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Offshore Brief

Upgrading leaking steering systems on older production cruisers

Upgrading leaking steering systems on older production cruisers

Every steering failure I've watched someone troubleshoot at sea began the same way: a vague unease at the helm, a tiny bit more play than yesterday, dismissed because everything still worked. Then the wind pipes up to 25 knots, you need to bear off fast, and the wheel

Inspecting chafed dock lines and halyards before ocean passages on bluewater boats

Inspecting chafed dock lines and halyards before ocean passages on bluewater boats

The line that parts at 0300 doesn't fray in front of you. It frays in the dark, where the chock meets the deck, while you sleep below convinced your boat is secure. TLDR * 62% of dock line failures come from abrasion at contact points, not age or UV

Tips on working a remote corporate job while cruising

Tips on working a remote corporate job while cruising

Remote work from a moving sailboat isn't an aspiration anymore. It's infrastructure. And the infrastructure fails. TLDR * Satellite internet has changed what's possible, but bandwidth throttling, power consumption, and complete signal blackouts remain real operational constraints * Your corporate workflow must assume intermittent connectivity and

Anchoring (and retrieving anchor) in rocky anchorages

Anchoring (and retrieving anchor) in rocky anchorages

You didn't watch the anchor set, and now your windlass has stopped cold with 40 feet of chain still out and something below hauling back like it's moored to the seabed itself. Anchoring and Retrieval in Rocky Anchorages Rocky bottoms will expose every gap in your

PLB selection and when to buy one

PLB selection and when to buy one

A PLB is not a nice-to-have item you add after the solar panels and the watermaker get sorted. It's the last-ditch insurance policy that sits between a recoverable emergency and a Coast Guard search for wreckage. TLDR * A PLB activates via satellite when everything else has failed, and

Provisioning for passages over 1000nm

Provisioning for passages over 1000nm

Every passage provisioning list I've seen in the last five years lists 'two weeks of food' as if that means the same thing in 40°N as it does in 15°S, as if your crew eats the same on day three as they do on

Webasto versus Cheap Chinese Diesel Heaters

Webasto versus Cheap Chinese Diesel Heaters

A properly sized diesel heater delivers the specific heat output a 40-foot bluewater cruiser needs to stay livable in cold anchorages without draining the house bank or filling the cabin with fumes. TLDR * Chinese diesel heaters cost a fraction of Webasto's price but fail catastrophically on boats due