How to Prepare Your Boat for Sale: A Complete Checklist

Selling a boat can feel overwhelming at first, especially if it’s been your trusted companion for years. However, preparing your boat for sale is the first step toward a successful transaction, and it’s often the difference between a quick sale and a long, frustrating listing. First, start with cleaning and detailing. Buyers notice the small things, and a…

Simple Habits That Make Your Boat Safer and Easier to Own

Good boating habits make a bigger difference than many owners realize. While major systems matter, most problems on boats start with small things that are overlooked. For that reason, developing simple, consistent habits can greatly improve safety, reliability, and overall enjoyment. Even better, these habits do not require special tools or advanced skills. Instead, they…

Routine Boat Maintenance That Prevents Costly Repairs

Regular boat maintenance is the most effective way to protect your investment, reduce unexpected repair bills, and ensure safe, reliable time on the water. Many of the most expensive boat repairs begin as small, preventable issues—corrosion, leaks, worn hoses, or neglected fluids—that go unnoticed. Consistent basic maintenance combined with proper seasonal care keeps systems running…

Choosing the Right Cruising Sails

As racing sailors, our adjustment to bluewater cruising hasn’t been without some challenges—especially for Brian. Racing, in some ways, is rather straightforward: spend as much money as you possibly can on the very best sails covering every conceivable wind angle and then collect your trophies. At least that’s how we remember it! Now we live…

Passage Food Prep

As I write this, we’re about to embark upon the last of our longer passages for the year—fingers crossed! We’ve done several 5-7 day passages now, this one will be around four days, taking us from the northern tip of eastern Australia to Indonesia. I’ve learned since our first week-long passage last year that it’s…

Passage Report: North from New Zealand

This was our third time crossing north/south to or from New Zealand and I’m relieved to say that—hopefully—it’s our last! We’ve been told it’s a tricky passage and we’ve found that to be the case. Picking a good weather window is crucial and we’ve been lucky that we’ve been able to wait it out each…

From Sailboat to Powerboat

Circumnavigators talk taking the leap with Back Cove When Mike and Donna Hill decided to embark on the Great Loop, they knew they needed the right boat to take them on this new adventure. The Hills are not new to boating. They are veterans in every sense of the word—longtime sailors who have traveled 60,000…