Table of contents for October 2016 in PassageMaker

This shot was taken on the final day of the Nordhavn2AK Rendezvous which took place in Petersburg, Alaska, July 8th through 10th. The photo is of the downtown area and marina in Petersburg. Most of the 30 Nordhavns in attendance had already left and made their way to an anchorage north of town. As this photo proves, one of the great things about taking photos in Alaska during the summer is the long days. This was taken at 9:30 in the evening! San Clemente, California Love to shoot pictures? Want to share your adventures? Send us your favorite high-resolution photos with a short description, and we’ll showcase our favorites in Viewfinder. For consideration, email: editor@passagemaker.com…

Unplanned, rogue wakes. A heavy cooler in one hand, feisty trawler terrier in the other; under the right (wrong?) conditions there is a certain reckless abandon involved in getting from your swim platform or dock into your tender. But, fear not! Forespar’s new davit kit comes complete with a pair of quick-release snap davit heads and two dinghy pads that are permanently adhered to one side of almost any inflatable dinghy. Once installed, the units form what is essentially a hinge between tender and trawler, creating both a far more stable anchor point for entry as well as a quick and easy way of storing your tender securely when underway. To release the dinghy from its connection, simply push it into the water and pull back the spring-loaded, easy-grip release…

“Buenas tardes.” Those were the first words we heard as our 34-foot PDQ powercat, Thing 1 Thing 2, was greeted by the Tropas Guarda Fronteras upon our arrival to Marina Hemingway on the outskirts of Havana. My crew consisted of my sons, Nico (16) and Andy (14), and my wife, Cuqui, and we were ready to explore all the island had to offer. Nautical charts do not accurately reflect the distance between Key West and Havana. I’m not referring to the 90 linear miles that separate the two cities, but to the regulatory hurdles that must be overcome before making this otherwise straightforward trip. On the U.S. side, Coast Guard permits, Office of Foreign Asset Control licenses, and Bureau of Industry and Shipping permits must be obtained before undertaking a…

Imagine being able to create a bareboat charter company using the best minds in the business. Imagine being able to have the financial resources to design and build the optimum line of boats for bareboat and crewed charters. The result would be MarineMax Vacations–a nextgeneration charter company. Several years ago Lex Raas and Raul Bermudez teamed up with Bill McGill, the CEO of MarineMax, to create a charter vacation company from the ground up. If you are not familiar with MarineMax, they are the largest retailer of boats and yachts in the world, with 56 retail showrooms and locations in 16 states, primarily in the eastern half of the U.S. and California. Being a part of the MarineMax family as a customer includes assistance with other services like service, insurance,…

ONE TOUGH JOE From OXX Products comes a coffee machine designed and built to withstand the rigors of muddy jobsites, so we figure it will stand tall to the demands of saltwater cruising. The CoffeeBoxx is a ruggedlooking, singleserve (pod drive) coffeemaker. It comes in a blackandlimecolored cube of plastic that looks like an Otterbox cellphone case started lifting weights on the weekends. Burly, rustfree, and crushproof (if don’t believe me, check out the video of a CoffeeBoxx supporting an SUV by each wheel on their website), CoffeeBoxx can be sprayed down with a hose, kicked by a horse, blown up with firecrackers (that’s on the site, too), and tossed in a dinghy to brew fresh joe anywhere there is an AC outlet. We imagine it can also be used…

NEW SABRE Downeast model to fill the gap between their successful 42-and 48-footers. Like all Sabre designs, the fully enclosed 45 Salon Express will ship standard with twin Volvo Penta IPS drives that they estimate will get the model to a performance cruising speed around 27 knots, but the top-end speed is only part of the story. Designed with copious drawer and hanging locker stowage, the 45 will also feature a utility space that pushes this model into the long-range coastal cruising category. Lying just forward of the engine room, accessed through a hatch in the sole, the utility space can house a number of optional gadgets. If you want to save your fresh catch for another day, throw in an extra fridge or freezer. If you prefer to reduce…

Did you know that some areas of the U.S. coastal chart you’re using may only show land and bottom features accurate in position to +/-1,600 feet? You shouldn’t have confidence in the depth soundings, either. However, NOAA now has a new way to show us how old and potentially inaccurate much of its survey data are, and it will surely give pause to those who pay attention. Zones of Confidence (ZOC for short) is rolling out gradually as diagrams on paper-style raster charts, but the ZOC changes are coming much faster to NOAA’s ENC vector charts. It could be made easily accessible on the commercial vector charts you’re probably using. NOAA is replacing the Source Diagram box that’s printed (over land) on most detailed charts (usually up to 1:80,000 scale)…

About 20 years ago, I ran a sea trial on one of the first Ellings and remember being disappointed to see that on a six-berth yacht there was only one head. Elling has come a long way since those days. Although the new Elling E6 still has six berths, there are now three en suite heads—one for each double cabin. Ellings have also grown in size, with the latest yacht crossing the line at 65 feet, and are built to include all the luxury and much of the seaworthiness that you would associate with a yacht of this size. SHIPSHAPE Boat owners that are more showmen rather than seamen may not be instantly drawn to the E6, but real cruising boaters won’t be let down by her abilities. Here you…

A photograph is art. If you like it, nothing else matters. But four simple elements can drastically improve your art and make your photographs pop. It’s not hard to do, it just takes a little practice. Best of all, there is nothing new to buy, because any camera, iPhone-users included, can take amazing pictures. In fact, all of these practices can be done with your camera phone. The keys to any stellar photograph are: composition, light, exposure, and editing. COMPOSITION: How do you compose? Tell a story. The benefit of good light, exposure, and editing in your pictures is lost if there is no story to tell. Frame the photograph purposefully. Balance the elements. When in doubt, get closer and isolate the subject. The photo of a Heron on page…

After a good run, you shut down the engine for the day and settle into a nice anchorage. The following morning, cup of coffee in hand, you press the start button and the engine won’t start. “How can that be,” you wonder. “It ran fine yesterday.” If I were the unlucky skipper, I’d repeat the process. Assuming no imminent danger, I am better off if it still won’t start, because if it does eventually start, I’m likely facing an intermittent problem, one that will be far more difficult to solve with an engine that does start. The situation can be divided into two basic scenarios: The engine will not crank at all, or it cranks, but will not start. ENGINE WILL NOT CRANK Before doing any troubleshooting, check the shift…

Fall is in the air. Here in the Pacific Northwest the days are getting shorter, the evenings are definitely cooler, and the tree-studded hillsides are announcing the change of season with showy bursts of red, yellow, and orange. Up and down the coast, mariners are returning to their winter slips. Shouts of welcome can be heard throughout the marinas; friends and neighbors looking forward to reuniting and sharing their summer cruising adventures. It is the perfect time to gather fellow cruisers for a simple meal and lively conversation. Now that the sun is setting so much earlier, why not take advantage of the midday glow and host a late morning/early afternoon brunch? Keep the menu simple: a hearty, flavor-packed egg dish served with a robust artisan bread or a veggie…

Maintaining your fuel filters is an essential practice. Each time you change the primary fuel filter, diesel must be added to the filter housing. This custom-built, 46-foot Downeast cruiser has a pump for that very purpose, making the job much simpler and far less messy. The white cover at the right opens, exposing a switch to activate the priming pump. The small filter in the center of the photo (just below the white box) filters the fuel before it goes into the main fuel filter, providing an additional level of protection. Note that this small filter has a green bonding wire firmly secured to it. The valves at the left of the photo direct the priming fuel to the main engine or genset filter as needed. The blue hose meets…