Table of contents for September 2015 in PassageMaker

Iunboxed my first drone in 1983. Okay, it wasn’t a drone, but it was a remotely operated four-wheeled dune buggy and to 10-year-old me, it qualified as the best toy ever. Baja Blaster was a D-battery hog decorated with fluorescent green stickers. It had a spongy suspension, and cool knobby tires. Spinning donuts in our gravel driveway, building jumps out of scrap wood, racing through mud puddles, and bouncing off bare ankles were joys that were tempered only by the technology that limited the car to 20 tire-churning minutes before requiring a four-hour recharge. Even if a remote-controlled boat would have topped my wish list in those days (a SCARAB, first, then a 12-Meter), who was I to complain? After all, it was five-year-old me who would sit, legs-over-transom, and…

It’s no secret that the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway offers boaters a unique combination of spectacular scenery and protected waters. From the Chesapeake to the Great Dismal Swamp to the seemingly endless grass flats of the Carolinas, the Atlantic ICW is a gift from Mother Nature to cruising boaters, with a little help from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It’s also no secret among cruisers that after you cross the Florida/Georgia line and leave St. Augustine astern, the ICW presents some of the most monotonous and flatout boring cruising you’ll ever have the misfortune to encounter. The ditch here can be so straight and featureless in spots, you’ll find yourself begging for the sight of a bridge just to break the repetition. It is little wonder then that, weather permitting,…

Georgia’s coast is geographically defined by the Sea Islands and their many landmarks. You may have even visited one or more of the well-known ones, such as the lighthouse and fort on St. Simons Island, Jekyll Island’s historic mansions, or Cumberland Island with its unspoiled beaches and wild horses. Together, these small and large barrier islands also provide excellent shelter from the open Atlantic Ocean. Behind the Sea Islands, the Intracoastal Waterway follows a maze of tidal rivers through Georgia’s vast coastal plain, offering endless tributaries and scores of anchorages. These big-sky salt marshes are the famous Marshes of Glynn, lauded by Georgian poet Sidney Lanier in his collection, Hymns of the Marshes. Many cruisers complain about the switchback rivers that form Georgia’s ICW. Masts pass each other over the…

Electrical system failures are far more commonplace on boats than they should be, causing frustration because of difficulties in identifying and fixing them. Although the underlying problem is often inadequate design and installation, I want to look at a simple methodology for pinpointing the source of most problems so that corrective action can be taken. All you need is a digital multimeter set to its volts mode (DC or AC as appropriate) plus the exercise of basic logic. I particularly like using a meter in its volts mode, because it is very difficult to hurt yourself, the boat, or the meter. The following methodology presumes that the offending circuit can be turned on, even if nothing works. If turning on the circuit immediately blows a fuse or trips a circuit…

Too much engine room noise on a powerboat not only diminishes your enjoyment of cruising, it also creates fatigue and can permanently damage hearing. Boatbuilders and sound engineers have made great strides in this field over the past 20 years, but maximum sound reduction must be engineered into the design and build of a boat. Unfortunately, proper sound attenuation can be expensive and not all builders take advantage of the latest technologies. If you have an older boat, or one in which the builder did not engineer in good sound reduction, a few options remain available. Here are some improvements that can reduce engine noise in the boat you already own. A LITTLE ABOUT SOUND Sound transmits around your boat in two ways: through the air and through the boat’s…

Before we begin, I will readily admit that I’ve never been a seamstress (seamster?) and, when I was a young man, my mother insisted I learn how to hem the cuffs on my jeans. “You need to know how to sew because, God knows, no one is going to marry you.” Later, as an ocean-racing sailor, I acquired the skills to handstitch ripped sails using an old-fashioned sailmaker’s palm. The highlight of that was crossing the TransPac finish line under a spinnaker proudly flying my shorts, which I’d inadvertently stitched into the seam and refused to cut free. My interest in sewing perked up recently when I needed a cover for my 14-foot rowing wherry and I got some quotes from canvas shops. At first, I thought the prices quoted…

