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Read more: Reduce Spinnaker Snag RiskOne of the nastiest spinnaker SNAFUs is when the sail jams in the V between the intermediate shrouds (D2s) and the uppers (V2s) at the lower spreaders (S1), usually on take down.
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Read more: ARCO Zeus Ground Loop ProblemI recently received a link to this forum thread on lithium batteries that includes a concerning quote: Another note, during installation, there is a yellow and black wire on the Zeus alternator harness, “ALT GND” which is for a ground of the Zeus to the Alternator. In some installations, this has caused a ground loop, […]
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Read more: Lithium Buyer’s Guide—Budget: High End SystemSo far in this buyer’s guide, we have covered the technical aspects of upgrading our offshore cruising boat to lithium. Now let’s compare three relatively high-cost options and the cost and benefits of each.
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Read more: Learning From A COB TragedyI have just finished reading the above report from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada about the death of a crew member on the St John’s, Newfoundland pilot boat who fell overboard just two miles outside the harbour during a pilot transfer. At first glance we yachties might think that the lessons learned from this […]
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Read more: Solar: Lead-Acid Battery Saver, Potential Lithium WreckerThe above is a graph of battery voltage on our J/109, currently still out of the water but uncovered. As you can see, each day shortly after dawn our solar panel starts charging and since, other than the first day when I was aboard and using power, there are no significant loads and the batteries […]
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Read more: Close to Home, Yet Far AwayMatt reminds us all that it’s not about cool electrical systems, or even cool boats, it’s about having attainable adventures with those we love.
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Read more: Boatyard Fall PreventionUs offshore sailors think and talk a lot about crew overboard prevention, but there’s another risk we subject ourselves to frequently that does not get much air time (ouch, bad pun): Falling off the boat when she is out of the water. And, believe me, even a 6-foot fall onto a hard surface can do […]
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Read more: Wakespeed WS500 Compared To ARCO Zeus—What MattersA comparison of the two regulators cutting through all the details to what really matters, and including a look at how to evaluate all tech products.
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Read more: Summary Table of ContentsAAC, like most every WordPress-based web site, lists articles under Topics (or Chapters under Books) with title, image, author, number of comments, date and descriptive excerpt. And that’s great if you are exploring an Online Book to decide which chapters you want to read. But if you just want to get a sense for what’s […]
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Read more: Elliptical Hole HackI have to cut an elliptical hole in the stern of our boat to accommodate the heater exhaust fitting above. And just to add to the fun and games, I need to also make two high-temperature gaskets out of silicon sheet. So how the heck do I get a nice clean hole just the right […]
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Read more: Don’t Fill Lead-Acid Battery Space With LithiumIn this Tip I’m building on the last Tip in which I concluded that huge battery capacity makes little sense for most usage profiles. It’s tempting when replacing a lead-acid bank with lithium to simply default to installing all the lithium capacity that will fit where the lead-acid batteries were. And indeed that might make […]
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Read more: Huge Battery Banks Generally Make No SenseI’m working on the second part of the Adventure 40 electrical system specification. One of the fun things about this project is that since we are starting with a blank page, rather than upgrading an existing boat, which I often write about, design fundamentals become more apparent. Here’s one that just came to mind:
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Read more: 63 Cruising Boat Maintenance TipsSimple rules that make maintaining our boat less frustrating and reduce the chances of a failure ruining our cruise.
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Read more: Great HeadlampI’m a huge believer in always having good light when working on our boat, so I wear a headlamp pretty much from the time I start a job below to when I knock off. And not one of those wimpy little things with a couple of AAA cells in them for me, I want a […]
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Read more: Beware of Ocean Options, Tiverton, Rhode IslandWe just got ripped off. Here’s the story in the hopes that it will save someone else from the same fate. Some 25 years ago we bought a D8 Espar heater from Mike Bowden owner of Ocean Options of Tiverton, Rhode Island. And over the years that we owned the McCurdy and Rhodes 56, Eddie, […]
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Read more: Block Stand-Up HackOur J/109, in common with most boats with spinnakers, has turning blocks for the sheets that must reorient to loads from different directions, depending on the point of sail, and therefore uses loose blocks on pad eyes. The problem with this is that spinnaker sheet blocks tend to bang on the deck with motion, in […]
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Adventure 40 Electrical System—Part 1, Voltage and Batteries
37 CommentsReading Time: 10 minutesMembers
Read more: Adventure 40 Electrical System—Part 1, Voltage and BatteriesDesigning an electrical system from scratch for a new offshore sailboat is an interesting exercise that we can all learn from.
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Read more: Great Source For Epoxy Use TipsWhile researching for a discussion we were having about epoxy shrinkage (or not), I came across a great site with a ton of information and tips on using epoxy resin to make repairs. I particularly liked their myth-busting post. Despite having used epoxy for over 40 years, including for a refit that turned into a […]
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Read more: RIP Good Old Boat MagazineI have been a subscriber to Good Old Boat magazine ever since I had lunch with Mike, the then editor, while attending the 2019 Annapolis Sailboat Show. I signed up first because I liked Mike and felt that he was a genuine guy who had done real cruising and really wanted to help get other […]
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Read more: Deck Hardware Mounting Photo EssayMost any production boat over about 10 years old will have deck fittings that need remounting. It’s a process that seems simple…until we dig in, and one that’s vital to do right.
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Read more: WakeSpeed And Victron Get Even More CuddlyI’m on the Beta test list for software Upgrades to the WakeSpeed WS 500 alternator regulator. Not because I like testing new software—only marginally more fun than having a root canal, in my view—but because I’m a huge fan of the regulator and firmly believe it’s currently by far the best option for charging most […]
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Read more: Cover The Negative Terminal On BatteriesOne of the things I love about my job is that, despite having maintained and refitted boats for over 50 years, I’m still learning, often as the result of the discussions we have in the comments. This has certainly been the case here as I think about reducing short-out risk on batteries, particularly lithium. One […]
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Read more: Another Danger With MRBF FusesThe great discussion on my recent article about proper battery fusing and particularly the potential danger of MRBF fuses failing closed, instead of opening the circuit in the event of a short circuit, reminded me about another big downside of these kinds of fuses that actually negates the supposed advantage of being able to install […]
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Read more: Lithium Battery Buyer’s Guide—FusingLithium batteries have very low internal resistance and so we must think carefully when choosing fuses.
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Read more: Insurance Claim DeniedIt’s possible that our insurance companies will deny a claim if anything on the boat is found to be not compliant with with the terms of the policy, even if the defect in question had nothing to do with the loss.
