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Read more: Enabling DSC on Crew Overboard Beacons in CanadaA month ago I had a good old rant about the DSC feature of Crew Overboard Beacons not being approved by the Canadian authorities. Well, AAC Contributor Matt Marsh went way better than ranting by writing an eloquent and well-researched letter to François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science, & Economic Development. And, better yet, all […]
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Read more: Good Sailcloth ExplainerWhile I was researching for my recent tips on buying sails I came across a great page over at North Sails explaining the tradeoffs of pretty much all the fibres used in sailcloth. One quote jumped out at me: Ultra PE fiber [Spectra/Dyneema] is expensive, but very long sail life ensures high value in these […]
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Read more: Spinlock Deckvest 6D ReviewJohn and Phyllis have used lifejackets with built in harnesses from Spinlock for over 20 years. Here’s our review of the latest version.
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Read more: A Book That Will Help You Afford A Cruising BoatSo is this a book full of refit tips so you can buy an old boat cheap and fix it up to go cruising? No, better than that.
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Read more: Battle Born Smart Batteries Initial ReviewSome initial thoughts about this new offering and whether or not we should put it on our list of lithium batteries to consider for an offshore boat.
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Read more: Q&A How To Run Reef Clew Pennants
Question Member Philip asks: …The big problem I keep seeing is that the conventional approach just pulls downward on the sail, without maintaining any outhaul tension, which messes up the sail shape. Do you – or anyone else here – have any proven ideas to address this problem? Answer You are right to be concerned […]
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Read more: Safe and Easy Offshore Sailing—When to Reef, Part 2More about how to decide when to reef, including a mental hack and specific true wind speed examples, as well as more tips, including which sail first.
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Read more: Gifting AAC MembershipWith the holiday season coming, don’t forget that you can gift AAC membership.
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Read more: The Off-Axis Weakness of Anchor SwivelsThe effect of an off-axis load on anchor swivels has long worried me, and now we have some solid numbers.
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Read more: Maxime Needs to Pass The Adventure 40 BatonThere’s an opportunity to take over the Adventure 40 project, with much of the work already done.
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Read more: eWincher 2 or SE?Phyllis and I have long been fans of the eWincher electric winch handle and owned the original, which we let go with the McCurdy and Rhodes 56, and the Mk2, which we use on our J/109. We have also published the most in-depth review available anywhere. Last year eWincher brought out a less expensive SE […]
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Read more: Experience and Cunning Beat Youth and SpeedWould you believe it? 65-year-old Jean Le Cam is in first place in the Vendée Globe, in his brand new, but non-foiling IMOCA 60? Will he hold the lead all the way around the planet? Probably not, but who cares, he is in front now. And who knows, a dagger-board boat will be easier on […]
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Read more: Ideal Cruising Boat Size PodcastAfter reading my When Is A Cruising Sailboat Too Big? chapter in our How To Buy a Cruising Boat Online Book, Ben and Teresa, of Morse Alpha Expeditions, suggested we do a podcast on the subject together, so we did. And to make this much more relevant, Kim Stephens, who is, along with her husband […]
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Read more: Electrical TipsTips relevant to the Electrical Systems for Cruising Boats Online Book
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Read more: Don’t Rely On Crotch Straps For Tether ArrestThis Tip was originally part of a larger article that we just deleted because it’s out of date—we do that a lot—but this part is still valid and important.
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Read more: Why We Don’t Recommend Boom BrakesBoom brakes have never looked right to me, but now I have solid numbers, together with other reasons, to strongly recommend against them. But if you still insist on a boom brake, I have some recommendations.
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Read more: Cruising Sails—Two Cloth Fibres To AvoidSince I have recommended sailcloth made from high-modulus (low-stretch) fibres for cruising boats, I’m thinking I should expand on that to avoid confusion. Let’s do that: Back around the end of the time I was sailmaking, a new sailcloth burst on the scene that promised to pretty much banish shape-robbing stretch. It was made from […]
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Read more: My Favourite Cruising SailclothStill looking pretty much as-new with the shape in the right place and a nice clean run off the leach after 12 years and about 25,000 miles. Note that I should have eased the outhaul a bit in these conditions and the bottom batten is in the pocket too tight (adjustable). The combination of these […]
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Read more: Ocean Signal MOB2 AIS Crew Overboard Beacon ReviewPhyllis and I have long been fans, and early adopters of, AIS/DSC crew overboard (COB) beacons and we both wear one at all times when sailing, even inshore and in benign conditions. We also completely changed our person overboard recovery strategy to rely on the AIS beacons—definitely all-in on this technology. And, further, the several […]
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Read more: Safe and Easy Offshore Sailing—When to Reef, Part 1Consistently reefing at the right time, particularly when sailing offshore, makes passages easier, safer, and, above all, more fun.
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Read more: Sails—Cross-Cut or Radial?This bi-radial genoa is old, but even so the shape is still pretty decent with a nice entry and good run off the leach. It would probably be even better if it was full tri-radial. A question from a reader made me realize that we have some gaps in our sail recommendations that will be […]
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Read more: Wakespeed WS500 Pro, ShippingAl Thomason, co-founder and the designer behind our favourite alternator regulator, the Wakespeed WS500, gave me a call to say that the Pro model is now shipping to dealers and distributors and that the price is US$50 more than the original WS500, so around US$650. The harness, which will continue to be sold as an […]
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Read more: There Is No Substitute For A 406 Mhz EPIRBPhyllis running a self-test on the EPIRB on our McCurdy and Rhodes 56 prior to a passage to Bermuda. We had the EPIRB in a float-free mount attached to the radar stand immediately above the liferaft. I’m increasingly hearing of cruisers going offshore with a satellite device as a substitute for an EPIRB: Garmin Inreach […]
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Read more: Building A Safer Boom Preventer, Part 3—The Details
Now we understand the forces at work, John looks at the details of rigging a strong and easy-to-use preventer system.
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Read more: A Small-Boat Anchoring System
Most of the chapters in this Online Book are about anchoring systems for larger boats. But what about smaller boats? What compromises can we make and still end up with a safe and workable system?
