Tips page

This is a new page where I'm hoping to pass on a few simple ideas which we use or have seen on other cruising boats. At the bottom (with red text) are a few bad ideas or ones you should avoid.

Mooring lines always ready, two bow lines and two stern lines tied with a clove hitches so quickly released.	Forward facing instrumentation for the off-watch crew. Using a Raymarine Graphic display everything on SeaTalk is available for viewing.	12V socket at the helm. Used to power the low power anchor light or the 12V mega torch or the emergency GPS.	Hatch covers keep sun out, so make it cooler below; they also stop the hatches crazing and keep the morning sun from waking us.

Reading glasses, sun glasses, night glasses and hand-bearing compasses; we could never find them until we made this canvas rack.  This one's by the companionway and another is at the chart table.	Compass near the bed to check heading. At anchor it checks tides or wind etc and indicates whether the anchor is being pulled from an unplanned direction.	Our window box provides us with fresh herbs daily (parsley, chives and basil).  The trick is to continue to plant seeds throughout the season  so ensuring continuity of supply. Yes it is a washing up bowl. So?	Solar powered ventilation. An inbuilt battery means this Nicro unit runs 24 Hours per day keeping our forward cabin (bedroom) sweet, dry and mildew free.

This solar charged BBQ light is super at night. At anchor or on passage the cockpit is subtly bathed in light, its not over powering and so doesn't destroy night vision. Our pair easily last through a night at latitude 35N.	Soup in a basket, clearly an old joke, but sandwiches are ideal on passage. The basket is easy to hold and the contents don't escape..	A bowl, yes, but don't bother with the washing-up bowl as its too big. This one's ideal for two. No spills, easy to carry and doesn't burn the fingers.	.

Why let the log impellor foul? Remove it if you are not going to use the boat for more than 7 days.	Filling both water tanks? We turn on both tanks and thus after filling one tank the water then flows into the other. Maybe a bit slow, but so what?	When the inside boat from a raft is leaving dont trail long lines around the raft to the shore, simply allow a line to sink under the boat which is leaving. It can be much shorter and less likely to foul on protruding bits and bobs.	.

This radar reflector is a great piece of kit, but its useless aligned like this. It needs to have one of its apertures pointing straight up.  Then four of the others will point horiz' outwards and so do the reflecting.	And this one's a complete waste of time on a cruising yacht unless its simply to meet stupid French regulations. Sorry, splendid French Reg's.	Is this a poor attempt at a motoring cone or a casually furled genoa, or is it a drum with insufficient turns on it to allow a full furl. If its the latter then fix it now and stop being a lazy sod.	text
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