Power Voyaging - Ocean Navigator

Understanding and Choosing Chain

At the dinghy dock the other day, a cruiser, clearly frustrated, was grumbling, “I bought all of this chain and I just can’t get it to work in my windlass!” Unfortunately, we hear laments like this all too frequently, but it doesn’t have to be. For voyagers looking to get the right chain the first time for their power voyaging boats it’s helpful to understand chain manufacturing standards, grades, sizing, and when necessary, its fitment to a gypsy. First off, if a windlass is not involved then just about any chain can be used as long as it has the…

AC raw water failure avoidance

Most marine air-conditioning units rely on seawater for their operation. The pumps and plumbing associated with these systems can pose a significant flooding threat, one that is exacerbated by the sheer volume of hose that is required to plumb the average cruising vessel’s condensers. For these and other reasons detailed below, HVAC raw water systems benefit from close scrutiny. Air-conditioning 101 Air conditioning systems aboard most boats rely on raw or seawater to cool down pressurized, hot refrigerant after it leaves the system’s compressor. Via a heat exchanger or condenser, the seawater absorbs heat from the refrigerant, heat that has…

The critical role of bonding systems

“It’s the result of a bad ground!” How many times have you heard this when someone is evaluating a corrosion or electrical problem? But what exactly does that mean, why is it important and can it really be the cause of so many of these issues? In my experience, while it can be the source of a problem, this is a fallback phrase, used when folks really aren’t sure what the problem is or how to evaluate it. If it’s corrosion related, then whoever is making this pronouncement should be able to draw a diagram representing the scenario, and that’s…

Spinning up a solution to rolling

Rolling underway? Ugh! It’s the bane of power boating. It turns some folks green. Over the years, various methods of dampening this sickening side-to-side motion have been developed —paravanes, stabilizer fins and gyro stabilization. Now comes the new, new thing: rotor stabilization. We were recently given the opportunity to sea trial the very first American installation of one of these systems. As life-long delivery skippers who’ve run hundreds of passage-making motor vessels, sometimes by necessity in heavy seas, we were very curious to check out this rotor stabilization system. According to their Dutch maker Dynamic Marine Systems, rotor stabilization is…

Lessons learned to spare

The famed Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen once said, “Adventure is just another word for poor planning.” In Amundsen’s time explorers were very much on their own, without the support of a vast electronic safety net and boundless rescue assets, and the best of them did everything in their power to avoid the unexpected; they had “everything in order.” There’s something to be said for this approach, particularly where cruising vessels are concerned. As the manager of a busy boat building and refit yard for more than a decade, and 15 years as a marine systems consultant, I’ve learned many…

Power Tripping

“Jeff, you would be proud of me. I was alone onboard and lost power in the middle of the night. The first thing I thought of was that maybe the onboard shore power breaker tripped. I grabbed a flashlight and looked where you showed me the breaker was located. It was a simple fix to cycle the breaker and restore power, thank you!” (Cindy C. – Selene 53). All of the comforts of home are expected features aboard trawlers. The underlying source that allows us to indulge as if we were ashore is the magic of electricity. You probably don’t…

Managing a power rally to Mexico

Christy Donnelly aboard Varnebank running the med-evac emergency, using three mics – the California Baja ham net frequency and two different VHF channels Christy Steinman-Crawford Donnelly herded a fleet of 30 recreational powerboats on a 1,000-nautical-mile voyage down to Mexico, as communications director for the 2019 Cruise Underway to Baja Rally (CUBAR), a bi-annual cruise from San Diego to La Paz, Baja for 30 to 50 powerboats. It was an odyssey that included one medical evacuation at sea. Of course, that was not her first rodeo. Donnelly has navigated and sailed with the “best of the best.” She navigated…