Recommendations

Over the past 5 years of full-time cruising on S/V Enjoy, we’ve found the following links, lists, and products helpful for our journey. In addition, folks have asked us about favorite locations, so we’ve included a few. Let us know what you think is missing!

Reference Lists / Organizations / Groups

Organizations

The following organizations have a range of helpful services for the future and current cruiser, including mentoring programs, crew lists, knowledgeable and friendly members, etc.

Panama Posse

Ocean Cruising Club

Seven Seas Cruising Organization

There are dozens of Youtube channels and blogs that are helpful for folks along the path of becoming and bettering themselves as cruisers. We include a links to a few long-term cruisers with well earned knowledge and sometimes specialized services that are the “go to” folks on certain topics:

  1. Provisioning: The Boat Galley is helmed by Carolyn Sherlock and helpful for all things cooking among other information
  2. Cruising Families and Lifestyle Coaching: For cruising families and folks considering the lifestyle, Sailing Totem has been at this for over a decade and are on their second circumnavigation
  3. Living the dream and Cruising Club: Paul and Sheryl Shard have been filming Distant Shores for over 20 years, built their first boat, circumnavigated, and along with TV and Youtube, have helpful technical blogs
  4. Administration : Among other helpful information, Astrolabe Sailing has a well thought thorough Admin tab

Lists

Boat Inventory/Spares/Maintenance List: Vicky Moore’s blog here on Astrosailing explains in their blog here how their spreadsheet helps you keep track of your spares, maintenance, and other boat details (direct download here)

Power Consumption Planning: Again, Vicky’s blog here on Astrosailing has a terrific discussion on planning for power consumption with examples.

Specialized Tools We Couldn’t Live Without

Mechanical

Electrical

  • USB light that is bendable for looking into nooks and crannies
  • Ratcheting combination wrenches are essential
  • These are great for spreader and security lights
  • Endoscope that connects to a cell phone or tablet for those hard to see places

Plumbing

Sailing/Rigging

  • Reflective tapes are good everywhere
  • He may not still sell it, but Chuck O’Malley’s Blue Water Sail Repair Kit from Chesapeake Sailing is well worth the cost (it costs more to assemble it yourself, I tried)
    • Stainless Steel shears, Seam Rippers, Sailmakers’ Awls, Push Pins, 2” Dacron PSA Tape, 6” Dacron PSA Tape, 12” Dacron PSA Tape, ½” Polyester Tube Web, 1” Polyester Tube Web, Sailmakers Palm, 1” Super Seam stick, ½” Regular Super Seam Stick, Spinnaker/Nylon Repair Cloth, Dacron Repair Cloth, 6” Dacron Cloth 8oz., Wax Thread – heavy weight for webs, Seaming Thread – lighter for cloth repairs, Assorted sewing needles, Sharpies, Masking Tape, Spare Tell Tales, 1/8” Spectra/Amsteel, 1/16” Spectra/Amsteel, Spare Stainless Steel Rings

Other

  • For attaching things to your boat without using screws, we LOVE VHB tape
  • Bulk Polypropylene rope is great for splicing lines attached to boat toys, dinghy D rings, etc.
  • For folks maintaining leaky Lewmar hatches, save $$ and buy replacement gaskets by the foot at Hatchmasters.com: LEWMAR LP / MP Hinge Cap, LEWMAR Mid Profile Hatch Seal by the foot, and SI 500CP Adhesive
  • Comfortable Living
    • Not just for strollers, we love these stroller drink holders for the rail near our steering wheel
    • Thermacell really works for mozzis, and this fly zapper is worth it’s weight
    • Metal and even plastic zippers die in this environment, I like these two products (liquid and solid)
    • We love space saver bags but they are only good for opening a few times, better for longer term storage
    • For quick hair cuts that don’t leave a mess, this Remington shaver has a vacuum and every time I use it, people in the anchorage want one!
    • We clean the boat bottom with ice scrapers
    • USB chargable, Lithium Battery powered fans that can be placed in convenient places around the boat (helm, table, head)
  • Galley
  • Fishing / Diving
    • This holds our knives very well during adverse conditions
    • For humane fishing, you’ll need a fish spike and this is a great scaler
    • These books and cards are essential for determining whether to eat or throw back your fish
    • Not just a fish finder, we really use it as a depth sounder!
    • When you don’t want the stone crab to pinch you, or the fish to bit you, fishing gloves are good to have aboard
    • Dive weights are expensive abroad, soft weights are good for the integrated BCs and this belt is essential for free diving (you’ll need old school weights for that)

Spares Worth Keeping Aboard

Mechanical

  • fuel and water filters
  • exhaust elbow

Electrical

  • Fridge and freezer ECMs are good to have onboard
  • Things get hot, so box fans for various places like refridgerators is a good thing

Plumbing

  • Hose for make your own water evacuator pumps

Sailing/Rigging

  • Because we all use tablets, along with our installed navigation equipment, this mount works well

Other

  • All boats get mildew and mold smells, use Ozone generators judiciously
  • These USB chargeable fans are better than the factory installed Caframo fans
  • We have done some carpentry, and so we run through a lot of sanding disks
  • Increases security when installed on companionway doors and locked inside

Emergency / Medical Products

Toys

In general, toys make the lifestyle more fun but take large amounts of space! Inflatable products save space but have a shorter life-span in the tropics

  • Stand Up Paddleboard and repair kit! Consider a hard SUP because the inflatables don’t last more than 5 years in the tropics
  • Kayak
  • For windy wet days, use a stair stepper
  • Windsurfer