Stormy Weather
One of the things we get asked constantly by non-sailors and even some sailors is “what about storms?” or more specifically “what about hurricanes?” It hasn’t helped matters that for the first time in recorded history both the Eastern Pacific and the Atlantic had their first named storms of the year before June 1st. While
Welcome to the 21st Century
Why is it?
Why is it that with every boat project getting to 90% complete is fairly easy and straightforward and the last 10% ALWAYS involves something stuck, something new broken, or you are missing a critical part and have to run to the marine store or hardware store? That was certainly our theme for the nearly 3
I suppose that depends on what you mean by “hard”. For us, it was challenging to think through all the pieces and how to best install the system on our boat. It was also challenging to squeeze into small spaces with awkward-sized, somewhat-heavy items. Perhaps the most challenging aspect was figuring out how many fasteners
Wind, sun, and dinosaurs
You may have noticed that we have a lot of decisions to make regarding equipment on Shearwater. For every decision, there are usually a number of possible solutions, and each solution comes with a few compromises such that the choice is rarely clear. I take the opportunity when I can to write about the options.
If we must use the motor…
I dislike motoring a lot. I don’t like the noise, it is boring, and I don’t like the pollution. While there have been numerous boats that have circumnavigated without a motor, to go without now requires the utmost patience, and really you have to not need to be anywhere ALL the time, no exceptions. That
Retrofit: Project #1 complete!
But why a J/120?
Good question. Thanks for asking. It’s been almost 10 years since we were boat owners. Our priorities have changed only slightly, with much of the change based on our experience with Earendil, our trusty 1977 Valiant 32 that we lived on for almost 5 years. Prior to 2011, while living in Texas, we decided that