Inside Practical Sailor

Antifouling paint manufacturers are reporting that Irgarol, a pesticide commonly used as a boosting agent in antifouling paints, is in short supply in the United States. Based on what we have learned, it seems likely that the supply of paints containing this pesticide will be exhausted sometime this year. For some makers, their supply will run out as early as this spring.

Our semi-annual inspection of bottom paint panels always yields surprises, but during the nearly ten years Ive been barnacle-counter-in-chief, I havent been more surprised than I was last month. My inspection in January marked the eighteenth months of continuous immersion for approximately 60 paints that were undergoing testing. During a normal year, I would expect roughly 12-15 of those panels to still be fighting barnacles, but thats not what I found.

Ive always argued that boat shows should be cordoned off with caution tape, warning all of the temptations that lie within, but I never expected anyone to take me seriously. The construction at this year's Miami Strictly Sail show had at least one excellent side effect: pocket cruisers were spread out along the front of the showgrounds for anyone to explore. Too frequently sailing is an activity that takes behind the walls and fences of yacht clubs; it was fun to watch as many Miamians got what appeared to be their first closeup look at a production sailboat.

Most long-time readers are familiar with our ratings categories-Best Choice, Recommended, and Budget Buy-but their significance might not be so obvious to new readers. Recently, Ive received a number of letters from people asking us to clarify what these ratings mean.

Installing Washdown Pumps You need only look at a couple photos in our February 2015 report on anchoring in mud to recognize the advantages of a washdown pump. Installing a washdown pump is a project that any capable do-it-yourselfer can accomplish. The trickiest part, as is often the case, is in the planning-choosing a location for the pump and outlet and making sure you have all the right supplies. …

Left to their own devices, some sailors buy rope the way Imelda Marcos used to buy shoes-impulsively, profligately, with a kind of obsessive urge. Even today when some of us go to a boat show we have to stand for a long time next to the booth with the stacked coils of multicolored climbing rope and odds-and-ends in all lengths and diameters, wishing we could come up with a reason to get just a little bit more. There's no such thing as too much. We're melded with Imelda.

The Fortress anchor tests bore out a commonly known fact: Danforth-style anchors, which feature flukes that are proportionally larger than other types of anchors of the same mass, tend to hold better than older, plough-style anchors in soft mud. One of the most interesting results-although not entirely surprising given the nature of the bottom-was the poor performance of some reputable anchors that have done well in past tests. Some anchors refused to set at all.

I got the impression that most of the young sailors were looking for boat show deals on gear and ideas on how to improve their own Pearson 26s, but seeing so many young faces was encouraging nevertheless. I sense that the growing number of blogs and YouTube videos created by young people engaged in the adventure of a lifetime are gradually filtering down to other sailors. Is cruising going viral among younger sailors? Given the state of the economy and the lack of opportunity for newly minted grads, I wouldn't blame them for shoving off. The economic doldrums of the eighties was one of the reasons Theresa and I took off at 22 and 23 respectively.

Ive put enough boats on rocks and shoals and had enough near misses to sympathize with the skipper and crew of Vestas Wind, who piled up the multi-million-dollar Volvo Ocean 65 on Cargados Carajos Shoal in the Indian Ocean on Nov. 29. The accident occurred during Leg Two (Cape Town to Abu Dhabi) of the Volvo Ocean Race, the most widely followed around-the-world racing event on the planet. Thankfully, all the sailors on board were rescued safely. At the time of this writing, the fate of the boat is still undetermined, but the longer it pounds on the reef, the less likely it seems that the boat will be able to continue racing.

I don't want to come down too hard on the good people at Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission; many of the underpaid, overworked officers seem genuinely interested in doing the right thing. But the most recent survey, and the accompanying informational video preceding it, lead me to believe that the FWC has been puffing swamp gas again. …