Could you…let me know what info should be included in a ship log, or send over an example? Lisa P.

I’m fascinated by your comments about Globalstar–do you think it’s a viable option for our cruise despite the company’s problems? I’m reluctant to buy a $1000 SSB modem if we can get satellite service instead…Best regards, Candace

Firstly, let me say how much I am enjoying your books, Mariner’s Weather Handbook and Surviving the Storm. For anyone with the slightest interest in the weather around them and in taking a boat to sea, they are excellent reading. However, I do have a couple of queries:

On page 340 of the ‘Mariner’s Weather Handbook’ you show three photographs of tropical revolving storms, when and where they should not be, one off Angola (West Africa) in April 1991 and two of one storm in the Eastern Mediterranean in January (no year mentioned). It is my understanding that no tropical revolving storms have ever been reported in the South Atlantic (until now) and that the sea temperatures in the Eastern Mediterranean in January are certainly not high enough for cyclogenesis nor is the ITCZ anywhere near the Mediterranean. Have you any explanation for these phenomena and/or a year for the Mediterranean storm (I would like to research past meteorological records to find what conditions actually existed in the latter case).

I look forward to your reply, Brent

Steve – I am preparing to install an anchor windlass on my light displacement 43′ sloop. Primary anchor is a 45# CQR with 75′ of 3/8 HT chain + 250′ 5/8" nylon rode. Secondary anchor is a Fortress FX-37 with 25′ of 3/8 HT chain + rode. I will carry a 100# Luke storm anchor. My question is how to manage multiple anchor lines/chains with a single windlass. I would prefer a low profile vertical windlass to keep weight down and stay out of the foredeck crew’s way when racing, and am willing to live with rope/chain splice and redoing same when any splice wear starts to show. But I do not believe this will enable handling two anchor rodes? Adding a drum to the vertical windlass will handle the second rope rode, but not the chain. What do you suggest? Thank you. – Bill

Hi Steve: I’m interested in rigging a timer to my anchor light so I don’t burn it during the day when I’m away from the boat. Are you aware of any 12V timers I could put in the line to the light or another way to skin this cat? Thank you, Tom

Hi Steve, Absolutely the best investment I have made before going full time cruising is your Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia. However I am hoping you can elaborate on one small statement that I keep coming back to, and it has a major bearing on the type of yachts we are looking at purchasing. As you’re aware, there are many more fibreglass boats to choose from, even in the South Pacific where steel is reasonably popular choice. Which seems to confirm your statement that "on average 1 in 12 yachts that spend more than 2 years in the South Pacific basin ends up on a reef permanently". As I am looking at the South Pacific, the Great Barrier Reef, and the archipelago of Western Australia’s Kimberley Coast – much of which is still not charted – as the areas we most wish to spend our time. I had resigned my looking to steel or aluminium yachts, however I have found a strongly built balsa cored 40′ cruising yacht that I particularly like, but I keep thinking about those reefs and rocks. Any more information you can give me or direct me to in helping me make a decision on whether to buy this yacht or keep looking would be very much appreciated. Regards, Peter

Greetings to you from Vanuatu…We are leaving Paradise in December to return to NZ to find a boat to go cruising for the next three to five years. All going well, we will do a circumnavigation. We are interested in steel boats and I was wondering if you could recommend the best book I could read on steel construction techniques–with a view particularity to proven or recognized standards. Also, do you know of a good steel surveyor in Auckland who could give us an opinion on one boat in particular that we are interested in at present. The reason I ask is because we have had several opinions so far and they are all conflicting!!! Many thanks for your help. Keep up the good work! Gary

I have the opportunity to replace the spars (2) on my boat. It is a 1975 Custom 45′ Steel boat built in Italy (round chine). It has a flush deck. I have been using your encyclopedia to spec out the spars but I’m not clear on your opinion of anodizing Vs painting. To have my spars anodized (about 55 ft worth) will require a mechanically fastened joint. (tanks not long enough for the whole spar). Cost- wise, it’s about a wash. What’s your opinion?

