Patrick Childress

Some ports and anchorages are safer than others, but it never hurts to be cautious when it comes to boat security. When youre away from the boat, blasting a loud stereo down below can give the appearance that someone is onboard and may slow a prospective thief. (Doesnt everyone turn radios and TVs off when they leave?) Trailing a spare dinghy or kayak off the stern is also a good deterrent, as is on-deck illumination.

If I ever discover seawater sloshing around my cabin floor, I cannot be sidetracked by the need to operate a manual bilge pump; I need to be free to search for the leak and correct it. A reliable, high-capacity, electric bilge pump, reserved just for emergencies, is a necessity. On board our boat, Brick House, a Valiant 40, we mounted the backup pump in the extreme forward bilge area, which never gets wet in normal conditions but would certainly be flooded about the time the floorboards started to float. In fact, a manual bilge pump was once located there.

Titanium is of particular interest to sailors due to its resistance to galvanic corrosion. It has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any metal and is non-magnetic. It is up to 20 times more scratch resistant than stainless steels. Practical Sailor contributor Patrick Childress takes an in-depth look at the metal and its use in the marine industry as his boat, a Valiant 40, is refitted with titanium chainplates and other rigging.