The Morning Muster Sailing Podcast

We invited Amanda Swan on the show today because not only does she have hundreds of thousands of sea miles under her belt, but she is also educator (and we like educators). She is also a sailmaker, and rigger. And today we’ll be talking about rigging. Yes – the ropes and wires we rely on but rarely make our maintenance checklists. Let’s be real, when was the last time you walked around you boat and ran your fingers along the wires, feeling for burs. Or went aloft, and checked the chafe on those halyards. Well those checks are critical. And we’ll be talking about why this matter today. Also on the show, we invited John Thurston. John is a rope expert. He owns Lanex USA in Jamestown RI. Rocinante, our Norseman 447 is outfitted stem to stern in Lanex Rope - a European based cordage company. And we love it. And John’s advice was so good, we thought you might want to hear some of it too. We cover a bunch of useful sailing topics in this podcast about lines and rigging:How to care for your running rigging and lines. Why you should take your lines off the boat during the off season.Whats the difference between HMPE (dyneema) and Polyester cordage.Which one floats and which one burns? Covers vs. cores and how they interact.Amanda encourages us to buy lines over length to accomodate chafe, and to buy same size lines – so you can switch them out and change the wear spots. What causes lines to slip on winches and clutches.We get into the clasic deate of lines led aft vs at the mast, but in regards to line care and longevity. Do you color code your lines and reef cringles for safety? It' s a great idea!What causes sheave chafe? We get into Rig inspections and checklists,Keeping this simple… its so easy to sit at your deck and buy sailing gear. But do you need it all?Splicing good line is harder than poor soft line - most riggers dont want to splice with the good stuff because its too hard!Get to know what elastic deformation does to your lines and how creep degrades your line strength.And sailing gloves -- do you use them?Music by Tim Eriksen

Let's talk about boat projects! We love them and hate them, or do we? They require alot of planning and thought, in addition to the actual labor. We chat with two sailors — Steve Swartz and Daphne Douglas, who are both knee-deep in large refits of their boats to discuss the ins and outs of the process. They offer some tips on planning and execution, as well as finding the right balance between money, time, and sailing.

A discussion about GPS! We all use it everyday, more than we probably even realize. But is it all it's cracked up to be and will it last? We chat with Pauline Cook, formerly a Coast Guard captain who's involved with the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation and Scott Logan, a GPS consultant and expert.

Our guests Katy Stewart, Jeff Oakleaf, and Jake Beattie have lots of sailing experience, but nothing is quite like sailing in the Race to Alaska! It's a tough and quirky race with just one rule -- you cannot have an engine aboard your vessel. It's nicknamed the America's Cup For Dirt Bags. Listen to this for some great insight into the race itself but also the seamanship required to just complete this one-of-a-kind race.

We sat down with a few of our students and instructors from MoA 219 (September 2021) to talk about learning to sail in Maine, the challenges, the experiences, the trials and tribulations. Of course we had a few laughs and reminisced a bit. But this was a fun one to record with a great group of sailors. If you're curious about what a Morse Alpha Expedition is all about, this should help give you some insight.

In this episode we’re discussing considerations for offshore sailing with regards to gear and design choices. Guests are Pam Wall and Barry Kennedy, both bluewater sailors with thousands of miles under their keels. Barry is in the midst of a refit on his Garcia 50 Passoa, and Pam and her husband built their Freya 39 and sailed around the world.

Choosing the right boat isn't just about the design and features. It's about finding the right balance between the owner, the boat and the goals. Ben chats with a marine surveyor and a seasoned sailing instructor.