I appreciate your help as I’m a new boat owner and a novice sailor. Your book has been a great help to me and I think the spar maker has learned a few things as well. I’m looking forward to your next book (heavy weather sailing). It sounds good from the ad. Have you thought of making a training film on the subject? Thanks for your help, Steve. Regards, Buzz

I’m looking for basic info on what can be done with the SSB and the working frequencies. I’ve been told that only ham frequencies may reach all locations for example in the South Pacific Any place I can learn about pros and cons? Thanks George

Hi Steve, I’m 6’4" tall and am wondering how soon I would begin to curse the day if I purchased a boat with less than 6’6" headroom. Would you suggest that I limit myself to designs having full headroom, probably in the 45 to 50 foot range, or does your experience indicate that I could adjust to 6’2" headroom and therefore be able to consider designs in the 40 to 45 foot range. Obviously no point in buying something I’m going to hate, so this is a critical question for me. Thx, David

Hallo Linda and Steve: My name is Barbara. My family, it mins my husband and nine years old son, plan to spend a large part of ours lifes on yacht. So our new home is being built and we have some questions how to make living on yacht more comfortable. I bought your book but I did not find few answers:for example, if is it a good idea to make leather seats, what fibres are the best on beds. I will be very greatfull if you help me. Barbara from Poland

Hi – I am looking to set up for some long-term cruising but am a total novice, even at 50! I currently live in Madeira but have worked around the world in the IT industry for IBM, including South Africa, USA and Europe, so am totally comfortable in most places.

The questions: 1. Given the recent weakness of the dollar I would imagine the USA is a good place to buy a used boat (as opposed, say, to Europe). Is this perception correct?

2. If it is, where is the best place/s in the USA to buy, from the point of view of choice in the purchase and the setting up to cruise? (I am also assuming the USA is the best place to set up given access to technology etc.)

3. How long will it take me to do the courses that will take me from novice (all I have is an EU Local Skipper license with no sailboat experience) to ocean-ready?

4. Where is the best place to do these courses, from the point of view of quality, professionalism and enjoyment?

5. The one cost item I have no idea of is insurance for the yacht. Is there a rough guide to this (eg. annual cost per $’000)?

6. What is the best investment I can make now in terms of getting prepared? (Books, Internet research, ???)

Really appreciate if you can help me. I know that some of the questions are probably not directly answerable, but if you could point me in the right direction.

Thanks and Regards, John

Due to our professions, we both have wonderful retirement plans through state and county governments. However, we do NOT have enough cash to pay off the boat— not even close— before we leave. So, the question is: Do people go cruising while still making payments on their boat? Do any lenders allow this? We don’t want to ask our lender just yet because we don’t want to set off any alarms. Does anyone know of any lender that does allow you to take you boat out of the country? We have direct deposit of our paychecks each month, and the payment can be taken directly from the account.

Hi. we’re leaving Ft. Lauderdale, FL. for Charleston, SC, on Thursday; then in about 5 weeks headed for Norfolk VA. Any idea which marina around Norfolk/Hampton makes most sense to leave the boat at (8’4 Draft) from a convenience/security point of view? Regards Phillip

We are planning a circumnavigation with our 3 young children in the near future. We’ve read various accounts of pleasure boats encountering pirates around the world. Is there a place to find the listings of the worst areas, so we can try to avoid them, as much as possible? I know there will be some areas with problems that will be unavoidable during a complete circumnavigation, but I’d like to minimize that risk as much as possible. If it were just the two of us, that’s one thing, but to expose young children to that kind of terror concerns me very much. I’d really like to find out just how likely we are to encounter them. I probably sound paranoid, but figure the more info the better!

Also:

I was told there was a family of five (or 6?) currently doing a circumnavigation on their 60 foot sailboat, and that they were posting details of their voyage on your website (and that they welcomed correspondence). We are planning to do the same thing in just a couple years, with a Morgan 41. We have 3 young children also, so would be very interested in hearing about someone else traveling with young kids.

Thank you for your time!–Anne

Hi. We’re about to install rigid (as opposed to flexible) solar panels on our Cal 3-46: looking at a number of options for placement: atop dodger, atop Kato davits at stern, swiveled at side rails–any comments about optimum placement and subsequent sailing/safety issues? Thanks, Glenys

Steve, In your BEOWULF PDF, and in the Cruising Encyclopedia you mention an exhaust pyrometer. For small Diesels—30 to 60 HP, wet exhaust—what kind, brand and range of temperature, sensor and display do you recommend? At what temperature should the alarm sound? Should I fit it closest to the exhaust manifold or closest to the muffler? Thanks for your constant support, Igor

Where can I find more information about “pillow block bearings” that you mention in your book Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia under the section on Mega Alternators (page 870).

