I learned how to use my wife’s sewing machine yesterday! Yeah, I’m feeling pretty pleased with myself. I now know what an 18-gauge sewing needle is, and I wouldn’t recommend anything smaller for sewing through zippers and multiple layers of Sunbrella fabric. I thought that needle was going to break a few times!

In any [...]

I’ve had my eye on this product for a while. As I’ve written before, I LOVE cooking outdoors while cruising. It really makes the boat feel a lot bigger, plus I like the casual socializing at the dock when folks walk by and smell the cooking. Sometimes I think I could almost pay for my [...]

I’ve got a Magma kettle barbecue that claims it can be used as an oven. I’m skeptical, because the Magma’s control valve doesn’t seem to offer nearly enough precision to maintain any kind of consistent temperature. But the truth is I’ve never tried it.
Every once in while, though, I wonder about baking something aboard. Usually, [...]

[It's another MadMariner feature from a few weeks back. In it, I summarize some of my experiences with the Magma kettle stove/grill. I’ve encountered problems, and sometimes I’ve discovered solutions. The Magma kettles are very popular, and this article should be valuable to anyone who owns one, or who is shopping for a barbecue. —Tim]

Magma [...]

Time for another Navagear feature at MadMariner! In it, I summarize some of my experiences with the Magma kettle stove/grill.
I’ve encountered problems, and sometimes I’ve discovered solutions. The Magma kettles are very popular, and this article should be valuable to anyone who owns one, or who is shopping for a barbecue.
PLUS, the teaser photo [...]

So I’ve been thinking: wouldn’t it be great to run the Magma Kettle 2 grill off something refillable, rather than those disposable 16-oz. cylinders discussed last time? Not only are they an expensive way to purchase propane, but there’s no recycling program for them. That’s wasteful times two!
Instead, I want something I can refill [...]

Sorry for the down-time recently. This kitchen remodel is really taking its toll, I tell ya! We’re doing most of the work ourselves, so everything else has taken a back seat, for the time being.
There’s a boat-gadget angle in all this, though: With the kitchen in pieces, I’ve been cooking my precious "bagel eggel" breakfasts [...]

Heck, I didn’t even know Southern Boating HAD a swimsuit issue!
Still, I’m sure some readers will appreciate my article on Automated External Defibrillators, appearing in the April issue. After looking at the swimsuit pictures, I think I had heart palpitations myself!
This was a really interesting article to research. I learned a lot [...]

Between bad weather, illness, and various demands on my time, I haven’t been able to get out on my boat since Thanksgiving. Today, Arwen and I rectified this situation. The forecast was great, as you can see. Despite the sunny weather, we were obliged to run the heater the entire time. We saw Western Towboat’s [...]

Remember my too-clever downrigger mount for the Magma grill on my C-Dory? I’m pretty pleased with the solution I’ve got, but I can’t help but wonder if I might have done it all differently, had I known about Burnewiin’s robust and attractive line of universal gunnel mounts.I got to look at the Burnewiin hardware on [...]