Robert MacFarlane - Ocean Navigator

23 Apr

Have sewing machine, go sailing

Robert MacFarlaneNewsletter, Voyaging Tips

The tools The sewing machine onboard Beetle is a Sailrite LSZ1, essentially a walking-foot upholstery machine with straight and zig-zag (but not Federal 308, four-point stitch), which handles threads from Tex 30 to 135 for repairs in everything from spinnakers to the mainsail. Fortunately, I have not had to make many sail repairs underway, the exceptions being a damaged light-air staysail and the No. 2 genoa. However, the machine does get used at anchor for building and repairing all sorts of fabric components for the boat: noseeum screens on hatches and companionway, winch covers, mainsail covers, deck awnings, handheld VHF…

03 Jan

Marina visit checklist

Robert MacFarlaneVoyaging Tips Newslettervoyaging tips

By Rob MacFarlane When I’m cruising my usual practice is to anchor out each evening. As needed, however, my Morgan 45 Tiger Beetle will spend a night in a marina, which is great for a large shore-side food shopping, meeting an arriving friend, and doing work at the yard. I’ve found that visiting random marinas requires a variety of relatively simple accouterments to make life at the dock proceed smoothly. Electricity AC power is unpredictable. The connections I've run into so far are 125v/20amp (Canada), 125v/30amp (USA), 125v/50amp (big slips in USA/Mexico), 125/250v/50amp (other bigger slips USA), as well as…

27 Oct

Windlass setup and maintenance

Robert MacFarlaneVoyaging Tips

By Rob MacFarlane When out cruising on my Morgan 45 Tiger Beetle, I anchor out rather a lot, so I become a good friend with my windlass for managing the ground tackle. A big enough boat will likely require ground tackle too heavy to lift by hand, and an all-chain rode will make it impossible raise — unless you can dead-lift that much weight. Enter the windlass, an enormously powerful geared-down motor-driven gypsy and capstan. I installed a vertical Maxwell windlass mounted horizontally in Beetle's anchor locker; consultation with Maxwell established that there were two orientations of the gear box…

29 Jun

Dinghy parts are important

Robert MacFarlaneVoyaging Tips Newsletter

The ship's dinghy is such a simple thing: a rubber tube, some floor boards, and a motor. What could possibly go wrong? During my six months in Pacific Mexico I got to find out. As an early indication of unexpected required maintenance — my girlfriend flew in to Mexico, I picked her up in the dinghy, we motored out to the open roadstead anchorage a mile and a half out and just feet from my 45-foot Morgan sloop Tiger Beetle the outboard died. In 18 knot winds and choppy water we started to drift offshore towards the Pacific Ocean. I…

08 Mar

Obtaining local knowledge on the fly

Robert MacFarlaneVoyaging Tips Newsletterlocal knowledge, ocean voyaging, voyaging tips

My 45-foot Morgan sloop Tiger Beetle is currently cruising the “gold coast” of Pacific Mexico, Zihuatanejo to Puerto Vallarta, with many interesting and fun small coves and bays along the way to visit. A key item upon arrival is learning what the routines might be and what is going on here — something the cruising guides can’t necessarily provide as the information goes out of date or is not sufficiently detailed. Prior to anchoring I’ll ask around to learn what I can about what’s happening. The best method I’ve found is to arrive at an anchorage, look for the boat…

25 Oct

Setting up for a successful boatyard experience

Robert MacFarlaneVoyaging Tips

My 45-foot Morgan sloop, Tiger Beetle, is back in the water following a good haul out, bottom job, and replacement speedo through-hull at The Boatyard in Channel Islands Harbor, California. The yard was efficient, the travel lift had an excellent operator, the place was clean, and I was able to do my own work. Eight days from lift to launch and all went well. Below are some of my practices that help make a haul out an enjoyable event. Have all materials in hand before haul out It’s no fun to run out of materials in the middle of a…

31 Aug

Remember your friend the engine raw water sea strainer

Robert MacFarlaneVoyaging Tipsraw water cooling, seawater strainer

By Rob MacFarlane A raw-water cooled engine draws in sea water from the ocean, pumps it through the motor or heat exchanger to extract heat, then returns the water overboard. On my boat, the cooling water is combined with engine exhaust gases through the exhaust elbow and wet-exhaust line. An issue with using sea water is there’s no control of what's in the sea water being pumped in — all sorts of detritus can be included, including small fish, sea weed, debris, bits and pieces. The engine cooling system's first line of defense is the lowly sea water strainer —…

27 Apr

Using radar offshore to detect squalls

Robert MacFarlaneWeather

In 2003 I installed a radar on my 1983 Morgan N/M 456, Tiger Beetle, to help with singlehanded races between San Francisco and Hawaii. The Furuno 4 kilowatt 24-inch radome I went with was one of the better small boat radars. The 24-inch-wide antenna provided better angular resolution than an 18-inch antenna, the 4 kilowatt power punched well through rain, and it had a guard zone/sleep feature to conserve power. I would set up the guard zone on the black and white display and targets that entered the guard zone would sound an alarm so I could check the target. I…

24 Feb

Fire extinguishers on the boat

Robert MacFarlaneVoyaging Tips Newsletter

My boat Tiger Beetle is a 45-foot sailboat, basically a long fiberglass tube with three exits onto deck from the interior: a large foredeck hatch anybody can get through, the companionway with a ladder and steps, and a smaller hatch aft set into the cockpit floor. You need relatively narrow shoulders to fit through the cockpit hatch. These are the ways out if there's a fire inside the boat. I keep two types of fire extinguishers onboard: three small dry chemical ABC units for attacking a generic fire, and one Halotron 1 unit specifically for an engine box fire. The…

30 Dec

Voyaging Tips, December 2021

Robert MacFarlaneNewsletter, Voyaging Tips, Voyaging Tips Newsletter

Catching dinner from a sailboat on passage is completely unlike sport fishing from a stationary boat. The goal is to get a fish on board for the grill and dinner. On passage the sails are up and you're making the best possible speed, so stopping the boat to fight a fish is not much of an option. A rod and reel is one solution, though you're working with lightweight line, a rod that can break, and if the fish is large enough you'll have difficulty boating it without a net or gaff. Alternatively, a simple, strong, inexpensive handline pays big…