Table of contents for May - June 2015 in PassageMaker

The North Coast of the Dominican Republic is a “thorny path” for cruisers in transit, but by land, it’s very much roses, sans thorns. Not ordinary roses, however. Picasso roses, Dalí roses—magical and goofy. It was in that spirit, sitting at a beach bar in Las Terrenas, that I say to Captain Billy Rawson, who hasn’t been back to the States in years, “Forget ISIS and Hillary, you’ll never believe this news: Plaid, paisley and Pabst Blue Ribbon are all back in style, all at the same time. What next? Patchouli?” “Pabst, my father used to drink that,” Billy says. “That’s right. It’s your classic ‘dad beer,’” I say. “Some big hipster was seen drinking it, and now all of American hipsterdom is sucking it down through their manicured facial…

Having spent more than a week running a Swift Trawler 34 from northern Michigan to St. Louis, I admit to being a fan of this small, but very capable, family cruising boat. Her single 425 hp Cummins diesel is well matched to her hull design, offering excellent fuel efficiency at 8 knots and cruising speeds of 16 to 18 knots. When conditions on Lake Michigan got snotty with wicked quartering seas, her long keel kept her on course and under control at a comfortable 14 knots. Equally important, her helm ergonomics and interior space design are cruiser-friendly, especially for a couple—even with kids or occasional guests. Beneteau proved this point with its “Greatest Loop” promotion two years ago, handing one of its ST34s to marine journalists and photographers who successfully…

BLUEFIN USA TOURNAMENT JACKET We all like to believe boating is composed entirely of sunshine and blue skies, but inevitably it is going to rain on our parade. Designed with a tuckaway hood, the BlueFin tournament jacket is slightly longer in the body and features a high collar to keep wearers covered. Water beads off the outer layer, while an interior membrane provides wicking ability for interior moisture and a clever internal channel ensures drainage after being doused. The jacket looks sharp with a trim silhouette and a splash of color under the armpits. Large side pockets provide easy access for gloved hands with enough space for a VHF radio or most hand tools. They also zip shut to keep items secure. As far as keeping you dry goes these…

This engine room detail on a Fleming 58 highlights a number of winning practices. The water pump in the center has a solenoid (see “Troubleshooter: Shake Hands with Solenoids,” October 2014) mounted on top and rubber boots protect the hot DC terminals from accidental shorting. The pump floats on isolation mounts, reducing the transmission of vibration and sound. To the left of and just below the pump is the raw-water strainer for the stabilizer cooling system correctly mounted vertically. Often these strainers are mounted horizontally, requiring the sea water inside to be dumped out at each cleaning. A green 8 AWG bonding wire has been secured to the strainer with a ring terminal and machine screw, ensuring a reliable connection. The bonding connections should have a resistance of less than…

THE LION’S DEN Tony Fleming mentioned that I might like to send this photo into the Letters to the Editor column. I purchased Lion’s Den from Tony Fleming in 2011. I am only the second owner and have had a wonderful time on this very comfortable and practical vessel. Tony Fleming declares the concept of the vessel to be the quietest and most vibration-free liveaboard cruiser possible. The full walk-around queen bed aft, two cabins, head and pantry forward, with plenty of deck space, as well as a medium-speed diesel (1200 rpm cruise), Aquadrive system, specialty engine supports and heavy insulation throughout the boat make this the quietest and smoothest yacht I have ever been aboard. Using some hand sketches drawn by Tony (found among the extensive paperwork that came…

Over the decades I have experimented with a variety of antifouling products and approaches. These have almost always been disappointing, and as a result I have invariably defaulted to the highest copper content antifouling paint that I can find, with my favorite being Pettit’s Trinidad. The red paint contains 75 percent cuprous oxide; the blue is lower. Unfortunately, the paint is shockingly expensive (more than $400 a gallon list, although it can often be found at around $250 a gallon) and increasingly environmentally unacceptable, though Pettit is working toward developing a greener product line. This past year we installed an ultrasonic antifouling system. There are at least four manufacturers of this technology—Sonihull, UltraSonic, Ultra-SoniTec, and CMS SonicShield. Our system comes from Sonihull, a U.K.-based company whose products are distributed in…

