Innehållsförteckning för March 2015 från Cruising World

Should Middletown, Rhode Island, sailor Geordie Shaver cross paths with American Pickers Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz in some waterfront bar, I’m guessing those boys might tip their caps and buy him a beer. History channel’s two prime-time antiquers, after all, know a good find when they see one, and Geordie found himself a doozy: the mahogany and teak wheelhouse that was added to and later removed from Sir Thomas Lipton’s storied J-Class sloop Shamrock V. So, where do you accidentally stumble across a piece of the 1930 America’s Cup challenger, the graceful sloop that crossed the Atlantic only to be bested by Enterprise in the waters of Newport in the fifth and final try by Sir Tea to take the Auld Mug home? Well, in this case, it would…

The Caiad: A Voyage Around the World by Carroll J. Savage (2014; Koehler Books; $30). You’ll want to set aside some time to finish this 700-plus-page account of a decade-long voyage. The author, a lawyer, drew from his own transformation from novice to seasoned off shore sailor for the tale. The tome includes a guide to the three principal sections, footnotes, glossary and specifications of Piscataway, the 45-foot custom ketch that’s the platform for the adventure. No matter your focus, you’re bound to learn something new and find inspiration in the bountiful asides. Rick Martell Hostage: Kidnapped on the High Seas by Linda Davies (2014; Vigliano Books; $13) In 1998, Davies and her husband left their three young children with a sitter and set sail aboard their 38-foot catamaran from…

The design of marine exhaust systems seems to be an afterthought for the many boatbuilders, boatyards, yacht designers and installers who fail to consult engine manufacturer guidelines. Boat owners with exhaust issues often hear one of two diagnoses: “It’s not compliant but it works fine” (lucky) or “Water has backed up into the engine and it’s ruined” (unfortunate). Neither is desirable; both are avoidable. Proper systems safely remove and cool hot exhaust gases while preventing water from entering the engine or the boat. Of course, the design should be reliable and long lasting. Straightforward, right? Yet in practice, it has proved to be a vexing challenge to countless engine installers. Peruse several engine installation manuals and you’ll find very similar requirements. Strong emphasis is always placed on the “drop”: the…

1 It’s 0200, you’re groggy, the wind is picking up and you need to reef. Now. This is not the time for mistakes. The Glowfast rope clutch labels glow in the dark for up to 20 hours, helping to eliminate the guesswork all night. $25, glowfast.com 2 The new Navisafe headlamp might become your best night-watch friend. It’s waterproof to IPX6 standards, and has a red light for night vision, a white floodlight to illuminate the sails and a high-powered beam that can shine up to 70 meters. $50, navisafe.com 3 Out for a night sail? Spot obstacles and channel markers and find your mooring in the dark with the NightSpotter handheld thermal imaging scope by Iris. In an emergency situation, this easy-to-use scope can help you locate a crew…

CRUISINGWORLD.COM THREE UNDER THREE Moving back aboard a boat after a time ashore is no small feat under normal circumstances. Doing it with three kids under3 years old? That's a whole different story. After a year in the Chicago suburbs, the Meyers crew of Asante — Scott, Brittany, and their daughters, Isla, Mira and Haven — are back aboard their Brewer 44 in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. "Despite trying to be minimalists, we have no fewer than seven bags coming down with us," Brittany said in a recent blog post. "That is not including the three 15 x 15 x 15-inch boxes we shipped already. When it comes to babies on boats, you gotta have equipment." How will the family of five adjust to being on board? Follow along on…

Famous for its beautiful location and secure anchorage, warm welcome and mammoth Kawau burgers, the Kawau Island Yacht Club was built in 1951 by the people of the island on land donated by a local boatbuilding family. It once boasted the largest membership of any yacht club in the southern hemisphere. Due to changing times, the buildings and land were taken over by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and it became, in effect, a Squadron outstation. A dwindling island population meant ever lower winter usage, and financial setbacks for the Squadron added to the stress of keeping the club open. In April 2014 it was officially closed and the land and buildings offered for sale. A core group of five island residents and three very interested sailors from the…

If you’re lucky enough to have fresh produce to make this or any other salad, the innovative new Ratchet Salad Spinner from Switzerland’s Kuhn Rikon will make rinsing them a snap. It removes excess moisture from lettuce, spinach, herbs, vegetables and berries instantly. The ratchet handle gives you more power with less effort, and easy-access brake buttons let you stop the spinning on a dime. Made of lightweight plastic, it doubles as both a colander and a serving bowl, and it’s equipped with a nonskid rubber ring to keep it in place as you spin or serve. Easily hand washable. $35-$40 from www.amazon.com or www.surlatable.com.…

The Blue Planet Odyssey round-the-world rally had its U.S. start on Jan. 10, when a group of five boats left Key West bound for Montego Bay. From Jamaica they will continue to the San Blas Islands, where they will join five other crews who started from Martinique. The combined fleet will then transit the Panama Canal together and meet up with two West Coast participants as they head off across the Pacific. Three other boats, late leaving from the East Coast, will catch up with the Odyssey in the Pacific, along with an additional five participants that will cross just the one ocean. For a while, at least, the fleet will be 20 strong. Throughout their voyage, BPO participants will contribute to various oceanographic research projects by deploying drifter buoys…

