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How to identify water leaks in pressurised freshwater systems
Pressurised water systems load up freshwater pipes and joints. Often small leaks can develop typically at joints. Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to detect where these leaks are.

Fitting a PL259 aerial connector to coaxial cable
A high quality VHF installation is required to maximise reception and reduce interference. However cabling connections revolve around fitting PL259 plugs, an if that appears daunting it may lead you to call on expensive specialist help.

The single most important sailing knot to learn, the bowline
Sailing is a world of knots, bends, hitches, loops etc each targeted at specific roles. There are far too many to learn them all, unless you take pleasure in the art, and for a starter trying to get to grips with rope handling can be daunting.

How to cut out a large round hole
Cutting out a hole larger than the largest hole saw fitting, can be daunting. It is very difficult to hand cut with a jigsaw unless it is very large.

Making it easier to keep a yacht’s varnish work in good condition
Most yachts have varnished wooden details that are exposed to the elements. This degrades quickly if the protective varnish coat is damaged and water is allowed to work its way into the wood.

The trick to inserting a new water pump impeller
Flexible rubber impeller pumps are the most common mechanism to cool yacht engines. However, the rubber impeller wears and degrades requiring regular replacement, typically annually. This can prove to be difficult, particularly so for larger pumps where the vanes can be disagreeably stiff or when the pump housing is difficult to access in the confines of an engine compartment.

A very useful general purpose knot, the round turn and two half hitches
Sailing is a world of knots, bends, hitches, loops etc and can be daunting. But a handful of knots will suffice. The bowline is the king of the multi-purpose sailing knots, and the one to learn first. After that, our circumnavigations’ most convenient knot was the clove hitch. But it is worth spreading out to a few more general purpose knots.

The highly convenient clove hitch
Sailing is a world of knots, bends, hitches, loops etc. The bowline is the king of the multi-purpose knots, and the one to learn first. But although functional in almost every circumstance it can be cumbersome in many situations.

A help to get up the mast solo or where the assisting crew member is challenged
Going up the mast single handed, or indeed supported by someone who is not very strong, is not an easy task and very dangerous. With no one to support the single hander, or with someone who is able do little more than tension a safety line, the person going aloft is totally reliant on their own strength to pull themselves up.

Undoing very tight screws
Screws, like almost every fastening, have a tendency to seize up on a seagoing vessel. They can also be very hard going to put in.


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