Boat Maintenance & Repairs,Featured
Diesel Deep Dive: Avoid High Season Sorrows
July 8, 2025
A Public Service Announcement From Your Friendly Neighborhood Marine Diesel Mechanic Ring ring, ring ring! “Meredith, we need you! When can you come? Why can’t you come sooner? You’re booked out? But we are ready for our…
Seamanship & Navigation,Featured
Get Your Washington Boater’s Card and Support Northwest Maritime Youth Programs
June 20, 2025
Get your Washington Boater’s Card and support youth programs! Port Townsend's non-profit Northwest Maritime (NWM) is looking for Safety Vessel Operator volunteers to assist Port Townsend Maritime Academy (PTMA) students with…
Radar: Necessary or Nice?
June 5, 2025
Being cruisers and captains, we often emphasize the importance of integrating radar into a vessel’s navigation system as a cornerstone of prudent seamanship. Thankfully, the days of massive, power-hungry radar domes are…
Weatherlogged: Uncovering Data and Stories in Early Logbooks
May 27, 2025
Uncovering Climate Data and Sea Stories in the Logbooks of Early Mariners By the time our boat reached the middle of Haro Strait, I knew that my husband Frank and I were in trouble. The weather report, checked at the dock…
You Can’t Buy Safety
May 15, 2025
Catch this,” said US Sailing Safety at Sea course moderator Captain Jonathan Kabak as he tossed a flare to a student in the recent Safety at Sea hands-on training at Marshall Community Center in Vancouver, Washington. “Read…
Boat Maintenance & Repairs,Featured
Diesel Deep Dive: Run ’em Hard
May 13, 2025
Since their inception, diesel engines have been known to last for many thousands of operating hours under the most strenuous and abusive conditions, and yet recreational diesel engines seem to struggle compared to their…
Boat Maintenance & Repairs,Featured
#TBT: Making the Most of the Spring Season
April 3, 2025
In our latest Throwback Thursday, we take a look at the spring-time shifts we make as boaters in the PNW to prepare for the summer cruising season.
#TBT: Thoughts on Choosing a Sailing School
March 20, 2025
In our latest Throwback Thursday, we jump back to the March 2018 "Learn to Sail" issue of 48° North with some timeless tips on choosing a sailing school.
by Stu Gilfillen
Predicting Tidal Currents in the Swinomish Channel
March 5, 2025
Historically there have been no NOAA predictions for the tidal current speed in the Swinomish Channel flowing past La Conner, WA, but local mariners know it can be strong—over 2 kts at times. Years ago we noted that this…
Diesel Deep Dive: Raw Water Cooled Engines
February 25, 2025
Available according to the Yanmar website, the 1GM10 is…