Category: Blue water cruising and long distance passaging

Anchor gear needs to keep you in the chosen position whatever nature throws at you. A dragging anchor puts boat and crew in immediate danger. The whole caboodle, often called ground tackle, consists of an anchor winch, a sufficient length of chain and an anchor. Continue reading Anchor gear, anchor, chain and winch

Sails are the main drivers and should be of good quality and shape to last the planned trip. Polyester is by far the most commonly used woven sailcloth under the trade name Dacron . This material provides value for money and if sourced from a reputable manufacturer lasts long. Not every Dacron cloth is the same so tell the sail maker about your cruising plans when ordering a new set of sails. To improve the lifespan of the sails put some effort in UV protection when at anchor by always putting up the sail cover on the mainsail and have a UV protection covering the leech of the headsail(s). The latest development is a painted on protection which comes with a warranty. Continue reading Sails, engine and fuel tanks

Safety starts with a sound and watertight hull. Through hull fittings of good quality and easily accessible, a good functioning stern gland for the prop shaft is most important. All through hull fittings should have a wooden plug attached just in case a hose tears off or even the valve itself gets smashed. On a regular basis the yacht will come out of the water for cleaning and anti-fouling. This is the time to inspect the fittings and grease the valves to make sure they are moveable. Continue reading Safety, Protection and Accessibility

Most yachts have just one mast even the larger ones, a few are schooner, ketch or yawl rigged. A divided sail area is more easily handled by a small crew but less efficient than a single area. A yawl or ketch may have an advantage sailing on a reach but not upwind or downwind. Also the cruising clutter such as solar panels, wind generator, or dinghy over aft deck and a wind vane at the stern does not take friendly to a sail aft. Continue reading Rigs and rigging

The majority of yachts are mono-hulled but a noticeable enthusiastic minority of cruisers favour their multi-hulled yachts. The mono hull enthusiasts claim ultimate stability and recovery capability in case of a knock down or even a roll. The multi-hull sailors, in particular the catamaran sailors, enjoy their stable platform often claiming that glasses of wine stay on the table under all conditions but ultimate stability is only achieved upside down which of course only happens in extremis in races. Access to shallow places is a definite plus point. Continue reading Hull types and materials