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Read more: Limits To ComplexityStand alone electronics seem to be a thing of the past. Colin writes about the dangers of integrated systems.
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Read more: Q&A: Radar Scanner PositionQuestion: What is your preference regarding the best place to mount a radar antenna? As far as we can tell from the pictures of Morgan’s Cloud you have mounted yours on a pole aft. Our previous experience with radars tells us that the antenna should be as high and free as possible. Wouldn’t a radar […]
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Read more: A Practical Interior At Sea Or In HarbourColin discusses the very different priorities involved when designing a boat for extended offshore cruising versus one designed for the occasional weekend aboard or a two week annual holiday.
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Read more: Q&A: Timing, Caribbean To EuropeQuestion: What is the best time of year to sail from the Caribbean to Europe?
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Read more: Q&A: Norway To The Chesapeake BayQuestion: I’m planning to sail from south Norway in mid-June in my Oceanis 46, hoping to arrive in the Chesapeake Bay by the beginning of August. The crew will be 5 to 6 relatively experienced sailors. Presently I’m looking at routing via Færoe and Iceland, then across to Newfoundland and then coastal. My idea is […]
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Read more: Q&A: Why White?
Question: Why did you paint Morgan’s Cloud white? I thought she looked better painted dark blue.
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Read more: Self-Defence In HarbourColin discusses what you will need if you are thinking of cruising in places without floating dock marinas.
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Read more: Q&A: How Did You Install Treadmaster On Your Aluminum Boat?
Question: When you were installing your Treadmaster, did you grind back to clean metal and glue it down, or did you, as I was advised, paint with epoxy first?
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Q&A: What Do You Think About Spray Foam Insulation For A New Aluminum Boat?
23 CommentsReading Time: < 1 minuteFreeRead more: Q&A: What Do You Think About Spray Foam Insulation For A New Aluminum Boat?Question: We are planning to insulate the interior of our new aluminum boat with spray foam, any comments? Is your hull foamed? Was it primed with paint before or sprayed directly onto the metal?
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Read more: Q&A: What Problems Do You Have With Painting Aluminum?
Question: Where do your main problems with the paint on Morgan’s Cloud lie: with the paint becoming chipped from wear and tear, or from inadequate preparation, or from salt water working under the paint edge?
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Read more: Q&A: What Should I Paint On My New Aluminum Boat?
Question: You say you would not paint aluminum. Ok, it is hideously expensive (I have been quoted £10,000 just for materials), it is difficult to key, and we have been advised to sand blast and paint the same day (tricky!). So, if you were to start all over again with a newly built boat, what […]
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Read more: PlexusIt used to be that when we wanted to attach something to our aluminum hull we had it welded. This requires special equipment and a skilled operator, not to speak of all the attendant mess and paint damage. Not anymore, we now use Plexus.
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Read more: Q&A: North Atlantic Crossing, East To West, In FallQuestion: I’m planning an east to west crossing via the northern route from the UK to Canada. Ideally I would like to do this in August or September and without stops. My boat is a Hallberg Rassy 46. What do you think?
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Read more: Making The Most Of AluminumAluminum has many obvious attributes as a construction material—high strength to weight, durability, lack of maintenance—but there are other, subtler benefits that aluminum can offer, especially if building a boat from scratch.
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Read more: Q&A: Is The Espar Heater Really That Hot?
Question: My experience with diesel heat is that it’s hard to light, hard to control, it smells and the deck is covered in soot. That was 25 years ago with the stainless steel pot belly stove in [a] Westsail. You rave about the Espar diesel heater. Is the Espar really that good and does it […]
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Read more: Steiner BinocularsSteiner is one of the few companies left (it seems) that is still building good quality equipment and then standing behind it. We have had the same pair of Steiner Commander RS2000 binoculars for over 20 years.
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Read more: A Boat Built To TravelColin and Louise need a sailboat that can go virtually anywhere, for extended periods, and be as self-sufficient as possible—something like an ocean-going 4×4. They chose an OVNI 435.
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Read more: K.I.S.S.*
I always learn something, or have my existing thinking clarified, when talking with other experienced voyagers.
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Read more: A Cruise Of The Outer Bay of Fundy 2007What about a circumnavigation of the Outer Bay of Fundy?
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Read more: Choosing A Suitable Boat, New Versus OldColin writes about the process he and Louise went through when choosing between buying a used boat or building new.
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Read more: Q&A: Autumn Crossing Of The North Atlantic, West To EastQuestion: I am planning a west to east North Atlantic crossing and have read that most yachts leave in May and June. What about leaving in mid-September or early October? Is that still a possibility? Ideally I would like to cross from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Britain.
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Read more: Turning The Dream Into Reality
Ever since Colin was a small child he had a fascination with building things, or making them better. He now turns his eye towards building a sailboat.
