You may recall back in November we bought a beautiful and very clean 2006 Nordic Tug 42, and we sold our 2013 Nordic Tug 34′ “Airship”. We’d had our Nordic Tug 34 for four years, and in those four years we spent over 900 nights aboard and 2,700 hours underway, went to Alaska and back four times, around Vancouver Island three times, and spent countless days exploring Puget Sound, the … Read more
Several years ago, I replaced the 15-year-old Norcold refrigerator aboard Safe Harbour with a shiny new NovaKool RFU9000. The new fridge reduced power consumption and was quieter, but it was far from perfect. In fact, it (along with the Force 10 range with the heat output of a Bic lighter) are among the most frustrating pieces of equipment onboard. Temperature control in the NovaKool is, at best, imprecise. The rudimentary … Read more
We depend heavily on VHF and AIS while cruising the Inside Passage between Puget Sound and Southeast Alaska. Both VHF and AIS are running at all times while we are underway, and a good deal of the time when we are not. We are constantly monitoring traffic, chatting with other vessels, listening to weather broadcasts, and confirming our intentions with traffic we encounter. Aboard Airship, we are generally scanning a … Read more
Two years ago, we replaced Airship’s house batteries with new lithium iron phosphate batteries. And, for those who just want the punchlines, we have two: 1) The performance of our lithium batteries has been fantastic through two full seasons of cruising and over 400 nights living aboard (with a high percentage of those disconnected from shore power). 2) No, we are not worried about our lithium batteries exploding or catching … Read more
January 26 – February 3, 2018 The Slowboat team will be presenting ten different free seminars at the 2018 Seattle Boat Show. We are excited to once again share our experience and expertise with the boat show crowd to help you have a richer, safer, more satisfying cruising experience. In addition to leading flotillas up the Inside Passage to Alaska every summer, each member of our crew brings more specific … Read more
January 27 – February 4, 2017 Will you be attending the Seattle Boat Show this year? If so, we hope to see you there! Our team at Slowboat will be giving a handful of free seminars at this year’s show. Come see us! Slowboat seminars, along with date, time, and location: iPhones, iPads, and Boats: Tips from a Twenty Something Cruiser Sam Landsman Saturday 1/28/17, 2:00 p.m. | Stage #4 Club … Read more
Back in April, we posted an early review of the WiFi in Motion MAX Marine router from SinglePoint Communications. We promised to let you know how the system performed after some extensive testing. Now, after cruising from Puget Sound, WA up the Inside Passage through British Columbia, around Southeast Alaska (and back) on a five-month trial, we think we have enough experience to give a thorough review – of the … Read more
As we prepared for our summer expedition up the Inside Passage to SE Alaska, we did a number of upgrades to Airship (our 2013 Nordic Tug 34). Now that we’ve been underway for over two weeks, some early favorites have emerged. Here’s what we like and why: #5: Nightstand USB outlets and iPhone/Watch charging stands OK, this may sound like a dorky one, and it is only #5, but hear … Read more