Gear Graveyard: Expired EPIRB Batteries, Obsolete EPIRBS
February 26, 2010
We received the letter below yesterday from Practical Sailor reader Arnold Rowe. He was kind enough to let us share it (with some minor edits of his well-expressed and understandable ire), with the hopes of raising awareness of the limited service life of 406 EPIRBs. Having had a similar experience years ago with the torpedo-sized RLB23 (which set me back more than a $1,000 in the ’90s) I can sympathize. The now obsolete RLB23 is officially consigned to Practical Sailor’s Gear Graveyard, and I expect a series of other newly obsolete EPIRBs to join it.
Posted by Darrell Nicholson at 04:18PM Comments (1)
Cobra Handheld VHF with Cell Phone Capabilities
February 16, 2010
Cobra has been coming out with some interesting radio products at fairly affordable prices. We’ve tested several of their products in recent years, and although they didn’t always come out on top, they’ve been very competitively priced. Their $100 submersible HH325, Practical Sailor’s top pick in our test of budget-priced submersible VHFs and fixed mount radios, has held up well in long-term testing. Another Cobra handheld, priced at about $150, compared closely with the higher-end portable VHFs.
Posted by Darrell Nicholson at 04:46PM Comments (0)
First Look at Interlux's latest marine coatings
February 15, 2010
As Practical Sailor reported in the one-year update for our long-term wood finishes test in the December issue, Interlux Yacht Paints recently released three new exterior varnishes: Perfection Plus, a clear two-part polyurethane; Schooner Gold, a high-viscosity, quick-building varnish; and Compass, a fast-drying hybrid of classic tung oil and polyurethane.
Posted by Admin at 04:51PM Comments (0)
Synthetic Standing Rigging from Colligo
February 15, 2010
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Posted by at 12:47PM Comments (0)
Power-Assist Winch Grinding from WinchRite
February 15, 2010
I’ve seen several attempts to convert existing battery-operated power tools into power winches, and readers have suggested a few of them in the Mailport section of Practical Sailor. Not surprisingly, it is a popular topic with our long-term subscribers. Many of you have been with us for more than 30 years (amen!), and the years of winch grinding are inevitably taking their toll on wrists, elbows, and shoulders.
Posted by Admin at 03:29PM Comments (1)
PS First Look: Selden's Code X Furler
February 15, 2010
In Practical Sailor’s last review of Code 0 furlers, in the March 2008 issue, testers found many benefits to incorporating light-air sails in a sailplan and to using a continuous furler rather than a sock to control some of those sails.
Posted by Admin at 10:44AM Comments (0)
Marine Electronics
February 14, 2010
Posted by at 04:28PM Comments (0)
Superwind 350 Wind-gen Upgrades
February 14, 2010
The Superwind 350 was Practical Sailor’s top pick of the five wind-generators we reviewed in the July 2007 issue and it was named to PS’s 2007 Gear of the Year list. Since that test, the Superwind’s manufacturer has made some improvements in the unit’s design and function, including the new carbon-fiber Silent Power Blades.
Posted by Admin at 04:48PM Comments (1)
West Marine's Top Picks for 2010
February 14, 2010
Practical Sailor hasn’t tested any of these products yet, but we’ve evaluated plenty of Harken gear, a variety of gadgets from Blue Sea Systems, and various apparel from West Marine in the past.
Posted by Darrell Nicholson at 04:34PM Comments (0)
Antifouling paint prices hold steady
February 9, 2010
I just finished my first run-through on bottom paint prices and noticed that, for the first time in recent memory, I don’t see any significant price jumps. Naturally, with the lagging economy, it behooves paint makers to offer the best value to consumers. Nevertheless, I was surprised by some of the prices, particularly since copper prices have regained much of the ground they lost last year. Several of our “Good” paints in our six-month checkup fell right around $100/gallon mark.
Posted by Darrell Nicholson at 04:52PM Comments (0)
Miracle Protectants, Ataturk, and Deed-restricted Communities
February 3, 2010
Several readers have forwarded me a press release on the latest high-tech nano-coating – a spray on glass coating designed to protect a wide range of surfaces from . . . well, just about anything. According to the press release, the nanotechnology product, developed in Turkey and owned by a German company, yields a harmless spray that can protect virtually any surface against dirt and mildew and weathering for up to a year.
Posted by Darrell Nicholson at 04:57PM Comments (0)
Environmentally-friendly Antifouling Paint Test
January 28, 2010
The bottom paint update coming up in the March issue of Practical Sailor will feature more than a dozen new antifouling paints, and many of them are no-copper or low-copper varieties. While paint manufacturers could potentially save a bundle by reducing the copper content in their paints, the costs associated with bringing an effective alternative biocide to the market are a big impediment. (No, simply adding cayenne to a cheap bottom paint doesn’t work.) If there is to be any motion in a green-paint direction, government policy will be the prime mover.
Posted by Darrell Nicholson at 05:02PM Comments (0)
