Our Published Articles and Newsletters
We’ve written dozens of articles and newsletters over the years, and published a few e-books. To make them easier to find, we have separated them into the categories shown below. You can scroll down this page to browse through them all or click on any of the links to access them by category. We are continually writing new articles, and we'll be adding our older articles as we can, so check back frequently.
Our ebooks
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Destination Articles
Coast-hopping Long Skinny Chile
Long, skinny Chile stretches 2,650 miles along the Pacific coast of South America from its border with Peru in the north to the bottom of the world at Tierra del Fuego. Our planned itinerary would take us...
Blown Away in the Chathams
The Chatham Islands are a group of ten islands located about 500 nautical miles east of New Zealand's South Island. They sit close enough to the International Dateline that they tout themselves as being the first folks in the world to welcome each new day ...
Cruising the Guianas
After an uneventful passage from St. Helena, we made landfall at Iles du Salut, better known as Devil's Island, the infamous French Guiana penal colony at which Papillon was incarcerated. We anchored off Ile St. Joseph for three days ...
Sail Repairs in Suwarrow
We had entered the Cook Islands from French Polynesia at the northernmost island of Penrhyn and then headed south to visit the island of Manihiki with subsequent planned stops at Suwarrow Atoll and Palmerston. After a long, sleepless night, we were off at first light to legendary Suwarrow Atoll ...
Taking the Bite out of the Bight
Whenever we've read articles about crossing the Great Australian Bight, the advice has universally been “wait for a weather window and get across as quickly as you can.” Then we happened to meet a fisherman who ...
Transiting the Panama Canal
We’ve now gone through the Panama Canal three times, so we’re starting to get the hang of it. We were quite nervous the first time, however…
Technical and How-to Articles
Troubleshooting Engine Gauges
The next time one of your engine instruments starts misbehaving, pull out your trusty digital multimeter instead of calling an electrician or technician. Finding the problem and fixing it yourself isn't all that difficult.
Coachwhipping a Wheel
Coachwhipping is a very traditional decorative ropework that results in a beautiful herringbone pattern. While a four strand coachwhipping is the most common, a six triple-strand pattern looks even better ...
Climbing the Mast
Friction knots such as the Prusik knot, as well as mechanical devices called ascenders, are often used by arborists to climb vertical ropes. I could see no reason why this technique couldn't be used to climb a halyard.
Adding a Day Tank
A gravity-fed day tank has much to be said for it. It sits higher than the engine, and as the name suggests, uses gravity to supply fuel to the engine. Any leaks in the fuel line downstream of the day tank tend to leak fuel out rather than draw air in, ...
Making an Emergency Day Tank
On a passage from Ecuador to Patagonia, we developed an air leak somewhere in the engine fuel feed that caused the engine to die unpredictably. To get us into port, I built a temporary day tank ...
Choosing the Right Coax Cable
There are dozens of different types of coax cable, but for a marine VHF application, the choices are narrowed down considerably. Still, choosing the right coax for your boat requires some research ...
Insulation Testing
When we were in Patagonia a few years back, we tied up at a marina in Puerto Montt for several weeks. We dug out our power cables and connected to shore power at the nearest power box. All was good for awhile, but every few hours the breaker would trip ...
Building a Fuel Polishing System
In our early years of cruising, we learned the hard way about how important clean fuel is. I didn't worry about the fuel as long as the primary fuel filter looked clean...
Making a Lanyard
We use this knot to make lanyards for pelican hooks, zippers, key rings and flashlights. We have used it with very fine line to make jewelry, and once we even used it to make a belt when a friend on a passage to Easter Island discovered he had forgotten his ...
Making Courtesy Flags
It is proper sailboat etiquette and customary in foreign ports to fly a miniature version of the host country's national maritime ensign …
Making New Lifelines
Our lifelines were beginning to show a few broken strands and “meathooks” and it was time to replace them. ...
Making a Mast Boot
Over the years we've tried several methods to create a watertight mast boot. At the suggestion of a local rigger, I decided to …
Adding a DC Circuit
Sooner or later, if you own your boat any length of time, you will have to deal with replacing or adding a DC electrical circuit. It is not difficult to do the job correctly, with results that are professional looking, ...