We have a Northern Lights 8kw genset aboard and I would like to mount a high output alternator on the unit. Presently we seldom place much of a AC load on the unit and by placing a big alternator on it we could “kill two birds with one stone”; charging our battery banks as well as providing AC needs and placing a reasonable load on the engine.

The folks at Northern Lights were not overly excited about this idea (side load on the front seal and bearings). Space constraints do not allow for an opposing “slave pulley” to offset the side load of the proposed alternator.

I noticed in your book a reference to a “pillow block bearing” which alleviates the side load problem. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated. Fantastic reference book. Thank You, John and Deanna

I am looking for a source where I can purchase some battery hydrocaps. Steve Dashew talks about them in his Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia?–Lutz

Steve, Do you know of any good buys on a weather fax? Thanks, Don P

Dear Dashews, I have been very impressed with all three books I have ordered and read, Surviving the Storm, Mariner’s Wx Handbook, and Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia…I would really like to relate more to the weather and practice more with the reading of 500mb and surface charts. I am not very good in tracking these down on the Internet even with the use of the wx links in your web site. Could you please suggest which site will offer me the best data for the 500mb and surface charts? I really do not care if it covers one particular part of the world because I would like to be able to study areas around the world with the worst wx at that time so as to relate the forcast info with what is actually occuring. Thanks, Silas

I wonder if you have any opinion on electric propulsion? I am considering re-powering with a Solomon system. I have a 30hp Westerbeke diesel at this point. I am cruising full time with lots of hours at anchor. Comparing prices, diesel/electric, is a definite apples/oranges situation, with the result being that I may decide based on my dislike of the internal combustion engine. Certainly would appreciate your reaction to the this concept used in a cruising sailboat. Ross

We are considering buying a Gulfstar 47 Sailmaster and are interested in your comments concerning the Sailmaster 50. I.E. that it was never intended for world cruising and its lack of performance. Friends that own these 47’s claim the boat sails great (at least the sloop rig) and it does quite well in heavy weather. Any comments regarding sloop versus ketch rigs? Please be specific about why you feel this way as I’m very interested in this boat – as you said, there is massive space and livability.

I am looking at a 63′ 1985 aluminum hull Deerfoot. Could you tell me more about her? Thank you Bruce

A quick review of your recommended cruising boats was interesting, but I was surprised to see the absence of the Tayana 42, 48, 52, and 55. I mention this as many brokers have said they are desirable, well-built cruising boats with reasonable pricing. While the designers encompass Harris(42) , Perry(48&52) and unknown(55), your comments are appreciated. I’m sure you have come across these boats. I omitted the Perry designed 37 Tayana as it has a bowsprit. Thank you, David

I would like to find and visit a Lancer 65 powersailor. They are rare and hard to find. Your recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!–Lew

I am restoring a 1980 Cheoy Lee 44 Ketch. She currently has wood spars. I have been considering having a taller main aluminum mast made with a longer boom and removing the mizzen all together, running her as a sloop. Is this possible? P.S. Love your books!! Best Regards, Larry

In Steve & Linda Dashew’s 6Sept 2000 report they discussed new sails and closed with a comment that they had gone for a single-line reefing system–“details in a later bulletin”. I don’t recall seeing such an article–either in the logs or in Tech Talk. Did I miss it, or is it still to come? Regards, Mike

Please excuse my ignorance; but in your article about full batten mainsail, what the heck is UHMW?

Dear Linda & Steve, Thanks for your really interesting Weather Handbook, which we began reading. It will certainly take some time…Together with our local sailmaker we are constructing an extra-roached mainsail, which will be ready in spring (this is not California). However, he did not know where to get UHMW fabric to protect this sail from chafe. Can you give us some help, maybe another name for that or a company which sells this stuff in the old world? Many thanks in advance.