Theoretically, adding solar panels would add to the boat’s range under battery power, but there is little room on the boat for more than a couple 100-watt units. When running at 3 knots, the motor requires 2,800 watts of power. While two panels could help keep the boat’s house battery bank charged (ABYC requires that the house bank is separate from the electric drive’s battery bank) they would add little to the boat’s range. While a few more solar panels could be mounted on top of the flying bridge, an important feature of this boat is that its mast and bimini can be lowered to accommodate limited bridge clearances. From a practical point of view, solar panels would add little to this hybrid’s performance. Lithium-ion batteries are more efficient than…

EXHAUSTING MATHEMATICS I share Steve Zimmerman’s appreciation of The Pocket Ref (“Troubleshooter: In Defense of the Pocket Reference” PassageMaker, November/December 2014), but I’m curious about the kind of wet exhaust systems he works on. If I understand his example correctly, the entire 8-foot run of 4² ID exhaust hose would be completely full of water, necessitating 1,356 cubic inches or 5.87 gallons of muffler internal capacity. The exhaust lines on boats I’ve owned carried mainly exhaust with only a modest stream of water injected for cooling and quieting. How does his engine expel exhaust gases if the hose is full of water? —Terry L. Johnson Professor of Fisheries, Marine Advisory Agent Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Terry, while you are correct that the…

Three boat boys paddling backward intercepted us as we entered the anchorage at Île-à-Vache. We had to wave them off to give ourselves maneuvering room to anchor. The reputation of Haiti’s boat boys’ eagerness is well reported. We anchored, and they came aboard just in time. More boats and boat boys were coming, paddling and bailing all the way. The gathering included a grown man in a dugout canoe and some very young boys. Welcome to Haiti, indeed. “Welcome to Haiti. We are here to help you.” We were on our way from the Dominican Republic to Cuba and needed a layover somewhere in between. Cruising guides tell boaters not to miss Île-à-Vache. The anchorage is protected from the prevailing wind and waves, and we’d heard that it’s safe and…

Did Mark and Lori Dickert know that they were joining the privileged ranks of John Jacob Astor, Grand Duke Alexander of Russia, Admiral George Dewey, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild and Ed Wynn? All of them living in the Gilded Age had one thing in common: They all owned Elco yachts. Perhaps the Dickerts did, helping to explain how a young couple decided to renovate a 1930 Elco 48 Flat Top Motoryacht and become custodians of a piece of nautical history. But this is much more than just a restoration. The Dickerts and Moores Marine launched the antique Elco firmly into the 21st Century, retaining all her elegance in combination with a new hull and modern components to make her a seaworthy power cruiser. THE SAWMILL “You…

We began our boating and fitness journey from a hospital bed. Just after our mid-life wedding, fate’s present to us was Jay’s cancer, wrapped in multiple surgeries and tied with a long ribbon of recovery. But cancer also gave us the gift of perspective, and for that we are grateful. Newly armed with a sense of what is and what is not important, we sought out adventure and freedom for our life together—which naturally brought us to boats. Still, cancer had made us physically unsuitable for the cruising life we imagined, and we began a fitness plan for our life afloat. “Fitness” can sideslip a common definition, but “ready for duty” isn’t bad, and allows us to share the notion that fitness is much more than physical readiness. In our…

The relationship with one’s boat is subtle, personal, addictive. Like any relationship, a boat takes time to figure out and work to maintain. The right boat can bring forth deep passion, evoke dreams, beget freedom, stimulate self-confidence, and, depending on the vessel, reveal the humility or self-indulgence of the owner. The right boat can enable a life dream. The wrong boat can become a nightmare of problems and expense. With those opening words from Convergence, a Voyage through French Polynesia, author Sally-Christine Rodgers reveals that she is wise in the ways of boats. She tells readers that her earliest memories are of time on the water with her family and that she’s lived and worked on and around the water for most of her life. She also happens to be…