Getting Weather Faxes, weather GRIB files and sending and receiving email offshore is easy with an HF Radio, a Pactor Modem and Airmail Software. All the steps are shown with screenshots to make it easy for you.
Boats & Boatwork
First we choose a boat, then we spend the rest of our lives working on it.
This is the section of the site for these topics. Read about Choosing Boats or you can look up Performance Parameters for various boats and compare them.
Transferring Your MMSI from the Previous Owner
This article is an addendum to the earlier article on Registering Your Radios with the FCC. You may want to visit that article to fully understand what is being explained in this addendum. Many thanks to Susan Ruse for digging out this information about how the new owner can re-use the MMSI number that the […]
Hang up that Anchor: a DIY Fortress Anchor Mount
Many of us sailors have an auxiliary fortress anchor either as a lunch hook or stern anchor and it’s handy to mount that on the stern someplace. There are commercially available fortress anchor mounts for this purpose. They cost $50 and up. However if you also add mud palms to the anchor to make it […]
Tips for Docking a Sailboat Safely and Confidently
I grew up in a sailing family. I learned by example from my dad, then by experimentation after that. Since our early boats had no engines (nor did they go in reverse!) I did not learn about docking except how to sail a tiny light boat up to a dock and turn into the wind. […]
Interior Nonskid: Walnut Shells and Varnish
Our companionway stairs had worn through to bare wood. The nonskid tape had started to lift in a few places. The entire surface looked tired and un-loved. But how do you re-varnish your companionway stairs? There is no way I can get in and out of the boat (safely) without them, and stripping and re-varnishing […]
Refinishing a Non-skid Deck
Eurybia is 27 years old and the pre-formed nonskid deck was failing. The gelcoat is still in excellent condition, but the non-skid is stained, cracking, and you could see the silvery thread of fiberglass showing through in places. In the past we have used KiwiGrip paint on our decks and we decided to use it […]
