Solar Panels–You Light Up My Life
While in George Town, Exuma the Captain attended a beach seminar on batteries and energy power for the boat. A lot of cruisers attended and the seminar created a lot of buzz. By the time we arrived George Town we hadn’t been in a marina for several weeks. Not a big deal, saved us money and no docking “events.” You get the drill, but not being in a marina also means our battery bank had not been “topped up” via shore power – ugh. So the discussion at the seminar was all about how to “love” on your batteries. Maintaining them is important. Not that I can technically explain it, but over time you need to fully charge the batteries and the last percentage is the hardest to add. The Captain came back from the beach Read more [...]
Susie Harris offered to share her blog post on flag making. Seamless Sailor has posted before on flags here. Susie's post adds some additional details and tips that I thought warranted this second post on flags.
Aboard Temptress of Down she is undertaking several sewing projects. She is a self-described "craft junkie with a sailing habit". Sounds like the perfect Seamless Sailor to me! Thanks, Susie, for providing insight on making courtesy flags.
Vexillology
12/30/2013
Minima YC Burgee - handmade by moi
...Vexillology is the study of flags and we've been studying them hard aboard Temptress for some weeks as every country expects visiting boats be they super tankers or the tiniest of yachts, to fly a courtesy 
Our good friends on Second Sally gave us a Bahamian courtesy flag when we bought our boat. Considering we were relatively newbies (and still are!), it seemed like they issued us a challenge - would we make it to the Bahamas so we could put the flag to use? It was an aspirational gift. We are on our way!
Bahamian FlagBahamian Courtesy FlagThere are a variety of flags to have aboard:
- Country flag or ensign
- Courtesy flags
- “Q” flag needed when initially entering a new country
- Decorative code flags
- Burgees for organizations and yacht clubs, and house flags
In this post I gave instructions for making a house flag. Making flags can save a bit of money as flags can be pricey. Flags can be made by hand or machine. 
Sewing Machine Maintenance. Gotta get it done.
- I admit it. I abused my sewing machine. I neglected it. It started making sounds that didn't sound good - sorta metal on metal. But I have redeemed myself. I took it apart and cleaned and oiled it. It wasn't that hard. I read the Sailrite manual and watched the video. You can do it too. It just takes a screwdriver, paper towels, and sewing machine oil. Test it on some scraps before your next project for any residual oil. Don't abuse your machine. Take care of it before each big project. If it's happy, you'll be happy.
-Watch needle size for the project at hand. I recently broke a needle on several layers of webbing. My bad as I was using too small a needle 
I'm hearing from several folks looking to buy heavier sewing machines. It can be a big investment, yet one that will likely pay for itself*. A sewing machine is a great tool for the boat. Like the Porter Cable multi tool or cordless drill. I was surprised when my husband said I'd be sewing for the boat. Who knew how much canvas was aboard? He was in full agreement with buying a heavier sewing machine. While a good seamstress or fabricator is a valuable professional to have on speed dial, there are many projects you can do yourself. So the right tool is worth the investment.
Yes, I have a Sailrite Ultrafeed LSZ-1 (zigzag). I do like it and use it a lot. It is heavy as it has mainly metal parts (44lbs). It's bit loud,