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Steering Wheel Systems

It is almost winter and it may be time to check all of the components of your boat that are often times forgotten about. Your boat’s steering system is no exception. Whether outfitted with a hydraulic, geared, draglink, or a chain and cable system, winter time is a great time to have the boats steering…

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Team Vestas Wind Gets a New Boat…

…well, maybe. If you’ve not heard by now, the Volvo Ocean Race Team Vestas Wind smashed into the earth several days ago. The boat grounded in the Indian Ocean Off of the southeast coast of Africa on the Cargados Carajos Shoals (St. Brandon), some 260 miles north east of Mauritius. Here is the latest edit of…

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Yachting Anyone?

There are big rigs and then there are big rigs! Perini Navi and Ron Holland deliver once again in typical fashion. This incredible yacht, “Felicita West”, cuts no corners. Check out the video that showcases some of the vessels highlights. As well as the refit and massive mast stepping project undertaken by Seahawke Rigging along with…

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How to Adjust a Turnbuckle

The concept of how to properly adjust a turnbuckle seems to sometimes elude most people. This is understandable as I didn’t used to spend my days thinking about tightening cables, like I do now. So let’s take a moment to discuss how this is done properly. There are generally three different styles of turnbuckles. Yes, there are a…

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Volvo Ocean Race LIVE!

Tomorrow early afternoon begins my favorite event in sailing, the Volvo Ocean Race….. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY4iT1nGegc&w=560&h=315] Alicante, Spain will host tomorrow’s in-port race as well as the start of the world’s most epic ’round the world battle….. and this time it’s one design baby! Be sure to catch all of the action LIVE on the official www.volvooceanrace.com website. I…

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Boat Rope

The vast U.S. cordage market allows us to have several competitive options including; Robline, New England, Samson, Yale, and Marlow Ropes, just to name a few. Each one of these manufacturers provide various rope constructions utilizing different materials to allow the consumer to achieve different functions based on application. All of the jargon like Spectra, Dyneema, Vectran, Kevlar, Technora, Dacron, Double Braid, Single Braid,…

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How to Service Your Winches

Some winches are more difficult to service than others. If you do not know what to expect, certain parts, depending on manufacturer, can come sliding out at inopportune times and jump overboard! I happen to know this from personal experience and if you are really unlucky (like I was) then it may be a part from a vintage…

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When Replacing Electrical Items in the Mast

Re-wiring and replacing the fixtures in the mast is a task that most of us boat owners need to face at some point. Let’s address what needs to happen during this process and what is the most efficient way to do this. First, the mast needs to be un-stepped. Therefore it could be a smart idea to…

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The World’s Largest Mast….

…was stepped last month at the Perini Navi Yard in Italy.  Just look at the size of the masthead! [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pEsuYH-Dt4&w=560&h=315]   This incredible carbon fiber wonder measures just over 250′ and weighs in at just over 16 metric tons…pretty light considering. The furling boom provided by Future Fibres could be its own sailing yacht…