Do you have a good book on singlehanding? Singlehanding a catamaran? I have my bareboat certificate, recognize that there is much I must learn before undertaking a long solo cruise, am inclined to get a cat. And go from Med across Atlantic, through Panama Canal, up Mexico coast, anchor somewhere for some months. Please advise. Thank you, Jeff P

Dear Steve, I have just finished your Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia. What a book!! It is now on my bookshelf next to Calder, Marchji and Brion Toss – sitting with the greats!! Just a quick question though. You make no mention of wind-vane steering. Have you never fitted this or do you rely totally on electronic autopilots? Thanks, Howard, Cape Town, South Africa

Dear Linda and Steve, We first heard about you two in the Mahina Cruising seminar given in San Francisco this past March by John and Amanda Neal. It was a great seminar and your books were prominently displayed and talked about during their seminar.

We are just about ready to take off for five or so years on a cruising journey which we hope will include the Med, Caribbean and South Pacific. More if time allows. I (Glenn) have been boating/sailing since the age of 12 and am now the ripe old age of 52. I grew up sailing on Puget Sound, the San Juans and Canadian waters and sail/race J-105’s in the San Francisco fleet. The two of us have chartered all kinds of sail and power boats in California, the Caribbean, and Mexico.

Because we understand that you sail on a 78-footer Beowulf, we thought you could help us with a dilemma we are currently experiencing. We are looking to purchase a boat in the very near future. Two boats are under serious consideration. One is a new Hylas 54. The other is a used Farr 63 built in 1999. Both are cutter-rigged, center cockpit pilothouse models. Both are loaded with the latest in nav and electronic gear. Both have in-mast furling mains and a bow thruster. My wife likes the smaller Hylas, thinking that it will be easier to sail shorthanded (just the two of us most of the time). I like the larger Farr which is a bit roomier, has a bit better sailing performance overall and will be more sea kindly with the longer waterline length. The biggest ISSUE is draft. My wife thinks the 9-foot draft on the Farr will keep us away from many tropical locations where we may want to anchor/moor the boat. I say the difference between the Farr’s -foot draft and the Hylas’ 7’2’" draft is negligible and that it would affect less than 5% of the places we’d like to go. For instance, we chartered a Hylas 54 in the BVI and barely were able to join other boats anchored on the south side of Annegada Island where the depth water was 8 feet. We assume the draft on Beowulf is at least 9 feet. Do you feel limited in where you can cruise??

Any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated if you have the time to respond. We look forward to using your reference materials. Kind Regards, Glenn and Linda

I am curious what boats you are designing and building other than BEOWULF. I am actually looking for a boat in the mid-40’s and I am dissatisfied with anything currently available on the brokerage market. To complicate things a little my last boat was a cruising pilothouse multihull, Atlantic 42, which I loved but was impractical for Northeast cruising. Regards, Kevin

I have a Hughes Northstar 80/20 ketch with a roller furled mainsail. This is obviously an aftermarket modification, and it is extremely difficult to unfurl and furl. The outhaul and furling lines by necessity are each routed around several blocks (around the boom, down the mast, across the deck, through a block, then to the cockpit) which greatly increases the mechanical
effort required to move the sail. At times we have had to use our large winch and are putting a lot of (hopefully) unnecessary strain on the lines, deck organizers and blocks. Our best efforts have resulted in still about a foot of slack in the outhaul line at the clew. This is my first experience with such a mainsail arrangement and I have no idea what is considered "normal" operation or configuration. In addition, the car to which the outhaul line is attached moved freely on the boom track until I hit on the idea to lock it in place using a second, locking slide. By keeping the car stationary, sail management improved a bit but it still seems to be much harder than it should be and requires two people pretty much dedicated to the mainsail during furling and unfurling. My original plan of sailing the boat shorthanded or singlehanded is now in question until I can resolve this problem.

Dear Steve Dashew, Many thanks for the fine web postings on the new powerboat. I have a question regarding your anchoring setup. How do you maintain the strength of the G7 chain through your shackle attachment to the Bruce? Do you have ACCO install an oversized link and use, say, a 5/8" shackle? Or do you have a source for high-test shackles? I am building a 19m powercat designed by Malcolm Tennant to be launched early ’06. See you in Patagonia! Thank you, Bill

