Some magical spots in the Seattle area that seem to have escaped notice from other cruisers.
Posted by Steve Dashew (June 23, 2006) | Comments (0)
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Archive for 2006
Pulling Propellors in the Water
As we’re still dialing in the props on Wind Horse, we’ve just had the need to remove our new Hall and Stavaert props for some fine tuning. As the water is very cold, not to mention dark, we asked Dwayne Montgomery at Emerald City Diving in Seattle to handle the job for us.
Posted by Steve Dashew (June 23, 2006) | Comments (0)
Dealing with Engine Blow-By
When diesel engines operate, there is a small amount of pressure which slips by the piston rings. This pressure gets into the block and rocker arm cover of the engine and has to be relieved in some form. Typically a vent hose is attached to the rocker cover, and maybe one from the crank case. The pressurized air which is expelled carries with it a fine mist of oil. After a while everything in the engine room is covered with oil.
Posted by Steve Dashew (June 20, 2006) | Comments (0)
Engine Oil Leaks
Oil leaks and engines seem to have a symbiotic relationship. The oil leaks provide the engine a chance to vent its frustration at being abused, while the engine allows the oil to escape and spread itself out in the world at large (or at least in your bilge).
Most of the time these leaks are tiny, and difficult to stop. Some years ago we had such a situation on Beowulf. It wasn’t until we ran into a diesel mechanic in Maine that we learned how to deal with these small leaks.
Posted by Steve Dashew (June 19, 2006) | Comments (0)
Children’s Safety – Infants and Toddlers on Board
Linda’s advice for cruising with toddlers on board.
Posted by Steve Dashew (June 14, 2006) | Comments (0)
Savu Savu – Cruisers Crossroads
Savu Savu, Fiji – a crossroads that harkens back to the old days of cruising.
Posted by Steve Dashew (June 13, 2006) | Comments (0)
Laundry While Cruising
To do laundry in the Banks Islands, just south of the Solomons, all you need are some rocks, a source of water, and plenty of time.
I have to admit that I’m a laundry junky. I find it very satisfying to wash, dry and iron. It’s one task that has a beginning, middle and finished product in a relatively short period of time.
What a difference 30 years makes! Looking back to cruising on Intermezzo in 1976, we didn’t even consider what it was going to be like cruising with two small children without any laundry facilities. We had enough on our plate converting a racing boat to a cruising boat for a family of four. We took out the second head and made a pantry, took the forepeak bunks and made an athwartship double bunk for the master stateroom, but didn’t think much about how we would handle laundry. When we went cruising, I paid to store our relatively new home washing machine and dryer for seven years – which was silly, as it would have been much smarter to sell them and buy new ones later on.
Posted by Sarah.Dashew (June 1, 2006) | Comments (0)
Prop Zincs vs. Hull Zincs
When we first put Wind Horse in the water, we did not fit hull zincs. We were relying on the prop zincs, and zincs hung from the rail at anchor for galvanic protection. The zincs were being eaten too fast so we decided to pay the drag penalty (small) and weld plates with threaded holes to which we could bolt large zincs to the keel and near the props (four in total).
Posted by Steve Dashew (May 21, 2006) | Comments (0)
Storm Covers for the Hatches
We’ve been using the same detail for hatch storm covers for years. This includes a tight-fitting cover, some form of lip for the cover to fit over or around, and on Wind Horse, a new feature. In the photo below you will see a series of lashings over the cover itself. These are to help hold the cover in place in truly awful conditions.
Although we’ve never had problems with covers coming off in the past, this detail is more suited to the type of weather we may encounter with the new boat.
Posted by Steve Dashew (May 19, 2006) | Comments (0)
RTV Silicone Gasket Material
Some years ago we were introduced to RTV silicone gasket material by a Maine diesel mechanic. He used this to fix a small leak on Beowulf’s Yanmar diesel, and told us that he rarely used paper gaskets anymore.
We’ve since carried an inventory of this material. It is good for replacing gaskets, and if there is a mating surface that is somewhat unfair, where a paper gasket is not doing the job, the RTV is a miracle material.
