Sailing inyourfootsteps.com

Reducing galvanic corrosion or electrolysis throughout the vessel
When different metal are in contact with each other, either submersed in, or subject to seawater spray, galvanic corrosion or electrolysis occurs. This is an exchange of electrons, atomic particles, ions etc causing an electronic difference of potential between the metals. The less noble or anodic metal can be very quickly corroded away by the seawater conducting its ions to the more noble or cathodic metal. Aluminium, ordinary steels and the more base metals are less noble and highly subject to corrosion. The more noble materials include bronze and stainless steel.

Improving a cruising vessels charging by right-sizing the alternator
Most all inboard sailboat engines have a standard alternator size range from 35 to 55 amps and use it to top up batteries. However the modern cruising life is electrically hungry and we quickly add batteries without considering the alternators capability to charge an expansion.

Keeping doused jibs and spinnakers aboard
Doused jibs and spinnakers can be a challenge to keep aboard, especially if conditions are boisterous.

Increasing the roles a galley sink cover may address
Cruising yachts are very limited in space so one has to carefully measure the utility any item serves against the storage space it requires to judge if specific items are worth having.

Improving a cruising vessels charging by optimising the regulator performance
The alternator produces electricity to recharge the battery. The regulator sits between the two systems deciding the power output from the alternator to optimize the battery charging. It refreshes the battery with a tapered charging process that is the default charging mechanism of a standard alternator. The taper causes the battery to charge rapidly at first and then slow down as it reaches full charge. This eliminates the risk of overcharging and battery damage. The standard system works well refreshing a single vehicle battery that it is designed for. However the default alternator taper is highly conservative, i.e. it drops down the charge output too quickly, in the context of refreshing a well used boat battery in a short amount of time. The performance shortcoming is dramatic when refreshing a bank of batteries. Although the default charge setting will charge a vessels batteries in time, the alternators taper drops the output so as to make it unnecessarily inefficient.

Better protection from the elements whilst tiller steering the vessel.
Manually steering a vessel via the tiller invariably positions the helmsman at the middle-to-back of the cockpit and allows the forward area of the cockpit to be worked by the winch handlers. The back of the cockpit however is highly exposed to the elements and when sailing shorthanded line control jammers and sheeting blocks are just out of reach for the helmsman. You can buy telescopic tiller extensions, but these are primarily designed to add side reach, or just slightly forward of athwart ship, for beamy boats and they do not allow the helmsman to come directly forward in the cockpit.

Making sight tubes easier to read
It can be very difficult to read a sight tube. Mounted near to tanks they tend to be situated in awkward places that are as often as not subject to poor lighting. Often the readings have to be taken from transparent fluids.

A folding table arrangement for a confined cabin
Mounting a reasonable sized table in a confined cabin can be a challenge. A respectably sized table can consume a large proportion of the available space and can make accessing the fore cabin inconvenient. Yet a table that is not in the way will be too small and unpleasant to dine off.

Protect your engine with an exhaust swan neck
Exhaust pipes are subject to taking water in through the exhaust outlet. IF this happens in quantity the exhaust system will backfill right up to and into the pistons. Exhausts should be as high above the waterline as possible but they are always vulnerable. Following waves can push water from behind into outlet pipes and they may go a long way under when heeling. Cruising boats are typically loaded more and so they go down a few inches on the waterline making them more vulnerable.

Reducing navigation light power consumption and enhancing reliability
Running a suite of navigation lights through the night whilst under sail can consume a large amount of a vessels battery capacity. So much so that power conservative sailors in remote waters have a tendency to turn off navigation lights to avoid the power drain.