Hi Steve, My name is Ethan Smith. I’ve got the Ovni 36 “Eyoni” across the basin from Beowulf. We spoke briefly before I bought it. I was fortunate enough to receive both the Encyclopedia and Surviving the Storm for Xmas. Yea me. Both a hugely informative and exceptionally well done, my complements. In your anchoring section in the Encyclopedia, you mention moving to high test and a smaller link and making up the difference (or some of it) in anchor weight & rode length. I’m in the process of redesigning the anchoring system on Eyoni and want to know, in your opinion, if 1/4 HT (G-4) is adequate in terms of swl and breaking strength (schedule 70 better?) for a cruising setup for Eyoni? She is of moderate windage and has a design displacement of 12,500 lbs. The boat currently has 200′ of 3/8 PC with is less than ideal. I had initially leaned towards 5/16 BBB or HT – do I sacrifice much by giving up the higher ultimate breaking strength of the (non-HT) larger links? We made it to San Miguel Is. for the first time on our recent 9 day holiday cruise. It was warm and flat as a lake! Thanks for your time and expertise. Hope to see you on the water soon. Sincerely, Ethan

Hi Steve Any suggestions for a leaky goit deck hatch (the one under the vang)…thinking of putting some wet suit neoprene in the gasket…Very annoying, Phil

Giving us most headache in the construction plans for our yacht at the moment is the heads and holding tanks. I have read all your books now and a few others and we will follow your advice, make it as simple as possible. Now there are a lot of heads on the market and the next one is always better than all the others. Please point out one head that you know works and that you have experience from and is simple in construction. I want to pump from head to a holding tank and then be able to choose either pumping out to the sea or to empty the tank at service stations where available. Thanks for your time and all the best to all of you at Set Sail.

I recently looked at a Wylie 34 that is cold molded. I like the Wylie boats and currently own a Hawkfarm 28. The boat appears to be very well built (obviously a survey would be in order before going to far) but I know very little about cold mold boats. I have a friend (another Hawkfarm owner) who is a very experienced racer and cruiser–he seems to think that cold molded wouldn’t be a great choice for a cruising boat due to the difficulty in having quality repairs done if something happened “in the bak of beyond”.

Do you have any opinions on this? If the boat was sound and the design was suitable, would this put you off (I like the idea of aluminum as well but don’t see many in the 35 ft range)?

Hi Steve, Concerning this SSB / Ham licensing requirement, the Ham route seems like an awful lot of archaic work. I plan on cruising and using HF weather fax, perhaps HF e-mail, and talking with people like Herb (Hilgenberg) and perhaps family. Would I still need a Ham license for these types of operations? Still in a state of confusion. Bill

I have several of your books (my wife accuses me of having them memorized). I spent a number of years cruising on a Bristol 32. This boat had hatches oriented only forward. My current boat is a Freedom 33. I am replacing the 4 hatches. The two on centerline on the cabintop I’m planning to replace with double opening hatches (probably Manship or possibly the Bomar Series 100 cast hatches). There are also 2 hatches towards the port side of the cabin top (which is crowned not flat but was built with flat areas for the hatches but slanting upward towards the centerline). One over the head and one over the galley. Currently they open to port (when open the opening is to port). I’m wondering if it would be better to have them open to starboard. Do you have any advice/opinion on this? I was also considering using the Bomar seabreeze offshore hatches for these 2 since they have the unique venting design. Any comments. Thanks in advance for your input. Regards, Alan

Hi Steve (and Linda), Just read your dryer update, that’s too bad it isn’t working well. Have you ever considered using a household gas fired dryer, converted to propane, with a 110 VAC motor and vented? I am considering this route, but have yet to find anyone with firsthand knowledge. What are your thoughts? Thanks, Bill K. from the USA

Hi Linda and Steve

Thanks for a great book, we have the second edition which I brought in 1998.

I need your help?

My wife,Tina (40) and I (45) have little offshore sailing experience although we have three boats in the past, a 22, 26 and a 32 footer.

We are now thinking of going cruising for a year or more. This would entail the selling of our business , which we started 15 years ago, and the house. We have had about 25 days leave in 15 years and not more than a week at one time. We are just tried of the grind and need a change desperately.

We have 5 kids, 3, 14, 15, 19 and 21 years old of which 4 want to come with us so any boat under 45 feet is going to be tight.

