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Boat maintenance – what does it involve?

by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership

Maintenance involves keeping something in good condition, as close to its manufactured state as possible. The maintenance of a boat involves things like cleaning, varnishing, painting, polishing, antifouling, servicing the engine, servicing the seacocks, and...

Keeping boat records and doing checks

by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership

This is our second post in a series intended for new boat owners and any existing owners who want some help and advice on keeping records and doing checks. Keeping boat records A boat’s records should provide information about maintenance schedules, when...

Boat ownership – some fundamentals

by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership

Owning a boat is a big commitment that should bring no end of satisfaction for the owner as well as the owner’s family and friends. In return for bringing all that joy, a boat deserves and needs a good deal of care and attention. Right now may not be the ideal...

Sailing into a storm

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

Sailing solo into a storm – some lessons learned Weather forecasting has become increasingly accurate in recent years, thanks largely to weather satellite technology and ever increasing computer power. As a result, those of us who go sailing on a regular basis,...

The give-way hierarchy – sail boats and power boats

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

Who gives way to who at sea? Even seasoned sailors sometimes get this wrong and in a crowded harbour this can easily lead to a collision or at best considerable embarrassment for a boat that mistakenly thinks it has right of way over another. I recently went sailing...