Worrying excessive heel on a yacht
On a calm day, everything on a yacht happens slowly and gently. But if you head out in a gusty day it’s easy to find yourself on a boat that’s leaning (or heeling) over at worrying angles. New sailors find […]
How far is the horizon? (and VHF range)
From Fisherrow Harbour, you can look across the Forth Estuary and see the waterfront at Kirkcaldy (10 miles away). But if you look further up the coastline, it’s impossible to see the beach at Leven (18 miles away) even on […]
Navigation Lights for Yachts
During the hours of darkness we rely on lights to tell when other boats are nearby, whether they are moving and in what direction they’re travelling in. The international regulations that describe what lights should be shown are part of […]
Riveting in a deep channel
Riveting using pop rivets is straightforward. But if you need to put a rivet at the bottom of a channel, such as you might find on a yacht mast, things get a bit more complex. Most rivet tools have a […]
Epoxy wood repairs
Epoxies are one of the wonder materials of modern boating – strong and stable even in the harsh marine environment. Today we’re using epoxy to repair a broken strip of Iroko wood that came from a boat cockpit side. Epoxy […]