Living Aboard in Winter

Photo by Helen McAdory

Sure, the most comfortable way to live on your boat in wintertime is to sail it to the tropics in autumn, but not everyone has that luxury.  If instead you stay aboard as the snow flies and the water beneath your hull turns hard, tell us how you make it work!

Does Size Really Matter?

We have all fantasized about a bigger... boat, right?! Be honest. But does size really matter? When utilizing our small spaces to our advantage is the name of the cruising game what's to be said for the size of the ship? Is it really all about the motion in the ocean? Is it really about square footage? Can sailing around the on a 27' boat be just as comfortable as say, a 50' boat? Let's see what you -  the people, had to say. 

Image found here.

Protection Against Thieves: What Are Your Safety Precautions?

Permanent markings on a dinghy help deter thieves.

(Photo courtesy of Matt & Jessica's Sailing Page)

It's a sad but true fact.  Any place you travel, there is a chance you might encounter thieves.  They may be after all kinds of different things in varying degrees: your wallet; your outboard, your dinghy, or anything they can get their hands on should they board your boat. What precautions do you take to keep yourself, your belongings and your boat safe?  Whether it's locking everything down, traveling in groups, or staying away from certain locations, almost everyone has some kind of safety plan.  Read below to find out what others are doing, and tips you could pick up for yourself.

A Man, a Plan, a Canal: Panama

Bill and Caroline (s/v Juffa) celebrate a successful transit

In Google Reader, you can "star" posts that you want to save for later.  And when you know you're eventually going to transit the Panama Canal, the transit stories get "starred," right?  So here we are in Shelter Bay Marina, finally, and we'll be heading through the canal as soon as most of the broken things are fixed, so... we're reading all the starred transit stories.  Here are the ones we've collected so far; they're in chronological order, with the most recent transits at the top.  Great pictures, lots of details and advice, a bit of humor and terror mixed in. [5/22/13 - Update: now we're on the other side, getting more broken things fixed, so we're in a prime position to collect new transit posts, since we meet these folks when they pop out on this side.]

Shoppers in a Strange Land

Welcome to Odd-Mart! (Whether they know it or not) our buyers continually scour the globe to bring you an ever-expanding selection of products sure to meet all of your provisioning needs.