D.B. of Marina del Rey, California, asks:”Not long ago I received a phone call from my dockmaster telling me a loud alarm was coming from my boat. I told him Id be right down, and to keep an eye on things until I arrived. When I went aboard I found the sound was coming from my RayMarine Ray 240 marine VHF. How could it possibly go into an alert mode after being turned
Mike Montanaro of Cornelius, North Carolina, asks:”Don Caseys thorough and very informative article on the proper way to install shorepower on a boat (Sail, January) clarified a lot of points for me. But he says that if you touch both wires in a 12-volt DC circuit it is unlikely to cause injury. This assumes your body is the only current draw. What would happen if there
John M. Bollinger of Bellevue, Ohio, asks: “I’m planning to replace my halyards this summer and I would like to learn how to splice them to the shackles myself. Where can I find this information?” Win Fowler replies: Splicing techniques vary depending on the type of cordage you plan to use. Most manufacturers provide detailed splicing
Nothing will ruin your cruise faster than a damaged or torn sail. With the BoatWorks sail-repair kit on board, youll be able to make emergency repairs and keep on sailing. Ours cost less than $100 to assemble but could save us hundreds in repair bills.A. Curved and straight needles of different diameters.B. Stainless-steel scissors for cutting thread and sailcloth.C.
Jabberwock, the BoatWorks project ODay 25, was looking very scruffy around the underparts. The boat had been standing for so long that most of the paint had just fallen off the bottom, and the keel was looking particularly seedy. There was no way we could launch the boat with the keel in such bad condition. It was time for a makeover. A proper keel job done by a boatyard will cost
Jabberwock, the BoatWorks project ODay 25, was looking very scruffy around the underparts. The boat had been standing for so long that most of the paint had just fallen off the bottom, and the keel was looking particularly seedy. There was no way we could launch the boat with the keel in such bad condition. It was time for a makeover. A proper keel job done by a boatyard will cost
Joseph Strong of Barrington, Rhode Island, asks:”I am repowering my Bristol 35.5 with a Yanmar model 3YM30 diesel engine, but I also want to increase my electrical capacity. Currently I have two 12-volt batteries with a standard three-way battery switch (Bat. 1, Bat. 2, and Both). I would like to add two more 12-volt batteries and align them like the two-bank configuration
J. Hillier of Sausalito, California, asks:”I bought what I thought was a waterproof handheld VHF radio, but when I dropped it in some water in the bottom of my inflatable it died. It was only in the water for a few seconds before I picked it up, and even though it did work for about two hours it went dead after that. What do those specifications really mean?”
If you furl your headsail when sailing off the wind, there’s a good chance the sheets will get in the way when you’re either peeling the spinnaker or taking it down. That’s why the bowman should always tie them down, out of the way, with a sail tie. When the spinnaker is up and the jib is furled, have the trimmers ease the jibsheets enough so they can be led to the base of the furler, where a
The decks on Horizon, our Hans Christian 38, are 20 years old and have seen the full spectrum of weather conditionscold and rain for weeks on end in Alaska and constant sun and heat in the tropics. No matter where we are, our maintenance strategy is the same: keep it simple and keep it silver. As with anything boat-related, proper maintenance now is always much easier than an extensive
As the Caribbean Multihull Challenge (CMC) kicks off a sixth year, race organizers have a one-word mission statement: soul. “At the beginning, we wanted to
By Mensun BoundMariner Books (2022) Confession: I am a polar exploration nut. Whole hectares of my bookshelves are dedicated to the genre, past and present.
I had no warning of impending disaster. The morning sky was deep blue, and the fronds of the palm trees on Belize’s beautiful South Water
Ever wonder how the gear we put on our boats gets tested before we ever use it? If it’s Harken gear, that would be the
Ever wonder how the gear we put on our boats gets tested before we ever use it? If it’s Harken gear, that would be the
The inaugural Global Solo Challenge has been an ocean race like no other. From a sizable percentage of American sailors to a pursuit start that
Jan. 11/2024: Here’s one of the more interesting things that has happened to me since the publication of The Boy Who Fell to Shore, my
In little over a week, Mia and I head to Falken, 59° North’s Farr 65, for the last passage of 2023. The boat is docked
Yacht Thruster, celebrating 15+ years, is a compact & powerful bow/stern thruster, installed on thousands of sailboats from 30ft – 75ft. The minimally invasive mounting
A 20- to 30-knot northerly wind and temps hovering around 39°F on the edge of the Baltic Sea in November are not generally considered prime
