Hi all - looking for advice / experience with custom carpet in the interior. Yay or nay? We have a new-to-us boat for our world cruising. We're currently working through systems, getting her ready - and considering whether we want to cover the beautiful wood floors to protect them, keep things cool, dampen noise etc. Would appreciate any thoughts.
I have everything planned... Bahamas this winter then head north to New England/Canada next spring/summer. I've have found what I believe is a nicely outfitted Cape Dory 31 but I am still hesitant on pulling the trigger.
Anyone have advice on how to finally make the decision? Or is this not a good idea, and I should wait for a better boat or plan...
Edit: Seriously, thank you all for the feedback. I'm a sailing enthusiast but a novice regarding the technicalities, so I'm relying on your expertise to keep this story authentic. Keep the critiques coming. I'm all ears.
Hello!
I’m writing a historical sailing novel and want to make sure the voyage is technically believable.
The summary of the premise is a solo sailor departing coastal Louisiana in late December, bound for northern Germany in the late 1940s.
The boat is a 32-foot double-ended wooden cutter, built of white oak over cedar, with a full lead keel, heavy displacement, and a high ballast ratio. She’s patterned after the old North Sea rescue boats: not fast, but designed to survive ugly weather.
A few questions for those with sailing experience:
I’m aiming for historical realism rather than a Hollywood movie. I’d much rather have experienced sailors tell me what I’m getting wrong before I write 100,000 words.
Thanks in advance.
Here's the first chapter, to get a feel of the book. Chapter 1 Draft
Just what the title asks. I love me some plantains but I don't want to push my luck.
Hey guys! Future world sailor here. Leaving the home port of florida to travel to colombia this year and from colombia to thailand the next. my dog goes where i go. we are inseparable. just trying to get some advice one where we can’t go together, what will be required of me, and if i can get away with just not declaring him as long as i don’t bring him ashore. he’s extremely well trained. could pass as a service dog. i can get water paper work needed, would rather just not have him quarantined. can anyone share their experiences with me? and please don’t give me the chat gpt answer of “i wouldn’t do that because that’s against the law 🤓☝️” answer. i wanna hear people REAL life experiences traveling with their furry best friend! Thank you all!
So me and a couple buddies are in the navy, we’re getting out eventually soon and we all want to become freelance sailors with our own boat, how would we go about this? We don’t know how much boats are or if there’s an easier way to source them plus we’d love some advice or general stuff y’all would like us to know
I have B&G instrumentation on my 40' sailboat, and I've been struggling with my depth readout. When I turn on my instruments, it can take a long time for a depth readout to appear, and is just dashes in the meantime. It has always shown up eventually, perhaps 10 or 15 minutes max wait time. It will occasionally disappear when in use, but that is uncommon.
Anyone have any ideas on a cause or solution?
Picture is last night of the sun setting over Patos Island from Sucia in the San Juans.
I’m sorry in advance if this topic has been beaten to death. I’m planning a 2 to 3 year cruise starting next year. What’s the best way to manage maintenance medication’s while out of the country for so long? I take blood pressure medication that I can’t go without. Are there telehealth options to get your medication’s shipped from the US or do you see local doctors in the countries you’re visiting?
Hey guys, looking for some advice/sanity check on our 1987 Beneteau First 345. I think we have some minor grid separation happening.
The situation:
My main question looking at these photos is the fiberglass work around the grid. Is this Beneteau's original factory layup or does this look like a previous repair job that has now delaminated?
If there are any other First 345 owners (or similar Beneteaus) on here, could you do me a favor and check your bilge against these photos? I'd love to know if yours looks like this.
My plan is to replace keel bolts and put larger metal backing plates under them. For the grid separation, I want to drill and inject an adhesive (looking at West System G/flex 650 or Plexus MA300).
But here’s my dilemma: If a previous owner did a sloppy secondary repair and laid down extra glass that is now separating, I don’t want to just inject epoxy and glue a failed repair layer back to the hull. I want the grid bonded directly to the original hull.
Has anyone done a such a repair on a similar Beneteau? Any advice on how to verify what layers I'm looking at before I start drilling and Injecting?
Appreciate any insights.
Hello,
I am an engineering student from Slovenia and I have been obsessed with sailing for a couple of years now, but never got the chance to try it. I don't have a lot of money, no access to a boat, only one uncle in my family who used to race big boats but does not anymore, otherwise i do not know anybody who could take me with them.
I want to get experience so I can start renting boats, while I am also studying to get my skippering license.
Because of my limited funds and a packed summer, I had the idea to do some crewing on shorter trips in the Med.
Would messaging yacht clubs and asking if they could connect me with boat owners who would be open to take me with them on their trips and show me the ropes, as well as signing up to do some short crewing, be a good idea?
Again, I am located in Slovenia if that helps.
How would you approach getting experience in my situation?
Thank you!!
Do you rec Embassy Cruising Guide or Maptech? I would like to learn and plan out coastal cruising on the east coast of the US and want to avoid sailing overnight as much as possible
quick question - we have a 42' lagoon cat w/ added solar panels on aft roof deck, dingy is hoisted underneath. Great system and it's worked for years but it effectively blocks our stern light from view. Planning a crossing and want to install a stern light on the top of this rig for >>> visibility.
The solar panels are laid flat in between some wood slats and transom bars (i don't think they're really called that but idk), so there's room for either a clamp mount or a screw mount. I don't want anyone dicking around up there in bad weather so I initially wanted to find a battery operated or solar light I could remotely operate but no such luck. So even though we're tight on time it looks like we'll do it proper and wire it into the system so it's controlled on our nav light switch.
But now I'm debating what kind of light. some people say you need a pole for maximizing visibility, but most of those products seem to fold-away design be for dinghies or other small vessels. Is a more compact casing okay? Like the kind that look more like traditional marine lights? Does anyone know about visibility with those from larger ships? Can they be seen from above or do they have to be at comparable heights on the water to be visible? Advice and/or product recs are welcome. Thanks y'all! :)))
I saw that NOAA issued El Niño advisory and this could be a strong one by winter time.
Curious how sailors are adjusting their routing and timing around it?