Adding a shaft generator
Generating power while under sail is always a concern. Other than starting a generator or running the engine, there’s solar and wind generators, but another alternative is to attach a generator to the prop shaft…
Marine Refrigerator Redo
The insulation in our marine refrigerator was marginal when new. Now after 20 years of hard use, it was pretty much useless. To replace it required dismantling the system and a total rebuild…
Solar Panel Controllers
The solar panel technology has changed considerably in the last few years. Here is an overview of the latest in solar panel output controllers.
The ABCs of DSCs
When we replaced our VHF radio a few years ago, we knew the red button was for emergencies. We didn’t know about all the other capabilities a DSC equipped radio adds.
Ramping Up The Amps
Powering the electrical systems aboard a cruising sailboat depends on the batteries and the alternator that keeps them charged. We test a new and much improved entry…
All Things Equal
The house batteries in a cruising boat lead a hard life. Periodic equalization can improve performance and increase their useful lifetimes.
A Touch of Elegance - Carved Name Boards
We have always admired those beautiful hand-carved name boards on other boats. With the glossy varnish and the gold leaf reflecting the sunlight, they add such a wonderful touch of elegance to a boat. We decided to make a pair for Nine of Cups…
Making a Series Drogue
Nothing seems to generate a more lively discussion among offshore sailors than the question “What is the best tactic for heavy weather at sea?” Is it heaving-to, lying a-hull, running before the storm, deploying a sea anchor, laying warps or setting a drogue? In our opinion, a series drogue is the best tactic. Here’s how to make one…
Making a Canvas Bucket
A canvas bucket is a great addition to any boat. It is easy to toss overboard (attached to a line, of course), to fill with seawater, then haul back aboard. It collapses flat for easy storage, and best of all, it can be made from part of an old, retired sail…
DIY Lazy Jacks
As we got older, going forward to the mast in heavy seas and high winds to wrestle the mainsail down was less fun than it used to be. Adding lazy jacks to contain the sail as it drops was one solution that worked for us. Here’s how to make your own…
Pre-Passage Rigging Checks
Prior to any major passage, I devote a couple of days checking the systems aboard Nine of Cups. At the top of the list is a check of all the rigging. Here are the things I check and what to look for…
Fishing Aboard
On our passages, we usually caught enough tuna and dorado to provide about half of our meals, which was pretty much all the fish we wanted. It took awhile to learn the best gear and techniques, however. Here’s what we did…
Easy-to-Make Fender Covers
Fenders act as “bumpers” to keep the boat off the dock and prevent her hull from being scratched and chafed by whatever sticks out from the dock, like cement or wood pilings. Covering them is partly cosmetic … it looks better ... and partly to keep the fenders from rubbing and scuffing the hull. The are expensive, but it’s easy to make your own…
Fun and General Interest Articles
A Bonafide Circumnavigation
It seems there are some strict criteria for actually completing a bonafide circumnavigation … and we thought it just entailed sailing around the world and “tying the knot”, i.e. crossing your track. It seems it's much more complicated than that ...
Delivering Cookies
We arrived at Tahanea Atoll in French Polynesia's Tuomotu island group, and because we were planning to sand and generally make noise, we anchored on the east side of the pass in order not to bother the five boats anchored on the west side. I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies to deliver to the boats ...
The Many Uses of a Digital Camera
When I first bought a digital camera more than a decade ago, the photo results were mediocre. It's no secret that digital cameras have come a long way since then. In addition, we've found that digital cameras have many more uses than just taking great sailing photos to show our friends ...
Jelly's Hero
It was May and we were docked at the Charleston Maritime Center. Jelly, our year old sea cat, had the run of the place. Everyone knew her and she roamed at liberty along the wharf, jumping on this boat or that one for a visit, a nap or a snack.
Old nautical charts frequently used the expression “Here Be Dragons” for uncharted, unknown territories and there was a reason for that. For most people, fear of the unknown is a special monster unto itself…a dragon of fearful anticipation that can eat at you and stir up your juices so completely that finally you either face it or turn your back and run.
Newsletters
