The Panama Canal – What NOT To Expect, By The HelmsMistress
From the time I envisioned taking our floating home through the Panama Canal, I began to hear warnings and horror stories of dramatic transits from other boats that were damaged enroute, experienced significant delays in transit or had to deal with something else entirely unexpected. What I found was that there was a lot of […]
Extended Maintenance and Major Repairs: The Continuing Price For An Experienced Sailboat
I’m of the opinion that delaying or ignoring major repairs could lead to cascade failure that we may not be able to handle, especially with my limited mechanical knowledge. So, we try very hard to do major repairs before they go from urgent to emergent and often welcome professional + experienced opinions to add to our own experience….but we always put it on ourselves to make final repair decisions.
Panama City And Prepping For The Canal By The HelmsMistress
Before transiting the canal, Panama City was beckoning us to indulge with its modern skyline. Hitting the big city was a serious culture shock – huge skyscrapers, gigantic malls, and…..a sloth crawling on a powerline?
Strip It To Get The Best Protection For Your Wood
Stripping is hard work! For those of you who know what I’m talking about, you know that stripping is hard and not all fun and games. NOW I know why people pay a great stripper, cause it’s long hours in the heat and I would pay a professional if I could afford it. Come read my post to learn all about how to strip the right way!
Welcome To Panama, From The HelmsMistress
From gorgeous sandy beaches shaded by palm trees, to tidepools within the lava rock teaming with life, to waterfalls in some of the most unexpected places, to rolling hills covered with greenery – northern Panama is incredible!
Not Baked Pork Chops with Mushroom Soup alá LF2SF
Pork Chops with Mushroom Soup Sauce: So I did this entire meal in less than an hour and only used one pan for the whole thing, with no oven. The crew didn’t seem to mind as there were NO leftovers and it turned out to be a mighty tasty meal.
Kids Corner: Refugio Nacional de Fauna Silvestre Golfito Rainforest Hike
A Rainforest hike in Refugio Nacional de Fauna Silvestre Golfito, Costa Rica written by a boat kid.
Big Green Egg On A Sailboat: Pork Tenderloin With Maple Whiskey Glaze
I’ve gotta admit something to you. I really, really like cooking on a Big Green Egg. On Tulum, we made the choice to have a size small Big Green Egg on board, only one of (2) sailboats we’ve ever seen with a BGE onboard. Today I’m going to work through a story about cooking two […]
Prepping To Cross The Ditch: Tulum’s Panama Canal Primer
Tulum-5 will go through the Panama Canal as a “Y-Job” or first timer, but the excitement and memories of transiting this famous canal will stay with us for life.
Fixing Tulum’s Voltage Drop From Start Battery To Engine
Voltage drop from a boat start battery to the engine really does effect starting. Why? Because a cold engine takes less voltage to start than a hot engine. Now, imagine sailing along but NEEDING to start the engine…but you can’t. Here’s my story about how we’ve finally taken the time to fix this problem.