Category: Boat Care
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) This is a very subjective list, and my list will be nothing like yours unless you have a similar boat and a similar lifestyle and way of using your boat. For context, I’ve been cruising full time and living aboard my boat since 2012, though we’ve owned her for fifteen […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) We did our first offshore international passage as part of the Salty Dawg Rally from Hampton, VA to the British Virgin islands. We planned to do a different rally, but we learned about this one and decided it suited us better. But what is a “rally,” and why might you […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) It’s a fun question to answer, because it makes you think about how you intend to use your boat and what your plans are. Questions like this great ways to pass time over the winter, when you’re cooped up and cold and thinking about what you want to do when […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) Read Part I, Part II, and Part III of buying a used boat. For the last part of what you look at when you are shopping for a used boat, we’re going to get into the electrical and electronic systems. There’s a lot to look for, and like the other […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) While getting there is half the fun of sailing, once you’re there the other half is getting off the boat and seeing the cool place you’ve sailed to. The more popular boating destinations have dinghy docks to encourage boaters to come on shore and see the sights and visit shops […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) Read Part I, Part II, and Part IV of buying a used boat. Next in our series on checks for buying a new-to-you boat, we’ll delve into some of the boat’s comfort systems. Your survey should check all these systems in some detail. But when you view the boat you […]
The End of Summer
September 4th, 2020 by team
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) One of the weirdest summers in memory is drawing to a close. With the pandemic, we tossed all our usual summer activities and plans in the air to land where they would. Many people took to boating with their families as a good way to get some social distance from […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) Jacklines and tethers can save your life. But used incorrectly, they won’t work and can even cause harm. So what’s the proper way to use jacklines and tethers? Jacklines need to be installed with enough tension in a position that won’t let you go overboard, and a tether should always […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) Midway through the summer…the “Spring Commissioning” work list is a distant memory, and we’re still denying that “Fall decommissioning” will ever happen. But it’s been a few…er…weeks or months since we’ve done all those spring prep items and we’re well into the season and using the boat. What have we […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) Read Part II, Part III, and Part IV of buying a used boat. There are a lot of things to look for when you’re buying a used boat. This started out as “Five things to check…” but we decided we didn’t want to get boxed in by a numbered list […]
