August 2011
Practical Sailor's Reader-recommended Sailmakers
Subscribers Only If you are looking for a sailmaker, here's a state-by-state list of those recommended by readers of Practical Sailor magazine, based on the magazine's 2010-2011 survey.
PS Reviews Seven Performance-sailing Dinghies
A junior sailor is all smiles aboard an Open Bic, a thermo-molded performance boat that’s perfect for summer sailing fun. It’s easily portable, and its abrasion-resistant hull will take a youngster’s docking drills in stride.
With summer upon us, light, quick sailing dinghies that are easy to sail and easy to transport make summertime on the water a blast. Practical Sailor reviews some of the perennial favorites—the Optimist, Sunfish, Hobie, and Laser—and looks at how newcomers like Bic Sports’ Open Bic match up. Testers also review a do-it-yourself sailing dinghy kit, the Eastport Pram from Chesapeake Light Craft, and Hobie’s newest catamaran, the Bravo, a quick-to-launch beach cat with plenty of get-up-and-go. We also take a look at Laser Performance’s newest club trainer/racer for the wee sailors, the Bug.
The Art of Building with Thermal-setting Plastics
The Bug has a roto-molded hull of polyethylene that’s abrasion resistant and requires only a soap-and-water maintenance regimen. A good combination for a junior sailor’s first boat.The Bug has a roto-molded hull of polyethylene that’s abrasion resistant and requires only a soap-and-water maintenance regimen. A good combination for a junior sailor’s first boat.
Subscribers Only One of the themes seen among the new entries is a trend toward thermal-setting rather than thermal-fixing plastic construction. The latter is representative of the most common approach to fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) boatbuilding. A process in which room-temperature liquid-resin systems are used to wet-out reinforcing filaments in what has become generically referred to as fiberglass boatbuilding.
Youth Safety Gear Top Picks
It’s summertime, which means the kids are out of school and flocking to youth sailing camps, heading out on family cruises, and cooling off in the pool. Over the years, we reviewed dozens of safety products to keep wee crew safe around the water, including PFDs (personal flotation devices) for children, toddlers, and infants. Here are some of our top picks.
Buyers Guide: Choosing a New Cruising Main
The Union Cutter 36, Melelu, is measured for a new mainsail.
As with any big ticket item, choosing a new mainsail involves a number of choices, each of which are driven by an equally diverse list of factors to consider, from the type of boat (cruising, racing sailboat), and area sailed (inshore waters, coastal waters, or bluewater), to the type of sailor you are (performance-oriented hard charger or weekend warrior). Practical Sailor offers a step-by-step rundown of the available options and the selection process our testers experienced when we shopped for a new mainsail for our Chesapeake Bay test boat. While the decisions will vary, the exercise can serve as a template for any sailor looking to upgrade a mainsail.
Local Loft Versus Web-based Service
Not every sailor has a selection of local sailmakers to choose from. He or she must instead rely on Internet research and phone conversations to find the best sail for the best price. As most of the world’s sail production takes place in a handful of high-volume production lofts abroad (China, Sri Lanka, and Africa), U.S. sailmakers have taken on the role of sail designers—rather than sailmakers.
Sailmaker Survey Reveals Readers’ Favorites
Subscribers Only Our informal online sailmaker poll generated 336 complete responses, not large enough to be statistically significant, but still useful, in our opinion. In total, readers recommended more than 100 different lofts. The responses are subjective to each respondent’s experience, making it impossible to fairly rank sailmakers based on the poll, so readers should consider this report an overview and use it accordingly in any sailmaker search. The responses can offer some insight into what can be expected of a specific sailmaker and what should be considered in the selection process.
Chandlery: August 2011
The Forespar Steering Arm Control allows skippers more mobility while steering (far left). To disconnect the extension arm, users simply press the quick-release button.
Subscribers Only Practical Sailor Chandlery: August 2011. This month reviews a tiller, tool toter, and smart-phones.
Vacuum-flush Toilets for Sailboats Reduce Water Use Onboard
During the evaluation of the VacuFlush systems, testers used a six-foot hose run between the toilet and the vacuum generator.
