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We arrived in Bundaberg in 2011 - about a week after a yacht had come in full of coke. 7 boats were clearing in that day and we were last at 7:30 at night. We all got the full treatment, but because they were tired they kind of ignored something that looked like a potato under the stove we...

This. Almost every day on a passage I was thinking what if we sprung a leak/lost a rudder (again)/lost a shroud etc etc. My wife didn't like it - suggested I was a bit pessimistic all the time when I role played these out loud.  This actually helped my daughter; she had seen her parents...

Yes, they would. No personal experience with paravanes.  But in HUGE seas, yeah they have been known to get pulled out of waves. But you probably can run them deeper in 99.5% of the time. With 10 knots of speed and only coastal(ish) cruising you should be able to stay away from really bad...

Was this while he was working for you as an intern still? Kid has talent.

The old Outremer 38/40/43(?). Started my love of cats. Super skinny hulls. Very light and basic. 

It was an exaggeration but there is a lot of varnished wood there. How many man hours does that represent?  Is she hauled out for the winter with a cover as well?

One day you'll have to tell the story of the owner's ideas to have the 4 boats.

Sure. If you have a full time varnisher on staff then it's easy.   I would echo CapDave's comments on cats vs. monos. Our first boat was a heavy 30' longish keel mono. The 40' cat was about the same weight fully loaded.  The motion in the cat was way more comfortable, even upwind. Beating for...

Well for mast design I'd suggest Chris Mitchell in New Zealand for any stayed rig. I'm not sure that he does freestanding rigs but I don't think it would be hard for him.  https://www.aes.net.nz/  I worked with him on some very big carbon rigs and I was impressed by his knowledge and engineering...

Jib trimmers Union. Didn't want to put Robby out of a job.

You want a cheap boat or a good boat. :)    Yes, I figure maybe 1/3 or so survive a roll. As a young dude I spent a lot of time surfing waves in a long sea kayak. Totally unsuitable for surf activities. Zero rocker. Hard to turn. Super tracking. It really helped my thinking about a boat...

The Force 10 stove we had didn't use a thermostat. It used a meat thermometer with the spike protruding into the oven. Just pulled it out.

Day 1 of our first offshore passage. We hand been hand steering all day because it was so new and exciting. I was lowering our Navik wind vane paddle into the water. Broke off the little gudgeon  for the paddle's trim tab. Removed the paddle from the water, quickly made the appropriate...

I agree - except I think there are some very good "tactical/strategic" navigators who are good at placing a boat to best advantage in the middle of the ocean to take advantage of weather systems and how to make the boat go fast. It's the stuff around the edges they tend to ignore unless really...

The boom will swing even with tight bushings. I'd go tight. A MCH or so less than 3/8"

That sounds tricky. Snow seems too cold to fry a turkey but hey, it's your turkey. yes, they seem to have a high failure rate. Metal to metal pins are kind of dumb, but we all accept them. A  bag of UHMW bushings with shoulders should be provided when you get a boat with a gooseneck. I rebushed...

That strategy is flawed IMO. You spend the better part of a day sailing that far offshore, and a similar amount when you decide to close with the coast. You're giving up your weather forecasting window by doing so. Also that area around OR/CA border ALWAYS seems to have the worst weather as you...

Been to Archive Fine Books in Brisbane CBD? That's a treasure.

As my wife likes to say about that area - it's not a beginner's coast. Did you sail a long way offshore from the coast? What time of year was it?

I suspect the mechanism is  like "get picked up by a big breaking crest, broach and then capsize". Just watch videos of sailboats in breaking surf that capsize.  If they can keep perpendicular to the wave, they usually stay upright. The beauty of the Jordan series drogue is that SOME part of...