E5 and especially E10 petrol requires much more ‘fuel husbandry’ than older, ethanol-free petrol blends, as Jake Frith has discovered
UK forecourt petrol is almost exclusively now E10 or E5. Credit: Jake FrithManaging E5 and E10 petrol problems in outboard engines
September 2021: while most of the population was concerned with breaking their way out of a global pandemic, the UK quietly switched to E10 petrol as its default garage forecourt blend.
Most motorists, or at least most of those with cars built...
Cole Brauer is the second entrant to finish the Global Solo Challenge and has made history by becoming the first American woman to complete a solo, non-stop circumnavigation around the world via the three Great Capes
Cole Brauer took 130 days, two hours, 45 minutes and 38 seconds to race around the world. Credit: Cole Brauer – First Light @colebraueroceanracing/Globe Solo ChallengeThe goal of Cole Brauer was always to become the first American woman to race solo and non-stop around the world via the three Great Capes, and this morning,...
Zoran Glozinic saves some cash by making a new cockpit grate for his yacht using redundant old wooden kitchen shelves
Making your own cockpit grate can be easier than you think. Credit: Zoran GlozinicThe cockpit grate is something you could probably live without, but it does improve the look and comfort of the cockpit of your sail or power boat.
When I was much younger, I was willing to spend a lot of time and money to make a ‘proper teak grate’ made from interlocking slats.
This type of cockpit grate looks great but it is...
A crew member from Pen Duick VI was recovered from the water during the start of Leg 4 of the Ocean Globe Race; two other boats hit buoys
One of the crew of Pen Duick VI fell overboard at the start of Leg 4 but was quickly recovered. Credit: Aïda Valceanu/ OGR2023The tidal and sea conditions at the start of Leg 4 of the Ocean Globe Race proved tricky for some of the 13 teams, with boat collisions and...
What can a lapsed cruising sailor learn from a dinghy course? A lot, as Ali Wood discovers when she returns to the water for her RYA Level 3
An RYA Level 3 aims to teach you have to sail efficiency. Credit: RYA/Paul WyethDinghy sailing skills for cruisers
I’ve never capsized on a yacht. As crew, I’ve grounded on sandbanks, hit rocks, lost a chainplate and...
Gilbert Park undertakes some training for riding out heavy seas and wind in his Mitchell 28 – but first has to find some rough weather
Gilbert took his Mitchell 28 out into rough seas and the overfalls off St Catherine’s Lighthouse as part of his training. Credit: Gilbert ParkRarely in 50 years have I been caught out in rough weather at sea.
Indeed, in recent years it has become even rarer with improved...
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution marks its bicentenary this year. Katy Stickland looks back at its formation and development
The all-weather Shannon Class is the newest lifeboat in the RNLI fleet. Credit: Tony Watson/Alamy“Every stranger, whom the disasters of the sea may cast on her shores, should never look for refuge in vain,” wrote the retired British militia officer, Sir William Hillary.
Having witnessed numerous shipwrecks off his home town of Douglas in the Isle of Man, and seen islanders risk their lives to...
Ten years ago, Colin Haines installed a solar-powered vent on his boat. He shares the results and if it still keeps his boat truly dry
Solar-powered shed ventilator installed on the washboard keeps Colin Haines's boat interior dry over winter. Credit: Colin HainesMains electricity-powered dehumidifiers, are effective but expensive and cost money to run. They also assume that some ‘helpful’ person does not unplug the shore power supply.
I don’t have my boat lifted out of the water during the winter for several reasons.
...
With a modern water-based and VOC-free epoxy Coppercoat gives off no dangerous solvents or unpleasant smells
Visit a boatyard now and you’ll be greeted by the unpleasant smell of solvents. Known as VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), solvents are a major component of traditional antifoul paints, many of which contain up to 45% VOCs.
These solvents pose a problem – they’re major contributors to climate change. To help reduce global warming, regulators are moving to decrease VOC contents, to the point of elimination.
The...
Dena Hankins is on a global voyage aboard her 1984 9m Baba 30 converted to run with an electric propulsion motor – possibly the smallest electric sailboat to circumnavigate the planet
Cetacea on a mooring in Boot Key Harbour, just before the shakedown sailWhen we reached Horta on the second leg of our electric sailboat circumnavigation, my partner James stayed on Cetacea and I rowed in alone.
As the gap widened between me and the 1984 Baba 30 that we’d just spent 29 days sailing from Bermuda to the Azores, I knew we’d made...