Inside Practical Sailor

One of the easiest ways to improve the furling efficiency of all types of furlers is tackle the line-lead challenge. It starts with the angle that line leads on and off the drum, progresses into a sweeping arc as the line makes its way to the cockpit and ends with another change in direction that leads the line to the hands of a crew member or a winch drum.

The crud that is clogging my filters are microrganisms, primitive creatures that live in water and feed on oil, informally called “HUM-bugs.” The HUM stands for Hydrocarbon Utilizing Microorganisms. There are many kinds of HUM-bugs—bacteria and fungus (mold, yeast, algae, etc.). Some need oxygen, some don't. Many are airborne. Some thrive best in freshwater, some in salt. They all create thick slime, which helps them stick to surfaces and protect themselves from attack. It's unlikely that you can buy diesel fuel without getting some.

If you plan on doing some long-term cruising on a boat with on an auxiliary diesel, and expect to be picking up fuel in out of the way places, or if the boat has a history of clogged filters, then it might worth the time and expense to install a fuel polishing system.

The old main was constructed of Dacron, and polyester continued to offer the best balance of cost, longevity, and performance for our particular situation. We decided to go with a premium-grade polyester (Dimension 360AP-MTO 8.4 ounce). Premium polyester is tightly woven and has a high yarn count that provides good shape retention and good performance over a wide range of wind speeds.

Our approach to chafe protection for the upcoming storm season was straight out of the old-salt playbook. Using a sharp knife and metal straight edge, we lopped off the size of leather we needed. Holes were punched opposite each other at 1/2-inch intervals, and for temporary use, we zigzagged small cord the length of the leather. For a more permanent installation, we hand-stitched the leather in place, tucking locking stitches into the rope at each end. Holes were made with a pliers-like hole punch, and we fashioned our chafe strips to be long enough to cover the hard points, adding an additional 25 percent to the length to handle stretch and any minor slippage.

However you choose to use your scarce time, we’ll wager that you’d rather not spend it removing bottom paint. If you are an owner of an older boat with a decade of accumulated hard bottom paint that is flaking and cracking, now is a good time to start weighing your options for removing the old paint. Should you do it yourself, or hire the professionals—or a bit of both? Our experts break down the different approaches to removing old antifouling and the compare the estimated costs of each.

If youre getting ready for sailing this summer and feel like you are still losing the battle against mildew, then youll probably be interested in some of the cheap and easy mildew "cures" we've come upon in our testing. PS tester Drew Frye made a pleasant little discovery when he was researching and testing various anti-mildew protectants. Two inexpensive homemade concoctions did as well as or better than retail formulas that are 20 to 100 times more expensive.

The challenge with finishing a veneer-and-plywood sole is finding a product that offers long-lasting protection for the wood and gives a secure footing when the cabin sole is wet. Varnishes suitable for protection and durability do not have intrinsically good nonskid characteristics. We recommend using a satin-finish, one-part polyurethane varnish to protect the thin veneer and plywood, and adding some nonskid aggregate to the final coats to reduce the slippery-when-wet effect.

There are a number of details to consider when ordering a sail. Cloth types and weights should correspond to the kind of sailing you do as well as your expectations for the sail's longevity. For the mainsail, there are questions regarding the number of reefs you want, and where to put them. Genoas will need to have the appropriately-sized luff tape to fit an existing roller furling unit (or the right size hanks). Another option specific to furling units is whether to have a foam luff sewn into the sail.

Brush choice depends on what the brush’s job will be (transferring paint, smoothing paint, etc.), the user’s preferences, and the project budget. The best brush isn’t necessarily the best brush for the project. You wouldn’t use a $40 brush that requires meticulous cleaning to paint the bilge or apply bottom paint, just as you wouldn’t use a throw-away chip brush to lay a final coat of varnish on the toerail—at least we wouldn’t.