The late, great Thomas Colvin advised that one needed about 1HP per ton of displacement for one’s auxiliary engine. Note the emphasis on the word auxiliary. Using Colvin’s formula, that works out to an 8HP engine for the Islander 36. Our current raw water cooled Yanmar 3HM is a 27HP. Of course, Tom Colvin was …
I have to admit that, where internet content is concerned, most all of the available information far exceeds Mr Sturgeon’s Law and more so when boat stuff is involved. That being the case, I recently found a link to this Ted talk and it’s been whizzing around my brain to the point where I’m having …
Ian asked what affordable means and I realized I was less than clear about my wants where propulsion is concerned. So, let’s dig in… Affordable is a scary word these days and pretty much useless without context. In my case, back when I first put together an electric drive for “So It Goes” I spent …
For some reason or other, the idea of pulling out the raw-water cooled Yanmar 3HM and replacing it with an affordable, minimal electric propulsion system keeps playing around my thoughts. Having spent a bunch of years developing a variety of electric propulsion installations on our CAL 34, I do have some experience but came to …
What happens when you say “Electric Propulsion” three times… Read More »
I have a couple of leaks on the Islander and, while not serious, the fact that one of the leaks is a mystery is just a kiss unsettling. The known leak is the Lasdrop shaft seal. Lasdrop no longer supports this model so I’m currently looking for a replacement from a company that supports their …
The other day, I was informed that the hip dinghy that will be the new standard is the OC 330. Of course, being enamored of cool dinghies, I searched out Offshore Cruising Tenders and found a sorta/kinda dinghy that really did not impress me. My first impression was that it’s a RIB meets plywood stitch …
One of my favorite cruising books I’ve come across is Orca and if you have not read it you really should. I mention this because there’s a sequel “Thicker Than Ice” by John Pennington that’s even better. Truthfully, I was not able to put the book down till I was finished and there are not …
The Islander 36, like most boats, has a pulpit and it’s the bit of the design that really gets up my nose. Of course, I really should add that in 90% of boats I see, the pulpit is problematic at best. So, why don’t I like pulpits? For starters, they are part of the the …
Yep, once again, I’ve found myself sitting inside a boat while all hell breaks loose outside. Tropical Storm Ernesto was surprisingly nasty and, while not a cat 5 hurricane, seemed to be just as kickass as Maria was. In hindsight, we really should have gone to our preferred hurricane hole rather than stick it out …