Put two incompatible metals side by side in a marine environment — just salty air is enough — and ugly things will happen. A bronze bolt will eat through an aluminum base in short order. And stainless-steel fasteners, commonly used on aluminum, will become increasingly hard to remove as the aluminum oxidizes around them. On your sailboat, preventing corrosion is essential. Among the more common places of concern are aluminum spars. Stainless-steel fastener threads must be coated in that magic stuff called Tef-Gel; it’s worth every penny when it comes time to take things apart. Tef-Gel coating provides a barrier between the more corrosion-resistant stainless steel and the easily corroding aluminum. All those stainless fittings must be isolated from an aluminum mast or boom to avoid the formation of corrosion…

One of the most remarkable days of my sailing life took place on Dec. 26, 2007, at the start of the 63rd running of the venerable Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. For years I’d been scrambling for a berth in the famous event, which begins each year on Boxing Day in Sydney Harbor, and I’d finally made it as crew aboard a modest Aussie racer/cruiser called Morna, a Cavalier 35. OK, Morna was one of the smallest boats in the fleet, but I couldn’t have cared less. Just being there — tens of thousands of folks lining the shores, a huge spectator fleet on the water, helicopters whirring overhead while the start was broadcast on national television — was incredible. Four days later we rolled into Hobart, having negotiated one of…

I have been a fan of your magazine for many years and have enjoyed reading Fatty Goodlander’s column, On Watch. Lately, however, Fatty's attempts at humor have passed into racism. His stereotyping of Indonesia and its inhabitants ("Zen and Diesel In Indonesia,” January 2015) has become downright of ensive. I realize that this fact may have eluded your largely wealthy, almost exclusively white readership, but someone should remind Mr. Goodlander (and his editor) that we live in an increasingly pluralistic world here in the 21st century, and his poking fun at the “natives” is in poor taste. I hope that Fatty cleans up his act at least as well as he cleans up his diesel. VIA EMAIL Cap’n Fatty replies: Thank gosh for your letter: I was worried my column…

We are not sure about this one. We are en route from Mazatlan to the town of San Blas, on Mexico’s Pacific coast, on our 34-foot 1973 Columbia sailboat and have decided to try a stop at Isla Isabel, an island about 85 nautical miles southwest of Mazatlan and 45 nautical miles northwest of San Blas. The island is a national park, known as the “Mexican Galapagos” due to its high populations of green iguanas and nesting blue-footed boobies, brown boobies and magnificent frigate birds. Heermann’s gulls, sooty terns, tropic birds and brown pelicans are also supposed to be common visitors. There are no natural predators on the island, so the animals aren’t afraid of people. It sounds wonderful, though we’ve heard the rocky sea bottom surrounding this island has…

For this trip, I upgraded to new Gill foul-weather gear. Over a variety of base layers I already owned, including some from Patagonia, I practically lived in the Crosswind Salopette (1)in graphite as a midlayer, with the Gill OS22 Women’s Trousers (2) in graphite and the OS22 Women’s Jacket in red (3) as the outer layer in heavy weather. I also wore sturdy Dubarry Ultima brown sea boots (4). These grippy, waterproof leather boots are lined with Gore-Tex. Combined with the Dubarry short navy blue Tech Socks and Dubarry Footbeds, my steps were certain and my feet were snug and bone dry. On my wrist I wore the Atom women’s watch by Reactor made from corrosion-resistant 316L stainless steel (5). I found its illuminated dial handy at night. Gill North…

After many years of delivering yachts with small fuel capacity — and having tried all kinds of ways to transfer fuel from bladders, cans and drums — I was determined to find a clean and efficient way to do this. I was tired of getting mouthfuls of fuel and spillage on teak decks. I had my chance yet again when I was hired to deliver Flyer, a Swan 57, from Newport, Rhode Island, to France (see “The Best Yet,” page 36.) I’d been the captain of Flyer for the previous eight years and I had a good grasp of her fuel use, as I’d delivered her to and from the Caribbean numerous times. She has two fuel tanks: 78-gallon and 80-gallon, for a total of 158 gallons. If we were…

Unless you have extensive experience with complex electrical systems, I don’t recommend attempting to assemble a lithium-ion battery bank and monitoring system on your own. A lot of variables must be measured and controlled to prevent the very real threat of thermal runaway and possibly a catastrophic fire. Charging systems work hard when coupled with lithium-ion batteries. Cooling systems must be adequate, and temperature-regulated alternators and battery chargers are a must. Battery management systems need to carefully monitor charge and temperature in the batteries themselves. High-current batteries require proper fusing at their output. All three of the boats I looked at use high-current class T fuses to protect the output circuits from the batteries. The batteries must be installed in a clean, always dry place. Any moisture can damage the…

These days, the big production boatbuilders are all building some darn big production boats. Last month, in Miami, Beneteau unveiled its Oceanis 60, which joins the ranks of recent launches from, among others, Jeanneau (Sun Odyssey 57 and 64) and Dufour (560 Grand’ Large) in the Plus 55-foot Club. The Hanse 575, from Germany’s prodigious Hanse Group (it also produces Moodys and Dehlers, and several other brands), is another new member. While she may not be the biggest of the bunch, she is nevertheless one very impressive yacht. The first things you notice when you step aboard (other than the number o steps it took to get there — this baby has some serious freeboard) are the wide, expansive deck and the towering three-spreader fractional rig. The performance-oriented Judel/Vrolijk naval…