Posts by Jon Mendez

One of the great joys in this fantastic weather is being out on the water, brilliant warm sunshine and boiling flat seas, its all happening this summer. So just a thought, have you considered the option of spending a night at anchor rather than travel back to a marina? Not only does this offer new places to stay rather than just visiting, but can really…

A fleet of beautifully crafted 1:25 working scale model ships, including a replica HM Royal Navy destroyer, is getting ready to charter new waters next week when it leaves the safety of the boating lake to make a maiden voyage across the Solent for charity. Marine enthusiast, David Ritchie and his local crew will be launching off from Portsmouth Historic Dockyard at 8am on July…

Most marine engines are cooled by utilising the seawater around the boat through a heat exchange system to cool the coolant that is within the engine itself. Bizarrely most smaller engines only monitor the heat on the engine side of this system with no exhaust temperature monitoring, so often the first sign of an overheat will be the temperature gauge shooting up (very easy to…

Great little things tenders, they allow one to get to the shore for all manner of things, including “light refreshments”. Used sensibly they are a great aid to enjoying your boating even more. However like all great things there are a few small things to consider: If it’s an inflatable, pump it up correctly. Best of all use a pressure gauge, if you don’t have…

If you have ever done an RYA training course you will have learnt how to get back to a person in the water, otherwise known as the MOB or Man OverBoard. Now at the start of the season it’s a really good time to actually go and practice that manoeuvre, so it’s all fresh in the mind. It is also not a bad moment to…

With a hint of sunshine, are you, or more importantly your boat ready to go afloat? It may sound simple, but draw up a pre-launch checklist, either for you or your boatyard to carry out. This will help to significantly reduce the risk of potential accidents, breakdowns, or worse, sinking. These checks are particularly important after Winter where skin fittings, pipes, engines and water-cooling systems…

Well what a month it has been, severe storms seem to have been happening almost from the moment I finished my last article. Anybody with a boat or a vague interest in the sea will have been concerned with the impact of the weather, and as for the poor souls inland, well we all know that the Somerset levels are meant to flood – they…

Charts and publication for area of travel in date GPS or plotter or combined version with correct charts Navigation tools - pencil, plotter, dividers Extra warps and fenders Fire Blanket Main Anchor complete with safety lanyard Kedge Anchor with 10m chain and suitable warp - warp also acts as a towline so min 20m Wood panel to cover any broken hatch Softwood wooden bungs for…

A Cruise in Company with a couple of other boats always seems to be a great idea, until you start to do the difficult part of organising the when, where, which marinas, for how long, then you just need a route, some waypoints and a bit of tide, easy really all that’s left is to sort out the weather! There is another way, Mendez Marine…

Motor Boats & Yachting - Yachtmaster Training - Part 15