The secret to having a successful sailing cruising lifestyle is maintaining a routine of checks. Things break on a boat all the time when you first start out. Over time, however, you start to discover ways and means to prevent a majority of breakages – even checks concerning marine and boat refrigeration temperature come into[Read More]
Kit
The Best Life Jacket for Sailing Cruisers
The Best Life Jacket for Sailing Cruisers? Let me tell you a story first. Never did I expect to be standing under the boom in a Force 10 storm trying to tie down our mainsail. The seas were an ominous muddy gray with enormous white angry cresting waves. The waves were crashing on top of[Read More]
Kit
After living aboard our sailboat full time since 2014, we have some tried and tested kit that we refuse to live without. These are the items we use on a daily basis and make a massive impact on our lives. Before you set sail make sure you have these items or similar. They’ll surely make your[Read More]
Top 10 essentials for living on a sailboat – A woman’s perspective!
Owning, living and traveling on a sailboat requires several essentials – the obvious one’s that come to mind are a working engine, tip-top rigging, good sails, a strong hull and crew that know what they’re doing. Aside from the core basics, however, I have a list of my top 10 essentials for making life on[Read More]
Best Boat Shoes For Sailing – It’s Not Deck Shoes
After living aboard our sailboat for over four years now, we know the best boat shoes for sailing. Surprisingly, in the tropics, it’s not deck shoes. Before leaving land we had to choose between what we took on board and what we left behind. While sailing over 30,000 nautical miles we’ve actually gotten rid of[Read More]
Best Anchor for your Sailboat
If you ask ten sailors what the best anchor is, you’ll get ten different answers. Furthermore, what works for one sailboat/one sailor won’t necessarily work for you. A better question to ask regarding the best anchor for your sailboat is this: My boat is a (type of boat), it weighs (weight), has a beam of[Read More]
How To Install Outboard Stabilizer Fins
Learn how to install outboard stabilizer fins to your outboard motor. Why? Stabilizer fins increase stability, allow for better gas mileage (average of 40%), help the dinghy to quickly plane at lower RPM, increase top-end speed and keep the bow lower at all speeds. (Video at the bottom of article) The only reason I can[Read More]
The Best Dinghy Anchor
What’s the best dinghy anchor? To determine the best dinghy anchor we tested three variations: the folding grapnel anchor, the claw and the Mantus anchor (deemed ‘the best dinghy anchor’). Allow me show you a picture of each anchor, explain why a sailboat owner would need an anchor for their dinghy, and the results of our[Read More]
How to make or buy the best boat pillows
There are three key items to making or buying long-lasting boat pillows! 1. First of all, you’ll want to buy material that is durable. The atmosphere both inside and outside a boat requires strong, long-lasting, UV resistant, mold resistant, easy-to-clean material. On the easy-to-clean side of things, you’ll want pillow covers rather than full pillows. With[Read More]
How to use Spartite to reseat your mast
If you told me a couple years ago I’d be writing an article on how to reseat a sailboat mast, or how to use Spartite, I would have said, ‘What’s reseating,’ ‘What’s Spartite,’ and ‘who’s mast are you talking about?!’ But let me back up. A couple weeks ago we left the Greek Ionian Islands[Read More]
