How-to

Two prominent Ranger Tugs dealers in the Northeastern U.S. have 2010 models of Ranger Tugs available for sea trials this weekend. Wilde Yachts in Essex, CT, is having an open house this weekend (March 13 and 14) and has the R-21 and R-29 available, as well as the Nordic Tugs 32 and NT-37. Essex is [...] …Read More

By Jeffrey Siegel (ActiveCaptain); Videography by Karen Siegel Here’s a great technique for anchoring the dinghy off the beach. Our dinghy weighs about 800 pounds. She’s a rigid inflatable with a 40 HP engine. It’s our family car when we’re cruising and we put a lot of demands on her. So I was telling Larry how much [...] …Read More

We were never out of sight of land on this day-trip, but we still packed the gear we'd need if something went wrong. …Read More

Simrad Yachting said customers purchasing certain new marine electronics products from authorized dealers are entitled to rebates up to $200. While the program runs til the end of June, customers who purchased eligible products beginning February 8, 2010 are also eligible for the rebates. That’s a nice touch. Here’s a list provided by Simrad of the [...] …Read More

With classic American racing yachts, there’s more than one meaning to the phrase, bring’em back. Any wood boat that’s been out there a while will surely have been “brought back” one time or more through restoration procedures that we can reasonably hope are unreasonably fanatical. There’s also: Bring’em back home. Dorade, courtesy Sparkman & Stephens [...] …Read More

Right in the middle of Regata Copa México comes a day of Puddle Jump seminars, a get-acquainted and get-educated opportunity for cruisers outbound into the Pacific. Most of their day was spent in the lounge at Marina Riviera Nayarit, in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle . . . A day later, with the same Private [...] …Read More

HD Theater “World’s Most Expensive Rides” Sunday, March 7th at 9 p.m. EST (check your local listings for other times). Last winter Reuben Trane, owner of Island Pilot was contacted by the producers of Discovery Channel’s HD Theater who were interested in featuringhis DSe Hybrid 12m in an episode about the world’s most expensive rides. The [...] …Read More

A few weeks back I announced that a new Alerion 33 electric boat was on the horizon. Friday I made a visit to Pearson Composites to check on the build progress. Things are coming along quite nicely and I'm excited about getting a chance to tag along on the sea trials. Its looking like we may be only 6-8 weeks away. On Friday, I met with engineer Wayne Burkett as he was getting ready to perform some electrical tests to the motor control system as everything was in place and ready to run. The photo below shows where we were on Friday:  What you see above is the pair of Mastervolt Lithium ION batteries to port and starboard and the chargers that will replenish them. In the very center is the motor controller which is mounted just aft of the electric motor that is the heart of the system. Remember, this boat is all electric, not a hybrid. The motor is shown below:  I was amazed at how smooth and quiet the motor is. On Friday the motor was not even bolted in place on its mounts to accomodate final placement when the shaft and coupling are installed. Even at full RPM the motor was nearly silent and there was virtually no vibration. A far cry from the two or three cylinder diesel this system is intended to eliminate. I asked Wayne about the engineered run time on the two batteries presently installed and the estimate is 4 hours at hull speed. Just to be safe, and allow for a relatively easy expansion of the system Pearson has installed a pair of extra mounting trays for an additional pair of the same lithium ION batteries in case we find out that 4 hours run time is not realistic after testing, or if the owner decides they want to extend their range. Remember, the concept here is based on a day sailor, not an extended cruising boat.  According to Wayne all of the Mastervolt gear and integration to date has worked flawlessly and things are moving along as planned. I can hardly wait to see how it all works once we get it in the water. Stay tuned because I'll be along for the ride when the boat gets launched and will be sure to get some live video of us underway to bring to my YouTube channel.      …Read More

The winners of this year’s U.S. Coast Guard People’s Choice Photo Contest have been announced and the photo above is the winner!  This year’s contest elicited some amazing photos, which you can see here at the Coast Guard’s blog, Compass.  The winning photo is of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous (WMEC 627) as she prepares [...] …Read More

Olympic Laser sailor Tania Elias Calles wants you to know that she sails every day in the best place in the world, so come on down and train with her in Mexico at Bahia de Banderas. That is, train on-site for the 2011 Pan Am Games. She’s so serious about this that she just sailed [...] …Read More