My plan is to buy a boat in the States, spend three months, or as long as it takes, honing our offshore skills and then sailing the Pacific, through New Zealand then back to South Africa. The boats that we have considered are a Beneteau Oceanis 440 or Cal 46 (although most Cals are old and we have never seen one in the flesh). The budget for the boat is $90,000 with a max of $110,000 and $10,000 for improvements or gear. We cannot buy in SA because of stock and pricing problems. Simply there just aren’t any decent boats locally except overpriced Cats. Also found a strange boat on the Internet, a Macgregor 65 cruising version, long and narrow, but has a beam ratio that you recommend in your book. We have only viewed a Beneteau 440 at a local sailing school which Tina likes, I am not so sure. I spoke to one of the instructors and he stated that he would take her anywhere anytime?!

We also do not want to make trips to the States, as time won’t permit this, and it is costly.

1. What boat would you recommend within our budget? What are your feelings on the ones we have considered?

2. We have planed on a monthly cruising budget of $1,000, is this enough? Currently land based budget is about $5000 per month, $900 an school fees alone!!!

3. We plan to keep $25,000 for emergencies.

4. My wife and kids have duel passports UK and SA and I have SA only, where should we make "home base" from a registration point of view?

5. What about boat insurance?

Wish that we could afford one of your boats, even an old one.

Regards, Barry

Hi. Can you help we are looking for cruising insurance. We are at present in New Zealand and are about to set off on a world cruise in our 40ft steel yacht. But are having trouble finding cruising insurance we can afford. Can you help? Regards John

My wife and I have considered buying a catamaran and putting it into a bareboat program. This seems like an economical way to make sure that I have a boat available to me (paid off) when I retire in 5 years.

What would you recommend?

Sincerely Yours, J. Mitchell (Mitch) Patridge, Jr.

Hi SetSail! Following Steve’s lead when building our 50′ catamaran, PAPILLON, we installed sea chests to supply salt water to the watermaker, refrigerator, galley sink and head (stbd side) and genset, head, and deck wash (port). While at dock in Ft. Myers Beach (Estero River) this winter, the water from the starboard side has developed an awful stench–this despite: (a) daily turnover of the water in the sea chest through the refrigeration system (Glacier Bay), (b) cleaning of the chest itself about every 3 weeks, and (c) daily flushing of the head. The water at the sink and head are the real problems, due to sulfur smell. Have you experienced this type of problem, and what can you suggest? (The port side is rarely used and has been left filled with fresh water to delay the onset of the problem.) Thanks! – Julia P

Hi Steve, Thinking about upgrading a boat from a 12 volt system to a 12/24 volt system to handle electric windlass, electric winches, water maker, etc while still using 12 volts for electronics and lights. In your opinion, what is the best route to go? Thank you Crawford

Hi, I just received my video of BEOWULF in the S Pacific…my wife and I watched it twice, back to back, and were totally impressed with the video and of course BEOWULF.

My specific questions are equipment related:

How did you design the water ballast system and which manufacturer did you select for the pump(s) and other controls ? I own an older 60 ft steel ketch with three water tanks built into the hull. The port and starboard tanks could conceivably be converted to a ballast system. The third tank could then be used for drinking water supplied by a watermaker. What volume and therefore weight would you consider to be a minimum to use in such a system? obviously this is hull specific but I do not have any rules of thumb to use. My boat is 60,000 lb displacement. I noticed on the video that you showed a shot of a fuel/hour gauge which was easy to read. Would this be a practical retrofit and if so which manufacturer did you use? In one of your books, I don’t remember which I have several, you had a section on anti roll flopper stoppers? I was wondering how often did you use them and how effective are they?

I would appreciate any advice you can give as we are in the middle of a retrofit/upgrade. My wife thinks that your video is going to cost us a lot of cash, but she won’t let me make an offer to purchase BEOWULF!!! Regards, John

I have a Powersurvivor 80 II. On board I go well at 13 liters per hour. I was thinking of upgrading. Do you have any recommendations? I have a 3.5kw inverter (trace) run 230v 50hz and 24 vdc.

Steve, We are planning a bareboat charter in Tonga Vava’u and the first thing we are doing is choosing the time of the year we want to go. That will depend on a chart of weather in the Tonga region, including precipitation, winds and temperature. Do you know where we can get that chart? Thank you, Mary and Pablo V, Florida, USA

Hello, I’ve been reading Mariner’s Weather Weather (which I find very helpful and readable compared to several other weather books I’ve slogged thru, thanks!) and I was wondering what scale of 500mb and surface charts you recommend I study (as I try to get a hang of this theory before heading out sailing in a few years).

