Ocean Navigator Magazine - May/June 2019

In this issue

In this issues's Special Section on Batteries we start with a story in which we examine how voyagers can determine the best level of battery capacity they need on their boat depending on how many electrical loads they have on board. Our second story details a voyager's custom battery charging system for his house battery bank and engine start battery. Our third story looks at lithium Ion batteries, why they are achieving wider acceptance among cruising sailors and provides a sample of the various units available. In our Power Voyaging column voyaging couple James and Jennifer Hamilton describe how they fixed the wireless remote control for the lifting crane on their Nordhavn trawler. In the Ocean Voyaging section we have a story on a challenging passage to French Polynesia — a voyaging couple on a cruising catamaran, early in their voyaging career, make a stormy passage from the Galapagos to the Gambier Islands. In our continuing series on celestial navigation we focus on how time zones work and how we can get valuable info from the Nautical Almanac. In a story on diesel engines, 2019 CCA Young Voyager Award winner Ellen Massey Leonard describes trying to "coax" a seized-up diesel back into action while in a small marina in Australia. In our Voyaging Tips section a liveaboard voyager describes using custom cut pieces of old flip-flop sandals for a variety of tasks around his boat. We also have a look at the earth's magnetic poles, the reason for magnetic variation and how the location of the magnetic pole is changing. Plus, the Nav Problem and much more.