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Read more: Just Get a Series Drogue Designed By Don Jordan…Dammit!There are few subjects that offshore sailors like to discuss and argue about more than which is the best storm survival strategy and related gear. But it’s time to stop the debate because it’s a solved problem.
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Read more: Cabot Strait—Alias “The Chuck”Colin carries on with his tale of an unsurprisingly unpleasant crossing to Newfoundland with a surprisingly pleasant landfall.
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Read more: Amidships “Preventers”—A Bad Idea That Can KillJohn has long advocated for preventers rigged from the boom well outboard to the bow as the only right way. We now have solid engineering, and a tragedy, to show how important this is.
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Read more: Getting Back Into The Cruising Life—2018 Season on PèlerinThe first of Colin’s voyaging articles on their 2018 season cruising Atlantic Canada.
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Read more: Rogue Waves Are Not Bad LuckThe most common reason for yacht abandonment at sea is being capsized by a rogue wave. But is rogue a good description of these boat-killing waves? And are there things we can do to reduce roll-over risk?
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Read more: 5 Ways We Are Updating Our Thinking On Fire FightingBased on the great comments from experts on a previous post, Phyllis and John have substantially changed their thinking on fighting a fire aboard.
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Read more: Hull Design Torture TestJohn links to a must-read article on hull design for heavy weather and highlights a couple of really important things he learned from it.
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Read more: Battery Monitors, Part 3—Calibration and UseThe single biggest bitch we hear about battery monitors is that they are always wrong. John shares how to fix that and make your batteries last a lot longer too.
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Read more: Battery Monitors, Part 2—Recommended UnitBeing able to accurately monitor our batteries is a vital function for all cruisers, but which of the multitude of systems offered should we buy and install? John defines the functions we actually need, and then recommends a monitor.
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Read more: Lewisporte, Newfoundland—A Lot Has Changed in 25 YearsAfter recommending the Lewisporte Marina to a number of cruisers looking to leave their boat in Newfoundland over a winter, John and Phyllis finally get a chance to visit Lewisporte themselves…for the second time in John’s case.
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Read more: Battery Monitors, Part 1—Which Type Is Right For You?It’s tempting, when selecting a complex piece of gear like a battery monitor, to dive straight into the details and features, but that’s a near-sure route to a bad decision. First let’s take a giant step back and look at the two main types of monitors and decide which is right for each of us.
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Read more: Fogo Harbour, Newfoundland—The Kindness of StrangersPhyllis shares the latest act of kindness bestowed on her and John by a Newfoundlander.
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Read more: Battle Testing a Jordan-Designed Series Drogue—Round 2Trevor Robinson updates what he has learned about using and maintaining a series drogue built to Don Jordan’s design. This is not theory, but true testing over a gruelling circumnavigation in the Southern Ocean, including multiple deployments in gale and storm force conditions. Anyone who goes to sea in small boats will benefit from reading this.
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Read more: The Golden Globe Race 2018—And They’re OffThe Golden Globe Race 2018 has started, and Colin, who lives in Falmouth, site of the feeder race start, takes a look at the boats and the competitors.
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Read more: Rigging Tips Part 1John puts his lazy streak on display with five rigging hacks to do less work, but still do things right.
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Read more: Things Are Different Now“Things are different now” is a mantra on “Morgan’s Cloud”. And never more so than now, as John and Phyllis try and act their age.
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10 Things That Are Common On Offshore Cruising Boats…But Shouldn’t Be
54 CommentsReading Time: 7 minutesMembers
Read more: 10 Things That Are Common On Offshore Cruising Boats…But Shouldn’t BeIt’s always easier not to fix our boats right, and using the excuse that everyone does it like this is a tempting way to excuse doing extra work and spending more money, but the sea does not recognize excuses.
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Read more: Cruising NewfoundlandPhyllis and John are back out cruising and in one of their favourite parts of the world.
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Read more: Rig Tuning, Part 5—Sailing TuneIn the previous four parts of this series on mast tuning, we got all the basics taken care of, now we just need to go sailing to complete a great tune.
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Read more: Battery Bank Size and Generator Run Time, A Case StudyThese days, most boats with AC generators have significant DC (12- or 24-volt) battery banks that need to be charged regularly by the generator. But often that process is horribly inefficient. The good news is that the fix is easy, simple, and relatively inexpensive.
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Read more: Practicing Seamanship Skills is Fun and Useful TooJohn muses on why doing basic seamanship tasks, like moving heavy weights safely and efficiently using only the boat’s own gear, are so satisfying…and why the practice is important too.
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Rig Tuning, Part 4—Mast Blocking, Stay Tension, and Spreaders
55 CommentsReading Time: 10 minutesMembers
Read more: Rig Tuning, Part 4—Mast Blocking, Stay Tension, and SpreadersSetting up a rig to be safe and functional offshore is all about getting the details right. Here are some vital things to know and do.
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Read more: Rig Tuning, Part 3—6 Steps to a Great TuneJohn bored you to death with a lot of mast tuning theory in the last chapter, but here’s the pay off: a step-by-step guide that will yield a good tune every time.
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Read more: Rig Tuning, Part 2—Understanding Rake and BendIn Part 1 we got the mast upright in the athwartship plane so it was not leaning over to one side or the other. Now let’s set the fore and aft rake and bend. But before we set off on that long and winding road we need to make sure we know what the destination is, and that’s what this chapter is about.
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Read more: Rig Tuning, Part 1—PreparationGetting the rig properly tuned is vital for any sailboat, but it’s not easy to do right. John takes the mystery out of the process with a step-by-step procedure that works.
