Heaving To

When the weather becomes intense, heaving to is a wonderful method to ride it out. The concept is simple: back the headsail and turn the rudder towards weather. This will keep the boat pointed at an angle into the wind as it slowly drifts backwards. This creates a slick to windward which calms approaching waves from breakers into rollers. The end result is the motion on board is quite comfortable as we ride out the storm. But what does it look like?

During a rather intense series of squalls we encountered, we filmed the ordeal to help shed some light on what it really looks like. This way you will know what to expect when you find yourself heaving to in a storm as you wait for it to pass.

Riding out a series of squalls in the Choptank river hove to.

Danger of Relying on Electronics

Electronic charts are great, they offer volumes of information in a tiny concise package! Paper charts need to be purchased, printed, stored, and retrieved individually; whereas electronic charts can be downloaded for free and searched quickly and easily. 

Most electronic charts will change to lower scale charts as you zoom in automatically, saving you the trouble of finding the chart inset and relocating your position on the new page. Since electronic charts are so easy to manage and carry, it is easy to keep your chart collection up to date with the most current charts, all in an easy to carry and read electronic device. 

One favorite seems to be the iPad. These little computers have incredible battery lives and a wealth of programs that load seamlessly into the unit. I can sync the iPad to my Delorme InReach and see our exact position on the most current chart of the area. When we are leaving for new waters, we just need to download the latest charts for our intended destination and any other points of interest along the way (in case we get side tracked). There is no trip to the chandler or payment for tubes containing our paper charts, and best of all, no cost!

Each paper chart usually costs around $20. Most programs that will display navigational charts are free! Those that are not free are still only a few dollars, and then you have the ability to display any and every chart. Technology really is amazing!

While technology is great, it is also fragile. I keep the iPad in a protective case to prevent accidental damage to the unit, but that only goes so far. One morning, I was carrying a block of wood that I had been working on out the companionway. A wake hit the boat and the block of wood slipped out of my hand and fell straight onto the iPad. Luckily, the screen didn't crack from the impact (thanks to the protective case it lives in) but the screen did die.

When I turned it on, half the screen was gray bands while the other half was static. I know that the unit was still functioning because the clock appeared at the top of the monitor. Sadly, the time will not tell me all I need to know about the waters I am cruising in. Because we also carry paper charts, the loss of the iPad was not as detrimental of a loss. We were still able to navigate the waters and sail without questioning where we are.

The take home message is that electronic gizmos are great, but you still need to carry a paper backup in the event that the electronic device were to fail.

Sailing is a Dream

Some days, everything works perfectly and sailing feels like a dream come true. Here we were returning to Baltimore after a 10 day cruise through the Chesapeake. The wind was strong and steady, allowing us to broad reach our way into the harbor while making good time without much work involved.

Storing the Cans

Maddie and I have chosen to use rice, beans, and canned meat as our emergency provisions. We will carry fresh foods that have a short shelf life on board. If we find ourselves at sea without land and running low on perishables, we will not need to worry as we have plenty of canned foods to keep us going.

We currently have 97 cans of beans, 24 cans of Vienna Sausages, and 16 cans of lentil soup stowed in this one locker. As you can see, there is still space for more cans, and we will continue to collect canned food through the winter. 

A less obvious but equally important choice when organizing the cans is to orient them vertically or horizontally. We chose horizontal for this locker because it is a more stable orientation that allows easier recovery of the desired can. If the cans were oriented vertically, the labels would be harder to read and removing the wanted can would be an complicated task. 

In a vertical orientation, the can needs to be lifted clear of all other cans, making it difficult to locate and retrieve a lower level can if they are stacked. With one can missing, the other cans will begin to tip and shift as they try to fill the void. This can cause the cans to bang into each other and dent, as well as make small holes which can lead to botulism poisoning.

In a horizontal orientation, the cans can be easily removed from any where in the locker because they are laying flat and won't need to be lifted as far. I can also stack the cans closer to the top of the locker as less space is needed in the removal. As cans are removed, other cans will roll into the space and settle, but they will be stable and organized once there. Best of all, the labels are easier to read in this orientation, making it easy to find the right can.

Right now, we are not moving much, so it is safe to stack the cans in tall columns next to empty sections. While cruising, we will not organize the cans in such a method. The cans will be re-organized to keep them all level with one another and minimize any risk of damaging our precious food stores.

This is only one of many lockers on board Wisdom that we plan to fill to the top with canned goods, allowing us to worry less about food and focus more on our destinations while cruising.

On another note, the choice of lockers for these massive can stores is based on the boats list. Our yacht tends to list a bit to starboard, so we are loading all the cans into the port lockers in an attempt to help level the vessel and correct this trim discrepancy.  The cans are being located as far to the port side as possible and their weight will help balance things out.

Propeller Nuts

The propeller fits onto the tapered shaft tip and is tightened into place by two nuts that thread onto the end of the propeller shaft. One nut is small, the other nut is big. This brings up the question of which order should the nuts be placed?

You could either place the big one on first, tighten it all the way, and then place and tighten the smaller one. Or you could place the smaller one first and tighten it all the way, and then place and tighten the bigger one. So many options on such a tiny part of the boat that is instantly forgotten the moment the boat goes into the water.

The proper order is the small nut first and the big nut second.

When you tighten the small nut against the propeller, the force of the propeller is then pushed onto the threads of the nut and shaft. When you tighten the big nut, the lateral pressure from the small nut is transferred to the big nut which has more threads and transmits the force more evenly to the threads of the shaft tip.

The reason to have two nuts is simple, when they are tightened against each other, they will apply lateral pressure away from each other and seize to the threads that they are pushing against. When the two nuts are tightened into each other, they will not come loose as the entire assembly spins furiously without any inspection. As a safety precaution, the end of the shaft will have a cotter pin just in case the nuts come loose. A loose propeller is a problem that can quickly be remedied. A lost propeller is an expensive problem that is not easy to fix when out at sea!

Next time you are on the hard, take a look at the nuts at the end of the propeller shaft and make sure that the small one is next to the propeller, followed by the big one.