Cruising gadgets, knowledge, and ideas for the cruising sailor
This is about as low tech as it gets on two accounts. Clothespins and my brain. They say that the secret to a happy marriage is a bad memory. I’ve been happily married 42 years now. I’ve had a bad memory as far back as I can remember, so I now use clothespins to remind myself of things on the
» Read moreI believe the ideal situation is to have a red LED light on the cockpit bulkhead that comes on anytime your bilge pump activates. Until you can get that done here is a solution that will carry you through. Install a “water alarm” in your bilge. These are very loud alarms that are made to warn you if you washing
» Read moreNo matter where you cruise you should make sure that you have a dive mask aboard in the event that something gets wrapped around the prop or rudder. I’ve had seaweed on my prop shaft that was like rope. It was about a quarter of an inch thick and four feet long. It cut our forward speed by half. Recently
» Read moreTo help circulate the cool air in your refrigerator try a small fan made specifically to do just this. They sell them on Ebay and at most RV stores. Campers use these too for the same propose. They are battery operated, and very low voltage so they run for about 3-4 weeks before you have to change batteries. (big “D”
» Read moreLearn it, Earn it, Return it. I learned this mantra from a fellow sailor, Rick Peterson of Palmetto, Florida. We had run into each other again in a marina in Gibraltar and we were both heading to Morocco. Rick and his wife Julie sail a beautiful Hylas 49 named “Believe”. Rick and Julie live this philosophy. He is a retired
» Read moreThis is a way for you to check your battery voltage straight from a 12 volt cigarette lighter accessory plug. It is more accurate than an analog volt meter. I’ve used this in my camper, my car, and my boats. It also lets you check the voltage at various plug around your boat to make sure you are getting the
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Managing the Mail When Out Cruising This is a way to see what mail is being delivered to your home while you are gone. The post office sends you a picture of each envelope being delivered. They do this every day. While cruising in the Bahamas for a few months we received a letter from the IRS. It began, “you
» Read morePublished in Southwinds Magazine in the Fall of 2019 While in town on Martinique I ran into a cruising couple with a good tale about their boat taking off without them. They had anchored their boat, set the hook and gone into town that morning. Upon returning they looked out in the anchorage but didn’t see their boat. “There must
» Read morePublished in Southwinds Magazine winter of 2019 I’ve found that it is far better to have the lesson before the test, but unfortunately in sailing a lot of us get the test first. I’ve gotten a lot of my sailing knowledge by having the test first. I’m still at it after 50 years, and still learning. Here are a
» Read morePublished in Southwinds Magazine in the Fall of 2019 I read something long ago, I can’t even recall when or where, but it stuck with me. It said that we need to thank people for things they have given us. Not necessarily physical things, but events or lessons that have changed or influenced our lives for the better. We need
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