Table of contents for September 2020 in PassageMaker

Until recently, digital switching has only been available on new, higher-end boats. Today, quite a few systems are on the market for used boats, with more coming. This means that even if you’re not getting a new boat, you can still get a new digital-switching system. Digital switching is a networked way of replacing conventional DC mechanical circuit breakers and switches. The digital systems are programmable, offering the benefits of automation. They also reduce weight, and place the boat’s switching into a weather-sealed, highly reliable package. With traditional DC switching and power distribution, there’s a centralized electrical panel with large cables from the boat’s batteries. For each circuit, there is a wiring run from the panel to the point of use. On my boat, this means loads like the freshwater…

Ever since the first time Sir Bartholomew Boater grabbed hold of a king spoke, waved to the throng of envious masses on the dock and exclaimed, “Well, I’m outta’ here … see ya when I see ya!” the intrigue of exploring the great beyond has beckoned many a curious seafarer. Famous “reach” destinations with romantic names like Fiji, Patagonia and the Faroe Islands advertise themselves as the world’s best-kept secrets for voyagers who’ve been drawn to them for ages—whether in reality or as a missing notch on an ambitious bucket list. But as fall sets in, with most parts of the country’s attention still consumed by a rather inconvenient pandemic, many long-range die-hards have been resigned to downscale their adventuresome spirit as they seek to revisit worthwhile destinations closer to…

My side of the family likes to think our Norwegian blood is of the Viking variety. Almost every nautically inclined family member has been to the Pacific Northwest for the legendary cruising. Last summer, my dad, husband and I got the chance aboard our recently purchased 40-foot DeFever Caliente. “Hey Dad, where are we going to go?” I asked as we sat on board in Anacortes, Washington, the day before we were scheduled to get underway. He handed me the Waggoner Cruising Guide and a spiral-bound book of charts and said, “You tell me.” The next morning, after a meander through the 107-year-old Marine Supply and Hardware—ye olde curiosity shoppe of hardware stores—we headed for Sucia Island on some of the glassiest, calmest seas I have ever seen. Sucia is…

NEW BOATS NEW OFFERINGS FROM NORTH PACIFIC YACHTS North Pacific Yachts has announced additional versions of two popular models, both hitting the water this fall. There will now be traditional and Euro versions of the NP49 Pilothouse, and traditional and wide-body versions of the NP44 Sedan. The NP49 Pilothouse Euro will have more modern exterior and interior styling. The original two- or three-stateroom layouts are available, or owners can choose a new amidships master design with large hull windows and a forward VIP. The Euro version also has a contemporary salon with an aft galley, larger opening glass doors, larger windows throughout the boat, and a larger cockpit with integrated seating. A new twin-engine option reportedly delivers up to 21 knots, or the original engine package is still available, providing…

Apparently, it all started with olive oil. In the 4th century B.C., the principle behind screw threads came into use for pressing the oil out of olives. Two millennia later, we have far more options. Every boat owner eventually runs into choices between fine and coarse threads; self-tapping and wood screws; and lock washers and lock nuts. Sometimes, we need a compound to make sure we can take it apart later. Sometimes, we want a compound to make sure it won’t come apart later. Let’s look at the numerous options so that you will be prepared the next time you need to hold it together. SCREWS Screws work well for noncritical fastening situations, such as attaching trim, securing a Bimini frame, or installing a flag socket. If you are depending…

I was sprawled on our flybridge in a quiet cove in the British Virgin Islands, gazing at the brilliant stars dotting the black sky, when suddenly I wondered if a young sailor, perhaps on the verge of raiding a treasure galleon lumbering down the Spanish Main, had watched these very same stars from this cove and hoped he would survive to see another night. So much would have been the same: the tug of the anchor in the warm trade winds, the smell of the damp island, the soft sound of waves shushing onto a sandy beach. But I had satellites in my night sky. My companions, sharing rummy drinks with clinking ice, delighted in pointing out each one as it slid across our velvety sky. The BVI are arguably…

“Welcome,” Rodger Morris says as he waves me aboard the Cape Ross. We are on Seattle’s Duwamish River, and he is precisely the type of man who dominated the city and its environs before Big Tech moved in. A professional woodworker, captain and marine surveyor, Morris has already lived a career as a shipwright, and another as a commercial fisherman in Southeastern Alaska. His demeanor is tranquil, and his vaguely wizardly mane of silver hair, along with his calm baritone voice, make him seem fit to read poetry on National Public Radio. He’s the kind of man I’d expect to find aboard this kind of boat. The Cape Ross was built in 1952 by Sterling Shipyards Ltd. of Vancouver, Canada, for the Canadian Fishing Company. All wood with a length…

“Why are you sleeping outside?” asked She Who Must Be Obeyed. “I’m not.” “OK, let me rephrase. Why are you lying on your back on the pool chaise at midnight?” “I’m looking at the stars.” She made one of her patented snorting sounds and disappeared back inside, leaving me alone with a black sky pierced with zillions of stars. I love the stars. My dad was a B-24 navigator during World War II, and so evenings on our boat were often about the stars: “There’s Orion, there’s Sirius, there’s the Big Dipper, follow its edge to Polaris, the North Star.” But to me, the stars are more than just my father’s love. Stars are a part of yachting life. As the sun sets when you’re far off shore, it’s always…

I distinctly recall the first time I laid eyes on Maine’s Penobscot Bay. I was making my inaugural visit to a friend who had moved to a rustic spread just inland from Camden and Rockland. The drive from Boston took me from the heavy vacation traffic of Interstate 95 down to iconic Route 1 and then northeast along one of the most alluring shorelines in America. As a young sailor obsessed with boats and maritime history, I saw that part of the Maine coast as a dazzling Disney World of decadent delights. Its craggy coves, historic harbor towns and old-school shipyards, and the hills rising dramatically above it all, embodied my ideal of what a seacoast should be: an area that takes no work to love, nor any work to…

Jim and Lisa Favors wanted their children to experience the joy they remembered as kids boating with their families. They purchased a 21-foot Four Winns to cruise the Great Lakes. Once the kids were older, the couple graduated to a 42-foot Silverton and, next, a 40-foot Fathom that they used to cruise the Great Loop. But after five years aboard the Fathom, embracing freedom and having plenty of adventures, the couple rethought the way they were spending time with family and friends. That led them to imagine boating in a new way. They bought a house on land in Traverse City, Michigan, downsized to a 27-foot Ranger Tugs luxury edition (with a diesel generator and air conditioning) and embraced the trailer trawler lifestyle. Six years later, they moved up a…

The great thing about salmon is that it represents summer. Cooking and eating salmon is about as good as it gets during the warmest months of the year. The aroma of salmon caramelizing over a barbecue is glorious. Serve the fish with blueberry salsa, and you have pure bliss. This recipe for grilled salmon celebrates all the sensual flavors and freshness of summer. Salmon is perhaps the most visually striking of the world’s fish: sleek and silvery, with a buttery and succulent flesh. The blueberry salsa adds sweet and sour tones, and is a great way to enjoy healthy fruits and vegetables. Blueberry salsa is packed with vitamins and nutrients. My version is an absolute summertime staple, and my husband could eat it with tortilla chips three times a day.…