I’ve seen them ranging from very small areas to the world (particularly the 500 mb ones). Thanks, Glen

Dear Steve, I have a Kelly Peterson 46 with a fixed 3-blade prop. I want to change it to a feathering prop. I am intrigued by the continuously adjusting Autoprop which is supposed to match pitch to engine rpm and twist more or less flat to cut drag under sail to 85% of a fixed blade prop. I wonder what happens to the independently adjusting blades when barnacles form and they become unbalanced. Maxprop has less drag under sail but its pitch is optimized for max rpm and falls off (like fixed props) at lower engine rpm. Do you know how well these things work in the field? Any kudos or horror stories. Thanks, Carl

Dear Dashews: A quite wonderful website. The most interesting and informative I have ever come across in any field of interest. I shall certainly be buying some or all of your books. In the meantime, a word of advice, if you have time: I noted your comments about one of the Beneteau designs. First question: do you have a view as to the suitability of the Oceanis 473 for deepwater cruising? It seems to me to be quite a lot of boat for the money in this part of the world (UK) – compared for instance with the clearly excellent but extremely pricey Hallberg-Rassey equivalent. Second question: conceivably you might think single-handed offshore cruising to be inadvisable, but would the 473 lend itself to that, if suitably set up? Third question: do you rate the boom furling equipment now available? – I am thinking in particular of a New Zealand design the name of which I have forgotten but have seen in action. It seems pretty handy and of course permits a a fully-battened main with a decent roach. With kind regards and deep admiration, Neil

Hi Steve. Recently, we talked about a Cal46-2 as a cruising boat for a retired couple. What do you think about the CSY-44? It looks like there are more of those out there and they are priced in my price range. Sidney

Thanks for offering the weather book. It’s an area I’ve struggled to understand well even after passing two FAA written and oral exams on the topic. Hopefully, your book will penetrate more deeply.

Since you began your cruising in a Columbia 50, a SoCal production boat I believe, I’m wondering if you have published anything that *specifically* addresses choosing a production boat for offshore sailing. I realize your Encyclopedia could, in one sense, be considered a treatise on that since it addresses ‘all things cruising and boats’, but I’m looking for something targeted more directly at this topic. Any suggestions? Thanks!

I just received the new book and video. It will take some time to read the book, but I have some comments about the video.

BEOWULF is an incredible boat; however, I must admit that it is a bit discouraging knowing that in all likelihood I will never be able to afford a boat like that. I am impressed with the thought and engineering that went into the boat, and I want to know if Steve & Linda have designed a lower priced boat, or if they recommend any boats in the $100 to $300M price range. Perhaps a used boat. My family of 5 is hoping to begin a cruising life in the next 3 years.

I am continuing to work on re-fitting my Columbia 45 with Mike Conner’s continued assistance.

We are beginning to engineer running halyards and lines back to my cockpit. I have main, jib and spinnaker halyards as well as the spinnaker topping lift halyard. My current main has one set of reef points and I intend to have two sets when I build my next main, so I am planning for two reefing lines. We would like to know whether I should plan to run these six lines back to the cockpit or if there are additional ones that should go back as well. If we run more than six, we are aware of deck organizers that stack the lines so four can run back with two on top of two.

Do you recommend for or against stacking lines with deck organizers?

Can you give a recommendation on which lines/halyards you most strongly recommend running back to the cockpit? Thank you for your input. – Eric

My rigging includes a baby stay that is attached just under the 1st spreader. My mast has 54 foot “I” and two spreaders. This is the first boat I have had with a baby stay, so I am not sure why with this rigging I need one. I would like to take it off for more forward deck room. What are the trade offs? And when would I most likey need the baby stay?

