Sailing Articles

A selection of articles on various aspects of sailing and our boat.

Experiences

The Joy of Ketch - Experiences sailing a ketch rigged boat.
Why we bought Speedwell of Rhu - The process of chosing our boat.
Anchors and Anchoring - Our choice of ground tackle and experiences using it.
Anchor Stowage - How we stow our Rocna.
Wind Generator Failure - The loss of our Rutland 913 wind generator.
Charter Management - Experiences with our previous boat in charter management.
Coppercoat - Copper anti-foul.
2012 Itinerary - Our plan for the 2012 season, and what actually happened when the weather intervened.
A Flare Free Boat - How and why we got rid of pyrotechnics on Speedwell

Solar Charging - Details of out photovoltaic charging installation and our experiences with that system.
Osmosis: We bought a boat with osmosis!
Coppercoat: How our copper anti-foul is behaving over several seasons.
Rig: Getting rid of in-mast mainsail furling.
Heating: Fitting central heating.
Engine: The main engine.
Electrical Systems: The batteries and charging system.
Tanks: Storage tanks and possible osmosis in the fresh water tanks.
Electronics: Navigation, communications and other systems.

Descriptions of some technical aspects of sailing that often don't get covered in detail in general sailing books.

Keels and Rudders - How they work, what happens when they stop working and how to recover.
Sail Twist and Wind Shear - One reason why boats sail differently on opposite tacks.
Velocity Made Good – Trading off course against speed.
Triatic Stay - What is a triatic stay?

In-Mast Reefing - A personal view on why we've chosen to convert to slab reefing.

Some supporting articles explaining some of the background to the technical articles.