Following Practical Sailor’s February and March 2011 electric-flush marine toilet reviews, this month we take a look at three vacuum-flush heads well-suited for use onboard sailboats thanks to their water-saving technology. PS tested two electric vacuum-flush toilets from Dometic Corp. (Sealand) and a manual marine head from Blakes Lavac Taylors. Testers used a controlled bench test to compare performance, size, weight, price, style, features, and technology. They also reviewed installation ease, parts inventory, construction and ruggedness of materials, and customer service.
A Peek at Inflatable-dinghy Paint Test Panels After One Year
PS applied five paints for inflatable boats on PVC and Hypalon test panels in the summer of 2010. The panels have been exposed around-the-clock to South Florida’s intense weather.
Subscribers Only Finding a coating that sticks well to PVC or Hypalon is not easy. Because the coated surfaces are flexible, expanding, and contracting significantly as the tubes are inflated and deflated, the coating must also have some elasticity. It must also be abrasion resistant. In June 2010, Practical Sailor launched a long-term test of five paints marketed as coatings for inflatable boats. We tested products from Marine Design Research (MDR)-Amazon (Inflatable Boat Top), Flexdel (Flexabar), Tuff Coat, and Polymarine (Flexithane and Superflex). After a year of suffering the Florida sun, heat, and rain, the panels were returned to the test bench, and testers found some surprising results.
Inflatable-dinghy Paint Torture Test
PS repeated a series of bench tests on the dinghy-paint test panels to see how well they retained adhesion, flexibility, and abrasion resistance.
Subscribers Only Durability and elasticity are our principal comparative factors in this test, but testers also considered ease of application, coating adhesion to substrate, resistance to abrasion, and price.
What About Bottom Paint for Inflatable Boats?
Subscribers Only If you have your heart set on applying antifouling to an inflatable (PVC or Hypalon), there are several options available. All of the so-called inflatable bottom paints are water-based, flexible coatings. Pettit Hydrocoat, Pettit Inflatable Boat Antifouling Paint, Interlux Fiberglass Bottomkote Aqua, and Sea Hawk Inflatable bottom paint (www.seahawkpaints.com) are just some of the options.
Mailport: August 2011
Reader John Gedaminski bought his Wing Systems Wing 9 dinghy, Freedom, based on a 2009 PS review. The carbon-fiber dink weighs only 45 pounds.
Letters to Practical Sailor, August 2011. This month's letters cover subjects such as: Wing Dinghy, Rope Hygiene, Multi-Pump Bilges, Water Tank Sealsnt and More!
Bilge Setup Keeps Electrical Bits High and Dry
In your continuing review of bilge pumps and automatic switches, you may want to include a somewhat atypical approach that has worked very nicely on my 1964 Rhodes Reliant. It is based on the simple premise that any electrical components (pumps, wires, connectors) in the bilge are at risk of corrosion and galvanic action. Bilge electrical components can be unreliable and may cause serious damage. Hence, there should be no electrical components below the floorboards. Here’s how I did it.
Where Credit is Due: August 2011
Letters to Practical Sailor, August 2011. This month's letters cover subjects such as: Weems and Plath, and Moorhouse Sailmakers.
Hunting Elusive CNG Refill
I have a CNG (compressed natural gas) stove onboard, and I’ve had a hell of a time finding a place to refill the tanks. I’m in the Cleveland, Ohio area, and I had to go to Grosse Point, Mich., the last time for a fill-up. Do you know of dealers in my area who can fill CNG tanks?
Re-examining Youth Sailing Safety
Subscribers Only Fourteen-year-old Olivia Constants was participating in the Severn Sailing Association’s junior race training program on Chesapeake Bay in late June when she and her partner’s Club 420 capsized sharply to leeward and inverted. While her partner emerged from the inverted hull, Constants did not. By the time the support boat reached her and staff pulled her out of the water, she was unconscious. Attempts to revive her failed.
Inside Practical Sailor Blog
San Fran 'Stand-down' = Government Meddling?
by Darrell Nicholson on May 15, 2012
The Coast Guard’s request late last month that sailors “stand-down” and suspend any offshore racing outside San Francisco Bay in the wake of last month’s tragedy in the San Francisco Yacht Club’s Farallones Race rankled more than a few Bay area sailors. The response was not surprising. Critics decried the move as draconian, driven by overzealous safety mavens, an example virulent government intrusion, trampling of personal freedoms, etc. etc. etc. It is a…
