Attainable Adventure Cruising

Marine Electronics Recommendations—Communications

John Harries — Wed, 28 Oct 2026 20:53:18 +0000

Article

Recommended VHF radios, satellite phones, AIS, and Navtex equipment for cruising boats.

Charging Sources to Keep, Buy or Scrap

John Harries — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 20:16:40 +0000

Article

Sorting out the charging sources on a new-to-us boat will make our batteries last longer and can actually save us money, but getting this right can be tricky.

Source

Learning To Cruise By Racing

Mathieu Jolin — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 20:24:56 +0000

Article

If we want to go cruising, a great, and above all fun, way to get the requisite experience is to crew on a race boat. And it's easier to get aboard than you might think.

Source

Cruising Rigs—Sloop, Cutter, or Solent?

John Harries — Sat, 12 Sep 2026 19:54:43 +0000

Article

Which of the three common cruising rigs is best? Like so many things around voyaging, all three have advantages and drawbacks. John takes a deep dive that will help you pick the one that's right for your needs and then shares his two favourites, one for offshore and one for inshore.

Source

Lead-Acid Specific Charging

John Harries — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 13:54:35 +0000

Article

It's easy to assume that we are charging our lead-acid batteries correctly, but if we are getting less than 1500 50% deep cycles out of our lead-acid battery bank before significant capacity loss, we need to read and implement this chapter.

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Calibrating Battery Monitors

John Harries — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 18:51:33 +0000

Article

The single biggest bitch we hear about battery monitors is that they are always wrong. You are not alone. Here's how to fix that so we can manage our batteries for long life.

Source

38 Tips On Being A Good Skipper—Part 3, Crew and Anxiety Management

John Harries — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 16:01:00 +0000

Article

There are all kinds of books and articles on leadership, but skippering a yacht offshore crewed by friends and/or our intimate partner is a unique situation that requires a different approach.

Source

38 Tips On Being A Good Skipper—Part 2, Making Decisions

John Harries — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 20:16:33 +0000

Article

It's just common sense that making good decisions is a big part of being a good skipper, but there's a lot more to it than that.

Source

38 Tips On Being A Good Skipper—Part 1, The Basics

John Harries — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 17:46:30 +0000

Article

Being the skipper on a recreational vessel is one of the toughest jobs on the water, and yet the challenges are rarely explored. Let's change that.

Source

Review of Sound Signals, Particularly In Fog

John Harries — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 19:34:52 +0000

Article

Most of us just carry an air horn to satisfy the law and then don't think much more about it, but the arrival of an interesting new alternative got John to dig deep and in the process he also found that the marine industry is overselling us in a couple of ways it's worth knowing about.

Source

Lithium-Specific Charging For Maximum Life

John Harries — Sun, 24 May 2026 14:57:51 +0000

Article

If ever there was a subject where the devil is in the details it's this. John takes a deep dive while dispelling a lot of myths.

Source

22 Tips for Handling Heavily Loaded Lines

Eric Klem — Sun, 10 May 2026 20:00:00 +0000

Article

Even on quite small boats the loads on lines can be dangerous if we don't handle them properly. Eric brings experience as a tall ship officer, engineer and sailor to bear on reducing the risks and making things easier.

Source

Choosing The Right Size Cruising Boat

John Harries — Sun, 03 May 2026 19:37:37 +0000

Article

So what boat size is best for offshore cruising? There is no one length. Rather, we must understand our own needs and then relate them to two little discussed criteria, not length.

Source

Charging Batteries For Long Life and Peak Efficiency

John Harries — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 18:57:23 +0000

Article

The details of how batteries charge (both lead acid and lithium) and how voltage regulators work together...or not. Practical information that will help you charge your batteries efficiently and without damaging them.

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Design Ratios, Part 2: Shape & Stability

Matt Marsh — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 10:37:39 +0000

Article

Many people select a cruising boat at least partly by watching YouTube boat tours. That might be useful, although much of it isn't, but here's the hard numbers we need to think about in order to end up with the right all-around cruising boat for our needs.

Source

Choosing The Right Cruising Boat—Some Critical Ratios, Part 1

Matt Marsh — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 10:56:01 +0000

Article

Before we buy a boat, whether sail or motor, we need to figure out whether she is the right displacement (size) for our needs, but that's only the start of the selection process: Does she have enough power (sail area and/or engine) and how will she perform generally, and much more.

Source

Choosing a Battery Monitor

John Harries — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 18:16:44 +0000

Article

Years ago we could get away with a volt meter, but in these days of ever-more complex DC electrical systems, a good battery monitor is required.

Source

Things To Know About Keels & Grounding Repair

John Harries — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 19:55:27 +0000

Article

What is really involved in repairing the damage from running aground? John interviews a composite technician who has fixed a bunch of boats right to get to the real truth.

Source

Running Aground Happens

Mathieu Jolin — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 15:04:27 +0000

Article

Cruisers are divided into two groups, those who have run aground and admit it, and those who lie about it—a deep dive from one of the former.

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What To Do When Caught Aback

John Harries — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 19:09:44 +0000

Article

Prudent sailors rig a preventer, but what should we do when caught aback after an accidental jibe?

Source