Boat Power Budget: Never Let Safety Gear Run Out of Power

by Andrejs

A clipboard with a hand-written load list on a yacht's chart table, a pencil resting on it, beside a small handheld multimeter and a VHF radio handset, warm cabin light with th

A flat house bank takes out the VHF, the AIS, the chartplotter, the navigation lights and often the autopilot at the same moment, and it usually does so…

DSC Distress Alert: Who Hears It and What Happens Next

November 9, 2026 by Andrejs

Close-up of a marine VHF radio mounted at a chart table, its hinged red distress cover flipped open and a thumb resting on the red button, the small screen glowing amber with a countdown,

Pressing the red button on a DSC marine VHF sends a short digital message, not a voice call.

Handheld vs Fixed Marine GPS: Day Trips or Long Cruises?

by Andrejs

A small aluminum jon boat on a trailer at a boat ramp in early morning light, a yellow handheld GPS clipped by a lanyard to the tiller-side gunwale bracket, with a cooler and a fi

Most advice on handheld vs fixed mount marine GPS starts with screen resolution and battery claims.

How a GPS Antenna, Chartplotter and Fishfinder Actually Talk to Each Other on Your Boat

by Andrejs

A small white dome GPS antenna mounted on a stainless pole at the top of a boat's hardtop frame, with open blue sky all around it and a cable running down the frame, while a VHF whi

Every marine navigation system answers three questions: where is the boat, how deep is the water under it, and what does the chart say is around it.

Ditch Bag Checklist: What to Pack and What to Leave Behind

by Andrejs

The inside of a bright orange ditch bag opened on a chart table, showing small colour-coded dry bags (red, yellow, blue, green) packed in separate compartments, a floating line wit

A sailboat ditch bag checklist is easy to find and easy to get wrong, because most of them are lists of everything that might help.

Lifejacket PLB vs Satellite Messenger: Who Answers Your SOS

November 5, 2026 by Andrejs

A sailor in a yellow inflated lifejacket floating in dark, choppy night water, one gloved hand holding a small PLB with its antenna pointing straight up toward a sky of scattered s

Pressing the SOS button on a personal locator beacon (PLB) and pressing it on a satellite messenger both send a distress signal with your position.

ISO 9650 Life Raft Contents: What to Add for Blue Water

November 4, 2026November 4, 2026 by Andrejs

A technician in a service station inspecting a fully inflated orange life raft, with its canopy up and its equipment laid out on a bench beside it. Bright fluorescent light, an IS

If you are shopping for the best life raft for blue water cruising, the first thing to know is that the answer is a specification, not a brand.

Wiring Boat Safety Electronics: Keep VHF & AIS Alive

November 3, 2026November 3, 2026 by Andrejs

A boat's interior showing two battery locations far apart: a large house bank in the bilge-level locker, and a small emergency battery strapped down high and dry in a dry cabi

Most electrical upgrades on a cruising boat add capacity to the house bank.

Marine VHF Radio Features That Matter in an Emergency

by Andrejs

Close view of a marine VHF radio at a nav station with the red distress button's hinged cover flipped open, a gloved thumb resting over it, spray droplets on the panel, lit by dim red

Judge marine VHF radio features for emergencies by running a distress call in order and asking, at each moment, what the radio needs and what a tired…

AIS Transponder for Sailboats: Best Class B Units Compared

November 3, 2026October 31, 2026 by Andrejs

A sailboat's mast against a pale morning sky seen from deck level, with a slim VHF antenna at the masthead and a shorter whip antenna clamped to the stern rail pushpit in the

If you are choosing an AIS transponder for passages that take you weeks from the nearest chandlery, the label on the box matters less than four things…

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