Posted by Steve Dashew (May 16, 2006) | Comments (0)
Port Townsend
If there was ever a place for boat lovers, it’s Port Townsend, Washington.
Posted by Steve Dashew (May 12, 2006) | Comments (0)
Gone Cruising…Finally
Gone cruising…finally! From Santa Barbara to Neah Bay in Puget Sound.
Posted by Steve Dashew (May 9, 2006) | Comments (0)
About the Dashews
Steve and Linda Dashew have been sailing together for 40+ years. They courted on small racing catamarans in the 1960s. In 1975 they moved up to a 50-foot monohull for what was supposed to be a one-year cruise through the South Pacific. As sometimes happens, plans changed, and it was six years before they came back to land. During their circumnavigation Steve and Linda home-schooled their two young daughters, built several advanced cruising yachts that became the foundation for a successful design and construction business, and wrote the first of eight books about life aboard and ocean seamanship.
In the past 25 years, over fifty of their yachts (Deerfoot, Sundeer, Beowulf, and now the FPB series) have been launched. They have cruised more than 250,000 miles. Their current yacht, Wind Horse, is a groundbreaking 83-foot (25m) ocean-crossing motor yacht in which they have logged 37,000 miles in four years.
More than 250 of their articles have appeared in magazines around the world.
They blog for SetSail about their experiences cruising aboard Wind Horse. Check back frequently to join in on their latest adventures, and browse through the archives for previous SetSail articles from the past decade.
Posted by Sarah.Dashew (April 25, 2006) | Comments (0)
Navigation Course
Hi Linda & Steve: We have recently purchased your four-volume series and find them extremely helpful. We are just beginning our sailing career and are using your books to get that 10-20 year jump (as you say). The message that stands out more than anything else is the seriousness of sailing and being prepared.
Navigation seems to us to be the most important subject (at this point). We haven’t gotten to the weather book yet, however, I know it’s just as important but one thing at a time. We live in Phoenix and keep our boat in Seattle. Can you recommend a school that offers a good navigation course in Phoenix? We wish to keep our boat on top of the water unlike Jubilation and others ( very sad).
Thank you for your help and sharing of invaluable information. Cheers, Larry
Posted by Steve Dashew (April 3, 2006) | Comments (0)
About SetSail
SetSail started life in 1997 as a simple website to share a few ideas with cruising friends. Then several bluewater veterans asked to join the fun. Before we knew it we had a fleet of half a dozen reporters chiming in from around the world and were getting a couple million hits a month.
The band width and administration grew accordingly, to the point where it was starting to interfere with cruising, exploring new frontiers, and family responsibilities. This is, after all, supposed to be fun!
With that in mind, we’ve changed the structure of SetSail so that we can continue to cruise and share what we are learning and experiencing with SetSailors. We’ve imported all our old articles into this WordPress blog, which will make it easier for us to post articles while we’re out cruising. The search engine and navigation will make it easier to find the specific articles you’re looking for. And when we get the time, we’re going to tag a bunch of our articles so that you can navigate by topic as well. Plus quite a few more new features for the website are on the horizon.
Many of you have been travelling online with us for the past 12 years. We welcome you aboard for the next leg of the journey!
– Steve and Linda
Posted by Steve Dashew (April 1, 2006) | Comments (0)
Ventilation (Muggy Memories)
Good ventilation is one of the most important of cruising amenities. Our lessons on this subject came the hard way. We first arrived in the Marquesas Islands aboard Intermezzo in the summer, and we had just two small dorade vents, no fans, no way to open the hatches at sea or when it was raining, and an awning that was awkward to use with blue stripes which increased the temperature substantially. Oh, and the topsides were a dark blue/gray shade, nicely absorbing the morning and afternoon heat. If you want a primer on ventilation, just do the opposite of everything we started out with!
When anchored or moored so the boat can swing head to wind, the foredeck hatch is usually best opened facing aft, so air can exhaust through it. Adding a foredeck awning will enable the hatch to be left open during rain squalls.
Posted by Steve Dashew (March 16, 2006) | Comments (0)