Simon Jollands

Safety at sea principles

by Simon Jollands | Boat Handling, Communications, Crewing skills, Emergencies, Navigation, Preparation, Yacht ownership

Safety at sea is not as simple as just spending money adding shiny new emergency equipment such as liferafts, danbuoys, distress flares, EPIRBs and so on. While these items are important, it’s better to view them as an insurance that offers a potential lifeline when...

Nautical paper charts – a reminder of the basics

by Simon Jollands | Crewing skills, Navigation, Preparation, Yacht ownership

In this age of easy to use and highly accurate electronic navigation, conventional paper nautical charts are still regularly used by mariners. Even in cases where electronic charts have replaced them for primary use, paper charts are a reliable backup should the...

Boat interior varnishing

by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership

Boat interiors on the whole are pretty resilient but over time bulkheads, doors, the cabin sole and surfaces become scuffed, stained and suffer general wear and tear due to the marine environment. In an ideal world, the best location to undertake such a project is...

Boat gas system maintenance

by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership

There are correct types of hose for marine plumbing, sewerage, exhaust, cooling and gas and all hoses should be checked regularly for wear and deterioration. Hose clips should also be checked for corrosion. Nowhere is this more important than with the gas system, so...

Marine toilets – care and maintenance

by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership

There are a number of different types of marine toilet, or heads. They fall into one of three categories – manual, electric and vacuum, the most common being the manual, hand pumped type. These have double acting piston-pumps which both discharge the waste and flush...