Ever want to meet a legend, someone who shares your itch for adventure? Did reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as a child set you daydreaming about Huck’s adventures floating downstream? If the answer is “yes,” meet the Mississippi River, the lifeblood of the adventures had by Mark Twain’s boys of summer. The mighty Mississippi begins as a small stream at Lake Itasca in Minnesota. As it flows south, it becomes one of the largest watersheds in the world; the drain for nearly half of the United States. The Lower Mississippi River begins in Cairo, Illinois, and flows almost 1,000 miles into the Gulf of Mexico. Cruising this stretch leads you through history, tugging at the Huckleberry Finn memories of our youth with each stop. Although the Lower Mississippi is…

Power to an appliance (a load) is measured in watts. In DC circuits watts = volts x amps (it is a little more complicated in AC circuits). The amps that will flow through a circuit are a function of volts and resistance (given by Ohms Law: amps = volts / resistance). If we get voltage drop in a circuit, the amps go down, in which case power levels take a double hit because both volts and amps are down. High-load circuits are especially vulnerable inasmuch as the resistance of the equipment is low to start with, so any additional resistance is proportionally high and will cause major voltage drop and power losses. Consider a 12-volt starter motor that draws 200 amps and as such has a resistance of 0.06 ohms…

ADVANCED ELEMENTS INFLATABLE KAYAK Nothing beats a quiet paddle after listening to your diesel engine growl all afternoon. Unfortunately, stowing a rigid kayak often comes at a too-high cost of deck space, and some inflatables can leave you feeling like you’re trying to navigate a blowup pool whale (sorry Free Willy). Enter the AdvancedFrame, an inflatable 10-foot kayak that features built-in aluminum ribs in the bow and stern to help provide hard-shell tracking abilities while maintaining the portability of an inflatable. Retailing for $500, the kayak can handle up to 300 pounds of person-plus-gear, features an adjustable seat, and offers storage for extended paddling. When deflated, the kayak comes with a duffle bag for easy stowage. Advanced Elements also offers the AdvancedFrame in convertible, angler, and tandem models. Visit: www.advancedelements.com…

It’s 1400 hours on May 22nd, 2015, and we are looking at the city of Havana off our port bow as we approach the sea buoy at the entrance to Marina Hemingway (23°05.4N, 82°30.6W). It has been more than three years since PassageMaker asked me to organize a U.S.-government approved group of boats to accept Cuba’s invitation to visit. This was finally accomplished by the Florida Cuba Environmental Coalition Inc., headed by Miami attorney, Tony Zamora, when he asked us to join the group of boats invited to fish in the 65th Hemingway International Billfish Tournament (HIBT). Nine were approved to compete in the tournament, and I am aboard Blue Moon, a Krogen Express 52 that is owned and operated by Steve and Judy Walenz of Pompano Beach, Florida. The…

LEATHERMAN TREAD Known for high-quality steel multi-tools, the Leatherman Tool Group has released a new sort of wearable that is about as analog as it gets. Built from rugged 17-4 stainless steel and offered in two finishes—either polished or burnished matte black—Tread is a linked wristband (dare we call it a bracelet) that resembles a watchband missing its timepiece. Weighing a hefty 5.9 ounces, Tread comes with 10 standard chain links and includes up to 29 easily accessed tools. Featuring implements as simple as screwdrivers, hex drives, and cutters, just about any small-size adjustment can be made. At $150, there are plenty of situations for which we can imagine its utility. Visit: www.leatherman.com –JC SPECIAL OPS PATHFINDER To be sure, a good headlamp is far too low on your must-haves…

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Located at the top of the eastern Caribbean chain, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands are among the world’s most popular cruising destinations both for charters and bareback cruisers. Simon and Nancy Scott’s popular Cruising Guide to the Virgin Islands continues to set the pace as the region’s best-selling guide. Judy and I had the pleasure of using the guide’s first edition when we sailed our salty 32-foot ketch to the Virgins Islands in 1983. Although that edition was primitive by today’s standards, even then we found it to be excellent, using it every day for weeks on end. Fast forward three decades and I consider this year’s edition—now in its 17th revision—an almost perfect example of what a modern cruising guide ought to be.…