Cruising Tip of the Month

A plastic spiral binding saves precious cockpit space and won’t throw off your compass. Like a good seed catalog, the 2008 Waggoner Cruising Guide has been entertaining us through the winter months with visions of spring and all we might do with the arrival of better weather. The Pacific Yachting PNW staff has also been reaching for the guide with some regularity as we check the occasional name or phone number. The problem is, the book’s stiff, glued binding makes it hard to keep open. This challenge recurs in the cockpit, when one hand is steering, another hand is holding a cold drink and yet another—oh, we’ve run out of hands. Bob and Marilynn Hale, the book’s publisher and front-line reporting staff, have a solution: Take the book to Kinko’s or some other copy shop and have the glued “perfect” binding replaced with a plastic spiral binding. While you’re at it, add clear plastic covers for protection. Now the guide will stay open to that critical marina map and take up half as much precious cockpit space to boot.

 

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