Category: Sailing in General
-
Scoresby Sund Expedition – A Difficult First Week
Reading Time: 6 Minutes Nerdiness Quotient: Variable Monday 13th April until Sunday 19th April Day One I dropped off Tilman, our dog, with the dog sitter and I think the dog suspected something. Mind you, he always looks a bit miserable. I was not going to see him again until June. We will miss each…
-
Some of my thoughts about lifejackets
29th March 2026 – 12:30 Reading Time: 5 minutes Nerdiness Quotient: 8/10 I get slightly claustrophobic. Basically I can’t tolerate being trapped. This is one reason why I prefer to wear a manual lifejacket. The concept of a jacket inflating and trapping me inside a sinking yacht has zero appeal. I do realise that if…
-
Seven Common Things Not to Buy to Stay Healthy
22nd March 2026 Reading Time: Three Minutes Nerdiness Quotient: 3/10 I think the human body behaves a bit like boats do, they like being used. Leave a boat laid up in a boat yard and decks soon go green, the diesel gets the dreaded bug, the winches seize up and lights don’t come on when…
-
Insights from the Jester Challenge Symposium 2026
21st February 2026 Reading Time: 6 minutes Nerdiness Quotient: 7/10 We have just returned from the Jester Challenge Symposium in Letchworth. Most of you who follow my blog will have a shrewd idea what this symposium will be about but for those who have stumbled upon this website and think that I may have taken…
-
My Keyway Conundrum: 316 SS, Brass, or Bronze for Propeller Shafts?
10th December 2025 Reading time: 4 minutes Nerdiness Quotient – 8.5/10 With Christmas fast approaching, one might assume my thoughts would be dominated by mince pies, port and stilton but instead, I’m deep into a rather puzzling piece of marine engineering: the humble propeller keyway. I’ve just bought a shiny new 316 Stainless Steel (SS)…
-
Gearbox Problem – Twin Disc TMC40P
23rd August 2025 Reading Time: Five Minutes The first thing I would like to say is that this engine has been wonderful since its installation about five years ago. The extra 4 hp above my previous 12hp Kubota has made a great difference to the ability of the yacht to punch into sea when needed.…
-
Do you need a Big Boat to make a Ocean Passage?
May 2025 Reading Time: 20 minutes Category: Sailing in General The vast expanse of the ocean calls for a certain adventurous spirit, but does that call also necessitate a behemoth of a boat? The average length of a boat in this years Atlantic Rally for Cruisers was 48 foot. Yachts need to be over 27…
-
Bigger is not always better – tools not boats
2nd April 2025 ..and I am not talking about boats this time, but just tools. Extractors. I made the mistake of buying a large Festool extractor. I forget the exact model but let’s call it the Maxi. It was a long time ago, but I remember my reasoning. There was a smaller “Midi” version, but…
-
Heating on a Small Boat
17th March 2025 Reading Time: Ten Minutes When my boat was based primarily on the south coast of England, and, given that my sailing was mainly over the summer, the need for heating was very low down the priority list. On the rare occasions that I was sailing in the winter, my survival method was…
-
I actually prefer hanked-on headsails, am I completely bonkers?
28th March 2024 Reading time: 10 minutes No one seems to have hanked-on sails anymore. A casual glance around any marina will show a forest of furling gear. The majority must be right, mustn’t they? I’m not so sure. Credit where credit is due I do accept that when coastal sailing, the ability to roll…