Posts under ‘Cruising’

Slider’s first sistership hit the water for the first time on Saturday, February 20th, 2010. Dean Pacetti built Honu (Polynesian for turtle) at his home in Florida. I should mention that Dean was the second person to buy plans for Slider. At the time Dean bought his plans, I’d only completed half [...]

Dean Pacetti has sent me some more pictures of his build, which is nearing completion.
One excellent change he made in the plans was to add toerails to the fore and aft decks. I thought about doing this, but eventually decided I was too lazy. But I think it increases safety at very little [...]

Name: Assateague Island National Seashore.
Location: Ten miles South of Ocean City, Maryland. Nearest small town, Berlin, Maryland.
Weather: See Ocean City, Maryland.
Chart
Fees: $10 entrance fee. Carcamping rates $20 per day. Remote campsites $5 per week. Significant reduction if over 62.
Ramp: Shallow sandy beach at Old Ferry Landing is fine for small boats. Larger boats at either [...]

This hasn’t been the best summer for sailing, though it’s mostly my fault. I’ve been a little under the weather for much of the season, and then there have been various other modest catastrophes that have kept me off the water.
But last week I decided I was going, come hell or high water. [...]

Most of this article originally appeared in Small Craft Advisor.

Name: Fort Walton Beach/Destin, Florida.
In brief: One of the premier cruising areas along the Northern Gulf of Mexico.
Where: Ramp at Liza Jackson Park. Map and Chart.
Ramp: Free, though nearby shallow flats may be unsuitable for deeper draft boats.
Weather at the base camp.

Northwest Florida has a [...]

Among the pleasures of owning a little boat are the little improvements you can add from time to time to make the boat more useful, more comfortable, and/or more pleasant to sail.
I’ve added a couple of amenities to Slider recently. One is a new deck tent. I probably haven’t finished this one yet, [...]