Ocean Navigator - September/October 2022 - Ocean Navigator

Owning an inspected tour boat

Back in 1999, when I had the hare-brained idea that I wanted to operate a tour boat in Greenport, NY at the northeastern tip of Long Island, I already had enough experience working as crew on other boats to know better, but I didn’t heed that knowledge! I also knew that the Coast Guard allows a tour boat to only carry six passengers if it is uninspected and carrying six passengers, unless I charged outrageous amounts, wasn’t going to pay its way. Though I already held a 200-ton master’s license and had been involved in the charter world both inshore…

Charmed by Japan

Like many cruisers hailing from ports on the west coast of North America, we’ve always had Japan on our minds as a natural leg of a Pacific voyage. We weren’t sure about an extended cruise, however. We had the impression that sailing in Japan was daunting — plagued by typhoons, currents, fog, fishing gear, forbidden ports, and impossible regulations. We had understood it was perhaps better visited by air and land than explored by sailboat. The beauty of the culture and country aside, Japan is an undeniably convenient stepping-stone for completing a North Pacific loop. Because of prevailing winds and…

Building electrical capacity

A defining feature of a luxury motor yacht is the efficiency and durability of its electrical systems. Whether at dockside, at anchor or offshore, crew and passengers need to know their vessel is capable of meeting their demands for safety and comfort around the clock. Emblematic of highly evolved offshore vessels meeting these demands are those produced by Nordhavn, a builder of high-end luxury motor yachts in Dana Point, California. Nordhavn yachts feature fuel-efficient propulsion plants, along with aggressive electrical generating and power storage systems, designed to take voyagers across the world’s oceans in comfort and safety. Electrically thinking Before…

Getting AC from the batteries

One of the more useful electronic devices on a cruising sailboat is an inverter. Simply put, inverters convert direct current (DC) battery energy into alternating current (AC) power. They can run much of our common household equipment like cooking appliances, power tools, TVs and electronic chargers. When there is no shore power or a generator available this is a great option. But there is much more to choosing, installing and using inverters.Let’s have a closer look. Basics Inverters are able to increase 12- or 24-volt DC energy into 120- or 240-volt AC silently and on demand. They can be made…

Clipper ship Sea Witch

Although it wasn’t the first clipper ship to be designed and built in New York, Sea Witch is one of the ships that marks the advent of the great clipper ship era in America. During a relatively short period of time, from the mid 1840s to perhaps a decade later, the rise of naval design, as evidenced in the design of clipper ships, transformed American shipping, propelling American ship design into world preeminence. All of this primarily occurred in just two places: Boston and New York. In Boston Donald McCay was making a name for himself with ships like Stag…