lewmar, the bottom for Harken. All of our Harken winches had a mix of both. Trust no one, least of all boatyards who will often use whatever is to hand. Would the wrong spring cause the winch to slip? Probably not, […]
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Read more: Credit Where It’s Due: McMaster-CarrPhyllis and I have been buying tools, fastenings, and half a hundred other things from McMaster Carr for decades, and are such fans that I often say that if the company goes out of business I’m selling our boat and taking up golf…and I hate golf. Over all those years, and hundreds of orders, I […]
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A Simple Way to Decide Between Lithium or Lead-Acid Batteries for a Cruising Boat
125 CommentsReading Time: 8 minutesFree
Read more: A Simple Way to Decide Between Lithium or Lead-Acid Batteries for a Cruising BoatWith all the claims and counterclaims for the two chemistries, how on earth do we make the right decision? Good news, it’s not hard.
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Read more: Navigation Where It BelongsI don’t care how much butchery it takes, we are having a plotter/radar at the forward end of the cockpit where it belongs, to supplement and backup the iPad we use for navigation. The plotter below-decks is useless when shorthanded and we don’t like plotters on the binnacle, either. The new on-deck plotter will act […]
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Read more: Gel Batteries a Winner?While researching for an upcoming article I noticed something interesting: Victron rate their Long Life Gel batteries at 2500 50% cycles, as against their AGM Super Cycle Battery at 1000 cycles, and not a lot less than their much more expensive lithium batteries at 3000 cycles. Could it be that the pivot away from gel […]
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Read more: Sealing a Paint CanIn this case there is $250 worth of my paint in this can that will likely be ruined by next season. I have brought this to the attention of the yard in question. All yards make mistakes, but if we want things to get better we need to bring it up when they do, but […]
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Read more: Adventure 40 Reveal—Galley, Head, and Aft StorageA good galley, storage, and head layout are much of what makes an offshore live-aboard cruising sailboat great. The A40 design nails these requirements.
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Read more: Good Rivet GunIf you need to pull 1/4” stainless steel rivets you need a good gun. This one has worked well for me. Available from the good people at McMaster-Carr.
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Read more: Dripless Shaft Seal Bellows AdjustorEver tried to get the bellows perfectly compressed to specification on a dripless shaft seal, while at full-arm stretch in the bilge, and then get the little set-screws tight before the stainless steel rotor slips back? Sucks, right? But if we don’t get this adjustment right think sunk boat. Our friend Phil, he of the […]
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Read more: Self-Tailing Winch Stripper PositioningLast summer I tweaked the position of the strippers on our sheet winches. Makes all the difference to usability and sheet holding if we get a full wrap from the stripper to the direction the crew will pull really right. Before the change we were having trouble with the sheet slipping out of the stripper […]
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Read more: New Year’s ResolutionWhile dealing with all of the expense and aggravation, it’s easy to forget what a wonderful privilege it is to own a sailboat and be able to go sailing any time we want. We took quite a few people sailing last summer, but my New Year’s Resolution is to share sailing with even more people […]
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Read more: Happy Holidays From Phyllis & JohnThe world seems messed up, but people are back out cruising and there are other good things to focus on.
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Read more: Gear Leveling and Mounting HackBoats are not square so it’s often necessary to mount gear at an angle and/or on a curved surface. Here’s the easy way to do that.
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Read more: New Iridium Go! execPredict Wind have a preliminary announcement video for a new faster version of the Iridium GO!. Not a lot of details yet, but it’s supposedly a lot faster, although not fast enough to use for actual internet surfing. The big drawback will be if the unlimited data package available with the original GO! is not […]
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Read more: Disturbing Failure Modality In Some Fall Arrest DevicesWhile researching fall arrest devices I came across the video below from a seemingly credible source that explains how several popular devices can fail to arrest if the attaching carabiner gets oriented in ways that I can easily see happening when climbing masts. Worth 15 minutes of your time, particularly if you use climbing backup […]
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Read more: Important Update To Recent Mast Climbing ArticleI have just updated my latest mast climbing article in light of some very important and counterintuitive new information that climber, sailor, and AAC friend-in-the-comments Drew found. Don’t miss this (scroll down to second alert box).
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Read more: A Crash Jibe Looking For A PlaceI’m in the throes of replacing the autopilot computer on our J/109 (more on that in a full article). First off, when I opened this box to connect up the drive and clutch I was distressed to see this terminal type. These things have no place on a boat, at least if they rely on […]
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Read more: Going Up The Mast—Four Dangerous But Common MistakesJohn highlights four more dangerous mistakes he has made and seen many others make too. With these mistakes fixed, he is now reasonable happy with his system.
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Read more: Cruiser Tools—Jesus PliersYears ago, when the world was young, I worked as a mainframe computer technician for NCR Corporation—yes they made computers, great big ones. In the workshop, which I shared with a bunch of techs who fixed mechanical cash registers and accounting machines—fiendishly complicated contraptions that it took great skill to work on—a common cry was […]
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Read more: Cruiser Tools—FilesOn our McCurdy and Rhodes 56 I had a whole bunch of different files, but that was a 25-ton boat where weight, while important, was less of an issue. Since selling that boat, along with all my tools, I have found that the three files shown above will do most things, and while I have […]
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Read more: Give an AAC Membership For ChristmasStuck for a Christmas gift?
