With more and more boaters switching from incandescent to LED navigation lights there is an emerging problem with VHF radio interference from these lighting sources. LED lights need a constant voltage to perform properly and on most good quality LEDs this is provided by a tiny built-in controller. Some of these controllers, if not properly …
With more and more boaters switching from incandescent to LED navigation lights there is an emerging problem with VHF radio interference from these lighting sources. LED lights need a constant voltage to perform properly and on most good quality LEDs this is provided by a tiny built-in controller. Some of these controllers, if not properly …
What about those banker’s bonuses, eh! All that filthy lucre got me thinking and a plan has formed: I’m opening my own bank – Salty John’s Bank and Boat Shop. It has a certain ring to it. I’ll lend huge sums in boat mortgages to anyone who wants them, the only criteria being that …
Cardinal buoys are, as many of you will know, yellow and black and have two cones on the top which help to identify them as North, South, East or West marks. The two cones point up on the North marker and down on the South marker – very logical. On the West marker the top …
Here are a few more pictures taken along the towpath of the Lancaster Canal. It’s certainly a pretty place when the sun shines.
In this occasional, whimsical, series I’ve so far decided that my ideal cruising boat will be a 40’ moderate displacement sloop with a long fin keel and full skeg to support the rudder. She’ll be no deeper than 5’ and up to 13’ on the beam. She’ll have a deck saloon or pilot house. I’ve …
Here are a couple of articles you may find informative when you’re designing or troubleshooting your boat’s vhf radio/AIS antenna systems: VHF antennas and their installation Troubleshooting your vhf antenna system They both highlight the importance of using good quality cable of the correct size, making good connections and using a top class antenna to …
When I feel like a dose of fresh air and tranquility I head for the Lancaster Canal, a few minutes from home. The canal meanders for 56 miles through the countryside between Preston in Lancashire and Kendal in Cumbria. At one time I’d potter up and down the canal on Minnie, the day sailor that …
I’ve said before that the rolling hitch is useful for attaching the snubber to the anchor chain; an equally important use is fastening the hammock to the forestay. Hammock is one of the few words we’ve taken from the language of the pre-Columbian West Indian natives, the Caribs. Columbus tells us it’s the word they …
I like walking around marinas, there’s just so much to see and reflect on. As I stroll around I tend to settle on a theme for the day: Drooping spreaders, types of bow or stern, cockpit covers or whatever springs to mind on that particular day. On a recent recce I was focused on bow …