Steve, I have your books and have asked you a few questions in the past which you have very kindly responded to. I have a Freedom 33 cat ketch (freestanding spars). The sail area of the full battened main is about 350 sq ft and the mizzen is is around 214. Both were cut too short (about 20" from the masthead and I’m planning to replace them soon for several reasons. In talking to sailmakers and reading about laminates and triradial construction versus crosscut dacron, so far the feedback is that I can maximize the roach/sail area and performance with triradial construction and use a pentex laminate for about a 25% price increase over dacron. I would also save some weight. The downsides beyond price are apparently longevity and potential mildew. Of course this is not a racing boat and it’s not great to windward but I would like to increase windward performance if it would be noticeable. I’m wondering if you have any opinion for this size and type of boat on the trade-offs. Thanks, Alan

Steve, a local sailmaker proposed an intriguing idea for improving sail efficiency on our Freedom cat ketch. He thought that a sleeve that would imitate the effect of the old 2-ply sails would be extremely effective. He would make it out of some light cloth and it would stretch back about 2 feet back thus eliminating the inefficiency created by our telephone pole-style mast. Do you think this might be an easy way to pick up some speed? TIA for any input. Regards, Dave

Hi: Some time ago, I purchased your book Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia. Recently I have been searching in it for a reference for heaving to or laying to. I can find none. Here is my problem: I am having difficulty in getting my 48 ft Mayflower ketch to heave to or lay to the wind. I tried placing the headsail to windward, the main amidship, and the rudder hard to leeward. It does not work. I have placed the main to windward, the mizzen amidships, and the rudder hard to leeward. This causes the boat to head about 120° apparent. Placing the full mizzen amid ship with about a yard of main amidship results in movement from about 0° to 90°. The movement without the main is slightly more violent. I would appreciate any ideas that you could give me on how to solve this problem in all kinds of weather, but of course, heavy weather is the condition that bothers me the most. Thank you, John.

Steve & Linda: What would be your recommendation on offshore aux. steering? We have a Beneteau 40CC with hydraulic steering. We have an Autohelm ST6000+ autopilot integrated into our chart plotter and GPS with Seatalk. We have solar panels, wind generator, two alternators (a large one dedicated to the house and a small 50 amp. One to the engine), and four 8D gels. Being that we have a center cockpit and hydraulic steering, a windvane does not seem to be the answer. To engage the windvane we would need to go below and put the hydraulics in the bypass mode and run the vane off of the emergency tiller. This does not seem safe.

Another thought would be to put an aux. rudder type vane and just center lock the wheel. Being that we have fixed davits and a scoop/swim platform stern, that is not attractive either. My thinking is a back-up ST6000+ unit. Am I being dumb? My second remark is more of a comment on your Seamanship book.

First off let me say the book, as all the others, are fantastic. My wife and I were a little shocked by the photo of your very young children high up in the spreaders at their ages with no tethers. As a farm boy I was climbing everything as a young child. As a result of a fall, I suffered a broken leg before I was two. This was done on solid ground, not a pitching boat. I know children are monkeys but I question its place in your Seamanship book. Thanks again and we are looking forward to any new works you produce. You guys are our role models.

Hello Steve. First off thanks for writing the Encyclopedia. It was a driving force in getting my wife and I to buy a boat and sail the West Coast from Vancouver to Mexico.

We are now looking to move up in size from our Roberts 44 to potentially an Irwin 52. These boats are rare on the West Coast and abundant on the Southeast Coast. They have 2 keel configs – one has a centerboard and shoal draft of 5’6", and the other is a fixed keel with a draft of 7 feet. I have no experience with big boats with centerboards, and would value your opinion on their merit when going to windward? What do you think of Irwins?

Thanks a bundle, Tony

We are flying to Florida this week to look at a couple of boats. We currently own a ’95 Caliber 40 that we have prepared for offshore cruising. Your Encyclopedia and the 2 hour Offshore video have been very helpful in those preparations. Now that we have our 6,000 sq foot home for sale we have decided that a 40 footer may be a bit small for permanent liveaboard for two people, Just the two of us have lived in this monster house for 18 years. We plan to live on our new boat until I am 64 or 65. I just turned 52 and my wife is 44 years old.

My 30′ Woods catamaran is rigged with a fully-battened roachy mainsail and a roller-furling genoa with a padded luff. The sails are probably seven to ten years old. I can’t get either sail flat, or to set well close-hauled. This is affecting my ability to point, and because much of my sailing is there-and-back weekending, I can’t avoid upwind sailing. Is re-cutting worth considering? The basic cloth seems to be fine, with little evidence of chafe. Thanks for your help, Tim Barnes