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Read more: 15 Steps To Getting Securely AnchoredWhen thinking about anchoring, it’s easy to just focus on gear, but good technique can contribute at least as much to getting securely anchored. These steps, based on 40 years of experience, make getting securely anchored easy and repeatable.
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Read more: Beware Marine Equipment AwardsAre the gear awards given by panels of marine journalists useful and worth your time?
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Read more: UV Protection For Roller Furling SailsA headsail that is not protected from sun damage when furled, will only last a season or so. So what’s the best way to protect the sail? John has some suggestions.
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Sable Island, Nova Scotia—A Remote, Desolate, and Gorgeous Place
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Read more: Sable Island, Nova Scotia—A Remote, Desolate, and Gorgeous PlaceWhen the GFS GRIB data suggested that in twelve days there would be calm seas at Sable Island, Molly and family were inspired to organize a visit to this remote, desolate and gorgeous place.
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Nigel Calder’s Integrel, Part 2—Is It Really Better Than a Generator?
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Read more: Nigel Calder’s Integrel, Part 2—Is It Really Better Than a Generator?In Part 1 we concluded that Integrel was too expensive and complicated to be of use to cruisers who have reasonably modest daily power needs. But what about those of us who want all the comforts of home and therefore use a lot of power in the run of a day, or even those with one foot in each camp?
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Read more: Nigel Calder’s Integrel, Part 1—What You Need To KnowNigel Calder’s newest machine, that claims to revolutionize electrical systems on boats, has generated a huge amount of excitement. So is this thing a good product that we should buy? Let’s dig in and find out.
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Read more: Our Navigation SystemWe have written a lot about navigation systems. Here’s what we use on Morgan’s Cloud, and why.
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Read more: SARCA Excel Anchor—A Real World TestColin’s in-depth, real-world test and review of the SARCA Excel anchor, based on a season of use in a cruising ground that is notoriously difficult to anchor in.
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Read more: A New Best Windows Computer For NavigationJohn’s recommendation for the best computer to run Windows-based navigation software may surprise you, but it makes sense.
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Cruising Boat Electrical System Design, Part 3—Specifying Optimal Battery Bank Size
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Read more: Cruising Boat Electrical System Design, Part 3—Specifying Optimal Battery Bank SizeIn the last two chapters we took a deep and considered dive into analyzing the electrical loads on our boats and thinking about ways to reduce said loads through smart systems thinking. Now we get to the payoff: How to calculate optimal battery bank size or, alternatively, how to live with the battery bank size we already have. I have built a spreadsheet to make the whole process easier.
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Cruising Boat Electrical System Design, Part 2—Thinking About Systems
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Read more: Cruising Boat Electrical System Design, Part 2—Thinking About SystemsIn the last chapter we looked at some big loads that take electricity from our battery. In this chapter John covers watermakers and diesel furnaces and shows how system thinking can save us from having to install a silly-sized battery bank.
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Cruising Boat Electrical System Design, Part 1—Loads and Conservation
59 CommentsReading Time: 10 minutesMembers
Read more: Cruising Boat Electrical System Design, Part 1—Loads and ConservationTwo core decisions we must make when designing a cruising boat electrical system for living aboard full time and making offshore voyages, are the size of the battery bank and which charging sources we will need: generator, solar, main engine, wind, etc. But the first thing we need to do, before getting into all that fun stuff, is think about electrical consumption and how to keep it reasonable.
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Read more: Alternatives to Chainplates For Drogue Attachment…Or NotJohn analyzes two alternatives to chainplates for attaching a series drogue to our boats.
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Read more: Stuff We Gotta Do—The Anchor Roller VersionGood anchor rollers are hard to do, but really important. John uses that as a springboard to write about prioritization, the most important skill a cruiser needs to actually get out there.
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Read more: He Does Weather Routing, Not MiraclesSome really useful information from a really smart and honest weather router, and then some tips on the quickest way to learn about weather.
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Read more: Ocean Passaging—Turning Back Is Hard To DoTurning back is hard, but sometimes it’s the only right thing to do. John tells some true stories about turning back.
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Anchor Chain Catenary, When it Matters and When it Doesn’t
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Read more: Anchor Chain Catenary, When it Matters and When it Doesn’tThere are two opposing views on chain catenary: those who believe that having a lot of chain on the bottom increases holding, and those who have observed an all chain rode being pulled bar straight in any winds above about 30 knots and therefore hold that catenary does nothing useful in anchoring. Who is right? Read on to find out, and also for John’s recommendation for the best chain grade to use.
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Read more: Susie Goodall Pitchpoled
John has a few preliminary thoughts ending with a key point.
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Which Old Salts Should We Listen To? 10 Ways To Decide—Part 2
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Read more: Which Old Salts Should We Listen To? 10 Ways To Decide—Part 2Here is Part 2 of John’s tips on how to decide which old salts to listen to, as well as how to decide between conflicting opinions expressed by experienced voyagers.
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Read more: Colin on AnchoringColin shares some techniques he was reminded of while spending the summer cruising the south coast of Newfoundland, a challenging place to anchor if ever there was one.
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Which Old Salts Should We Listen To? 10 Ways To Decide—Part 1
65 CommentsReading Time: 9 minutesMembers
Read more: Which Old Salts Should We Listen To? 10 Ways To Decide—Part 1Blindly following the teachings of old salts, no matter how experienced and well meaning they are, can lead to poor gear choices and big mistakes once out there. But how do we decide who to believe or between two conflicting opinions? John has ten tips that even the most inexperienced offshore sailor can use to make that easier.
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Read more: Storm Survival FAQSeveral questions have repeatedly surfaced within the hundreds of comments on our Heavy Weather Tactics Online Book. So I have pulled those together in this chapter and added my thoughts.
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Read more: The Southwest Coast of Newfoundland—An IntroductionColin carries on with the story of their 2018 cruise: A nerve jangling approach, deserted anchorages, a spooky abandoned village and managing a boat mechanical problem of the type that seem to plague us all sooner or later—a tale of real cruising.
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Read more: 11 Things We Do To Stay Rational About SafetyWe write a lot about safety here at AAC: crew overboard, storm survival, fire at sea, etc. All important stuff, but we worry about how this affects our primary goal here at Attainable Adventure Cruising of helping you go cruising. So here’s how we balance safety with actually getting out there.
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AIS Crew Overboard Beacons—Setting Up The Boat Alarms Right
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Read more: AIS Crew Overboard Beacons—Setting Up The Boat Alarms RightSo now that we have bought AIS Crew Overboard Alarms, all is safe and good, right? No, not really. We also need to make sure that we are going to get an alarm on the boat that will set a rescue in motion. And that’s a lot more complex than just relying on a beep from our AIS receiver or plotter. But never fear, John has done the research, come up with a good solution, sailed with…
