Practical Sailor's gear and boat reviews take the guesswork out of your buying decisions.

	Volume 36 Number 2 February 2010
Captain's License Schools Survey

Many of the charts & tables found on this site are PDFs.

February 2010

Union 36 Boat Review
While not the best boat for light-air sailing, the Union 36 is a good sailboat for the bluewater cruiser. It won’t get you there fast, but it will get you there comfortably and in one piece. The boat’s teak decks and lavish use of interior wood is attractive but requires much upkeep and maintenance. A product of the Taiwan-U.S. boatbuilding industry, the Union 36 is a heavy-displacement, full-keel, cutter-rigged double-ender designed for ocean sailing. The Union 36 is nearly identical to several other boats built during the same period: the Hans Christian 36, Mariner Polaris 36, and the EO36. According to well-known naval architect Bob Perry, the Union 36 and its cousins are all based on the design of a 34-footer that Perry was commissioned to create back in the early 70s.

Practical Sailor Tracks Down the Best LED Tri-color Light
Practical Sailor found that the full brightness that LEDs offer, coupled with a huge energy savings, a wide tolerance to voltage changes, and a very long expected lifespan, make LED a great alternative to incandescent lights for masthead tri-color. The tradeoff is the considerable heft of the price tag. Practical Sailor tested LED tri-color lanterns from Orca Green Marine (OGM), Signal Mate, and Lopolight. We also evaluated LED tricolor bulbs designed to replace those in the popular Aqua Signal Series 40 tri-color light. Those were bulbs from Lunasea, Dr. LED, and LED Shop.

Which is the Best Marine Inverter-charger for Your Boat?
To decide which marine inverter-charger best meets your onboard power demands, first consider how it will used, how and where it will be mounted and what is required to fit with your electrical system. After testing multiple marine inverter-chargers, Practical Sailor offers this report on the units’ inverter capabilities and a follow-up review will report on the units’ charger functions. There are two classes of marine DC inverters: true sine wave (TSW) and modified sine wave (MSW). Each uses a different method to produce AC voltage. Practical Sailor evaluated modified sine wave units from Charles Industries, Magnum Energy, ProMariner, and Tripp Lite, and true sine wave units from Magnum, Mastervolt, ProMariner, and Xantrex.

The Search is on for the Best Degreaser for Marine Grit and Grime
Practical Sailor searched for the top liquid degreasers to tackle heavy grease on marine stoves and marine engines. Eleven products were tested, including Chomp oil eater, Holy Cow degreaser, Kafko degreaser, Krud Kutter degreaser, Mary Kate Grease Away, Star brite All Purpose Citrus Cleaner Degreaser, and Star brite Sea Safe Cleaner Degreaser. Practical Sailor tested the liquid marine cleaners on grimy fiberglass panels and on aged, greasy farm equipment engines.

Portable Sailing Tools for Tracking and Tuning Boat Speed
Practical Sailor recently spent a week experimenting with three handheld products geared toward performance sailors. These portable tools are for tracking and improving sailboat speed. Unlike conventional portable GPS units, which have relatively small displays and deliver a wide range of navigational data, these products display large digits that can be read from a distance, and the view options are limited to those that relate exclusively to speed and racing performance. Practical Sailor tested the Speedwatch and two GPS units, Velocitek SC-1 and SpeedPuck. These instruments make good training tools for young sailors and will give all around-the-buoy sailors the ability to quickly quantify performances.

Bio-Solv Green Acetone
A bottom-paint job is unpleasant from start to finish, and wiping down the hull with acetone plays a role in that unpleasantness. So when a Cinnaminson, N.J., company sent us an acetone alternative called Bio-Solv, we were more than keen to test it. Bio-Solv is a non-toxic, non-flammable cleaner that works better and is safer than acetone, lacquer thinner, or Xylene, according to Anthony Severino of MAS Epoxies, which began selling Bio-Solv last year. The company buys it from a proprietary manufacturer.

Columbia Mocs for Him . . .
As we noted in our last look at men’s athletic-style boating shoes (June 2007), the marine footwear market is changing quickly. This hasn’t necessarily been good for the consumer, as a lot of poorly executed "copycat" shoes are turning up at boat shows. Last year was the first time Practical Sailor had the opportunity to take a hard look at any boat shoe from Columbia Sportswear, an Oregon-based apparel company that over the last 10 years has expanded into the boating market. Testers put a pair of the company’s PFG Sea Ray Boating Shoes through our battery of shoe tests (nonskid grip, water absorption, odor resistance, etc.) and then wore them around for six months. The ability to multi-task is one of the appeals of the moccasin style of boat shoe.

Camet Wahine Shorts for Her
After a frustrating and fruitless day of shopping locally for gear appropriate for a 30-something woman to wear on the race course, Practical Sailor editors set out on a mission to find a pair of padded sailing shorts that: fit properly (unlike most women’s board shorts, which seem styled for a 13-year-old); did not look like they’d been borrowed from a man’s locker; and were fast-drying, comfortable, and functional (even when hopping around a racer-cruiser or hiking on a dinghy). We found few options, and most of those were made by Camet International, a California-based sailing apparel manufacturer.

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