Bill Barry asks:

When you are shutting down the main engine to check the fluids, do you take advantage of this time to run the wing engine?

Bill, funny you ask, we just shut down the main engine yesterday to check
oil and transmission and, yes, we did run the wing engine. It is a good idea
to run these wing engines on a regular basis to keep everything moving and
lubricated.

Have you been deploying the paravanes? Please talk about how you decide
when to use them, their effectiveness, some pros and cons about them.

On this trip so far we have been using the active stabilizers. We have used
the paravanes once to date and that was with a sea running on our beam and
using just one paravane on the windward side only.

The benefits of active stabilizers are that you can
deploy them by merely pushing a button, they work in shallow water and they work
very well. However, they are more work to maintain and if you get
into a serious weather condition and were only able to make headway with bare
steerage, they would not work well because of boat speed. Also, you have to be
aware of them in very shallow water where there may be rocks.

Paravanes are pretty much maintenance free, work very well at
slow speeds, and at serve nicely as flopper stoppers while at anchor. On the downside, paravanes are more work to deploy. Also, coastal cruisers traveling in shallower waters need to be mindful that the "fish" hang at a depth of 15 feet.

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