Marina creep is a term I’ve created to describe the knotting dark feeling that a cruiser gets after day three of being in a marina. By the third morning, a marina moored sailor wakes with a heavy heart and a sense of dread that seems to appear from left field. Let me back up so[Read More]
Maintenance
What happens when a boat undergoes a refit?
My husband and I borrowed a car and went into town to grab some groceries. We ran into another boat owner at the local Greek AB Grocery store. He asked us if we’d be moving on soon and we replied enthusiastically, ‘YES’! We’ve just finished a six-week period on the hard with our boat, Britican,[Read More]
How to fix a topside hatch from leaking
As we have quickly discovered, boats leak from all sorts of areas – and often, the water enters a spot nowhere near the apparent leak. While preparing for a 850+ mile journey from Gibraltar to Malta we discovered a minor water flow coming out of one of our cupboards. At first we thought the water was making it’s[Read More]
The trials of a new boat owner – a tale of coincidence, corruption and contempt for the marine industry
My mind feels all jumbled up. There’s so much I want to say but I’m not sure if I can take the jumble and detangle it. The events of my life over the past few months as a new boat owner seem to be guided. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that there’s[Read More]
When I thought things couldn’t get any worse, they have – looks like we might have fried our propeller shaft
Right now I’m full of anger with myself. Looking back, I didn’t do enough. I didn’t pay enough attention during my Diesel Marine Engine Course and I didn’t research the most important things to know before taking over a second hand boat. Yes, we had a 35’ Moody sailboat for a couple years but the[Read More]
Diesel marine engine course – Top 10 interesting tid-bits I learned
Why would a sailor take a diesel marine engine course? My husband booked us on a Diesel marine engine course after we decided to trade our 6 bedroom house for a floating 56′ home. Upon hearing news of the course I thought, isn’t it more important to learn how to sail better, but then I[Read More]
