Inside Practical Sailor

November is the time of year when the procrastinating catches up to us. The big projects we avoided all summer stare us in the face. Do nothing, and you risk a summer wasted pulling epoxy from your hair instead of sailing. If your boat is 20 years old or older, a fuel tank replacement-a bear of a project, even in ideal circumstances-might be that project youre postponing. If it is, well, youre in luck, because weve got a fair bit of information to help guide you through the process.

Although it is unlikely in a typical installation, you can have too much anodic protection. This is more common with miscalibrated impressed current systems, where a transformer is used to provide the electrical potential, but too many zinc anodes or too reactive anodes can also have unintended consequences you should recognize. This is particularly important for owners of wood or steel boats.

To determine if your cutless bearing needs replacing, look for signs of wear or deterioration at both ends of the bearing. Rapid or unusual wear patterns (i.e. top wear on one end of the bearing, bottom wear on the other) are indications of significant shaft misalignment issues and should be addressed immediately.

Some of the best sailing I ever had was September on Narragansett Bay, pretty close to heaven in my mind. But before we let a long September reach carry us away-and hopefully carry us through winter-its a good time to take out a pen and pad, and start to build the winter work list.

When going aloft, you can save yourself a lot of worry and hassle by taking a few simple steps: Harnesses: Although not as comfortable as traditional chairs, harnesses bring you closer to the top of the mast and are more secure. Wear long pants and good shoes. Halyards: Use two halyards-one primary, one safety. One should be an external halyard on a ratchet block leading from your harness back to you, so that you can have control over your own safety and ascent/descent. Shackles and winches: Dont rely on snap shackles or self-tailing jaws on winches. To attach the halyard to the harness, use locking screw-pin shackles or a buntline knot, which brings you closer to the masthead sheave than a bowline.

Canvas dodgers and biminis are the hallmark of a cruising yacht, keeping the sun at bay and allowing the crew to dodge the worst of the weather. On board, canvas also protects sails, windows, and machinery. Collectively, these represent a substantial financial investment, and we wanted to find the best way to protect the investment and get the most life out of the canvas.

If you have a damp interior—as frequently happens in tropical locations or during long runs of humid weather—the bottoms of your boat mattresses may...

Hurricane season is off to an early start this year. Tropical storm Elsa, the first tropical storm of the season to make U.S. landfall this season reminds us it's never too early to have a plan in place. If you haven't given storm preparation a thought yet, a good start would be our report, Lines, Snubbers, and Other Gear for Battening Down Ahead of Storms (PS July 2008). Safety expert Ralph Naranjo's first-hand account of his storm preparations Tropical Storm Dos and Donts and How to Help Your Boat Survive A Major Storm should also be required reading.

I gave up buying expensive sunglasses years ago, when I kept losing them. But I do care about getting good protection. Fortunately, having shepherded at least four different sunglass tests onto the pages of Practical Sailor, I’ve learned that you don’t need to spend a fortune to get a good pair of shades that will protect your eyes and meet nearly all of your on-the water needs. With summer in full swing I thought a summary of our past findings would be helpful for those of you who—like me—just watched as another pair of drug store sunglasses descended into the murk beneath your boat slip.

As the first of what will likely be many heat-waves this summer is driving many people indoors, it is a good time to make sure that you are well-equipped to deal with the soaring summertime temperatures. Fortunately, summer temperatures are almost always cooler near the water. Which is good, since we doubt many our readers would skip sailing just because it's hot out.  During our decade of cruising, my partner and I spent most of our days within 20 degrees of the equator. In many tropical ports the temperatures pushed to almost unbearable levels. I recall specifically the Solomon Islands, Guam, and Thailand, where the glue holding my shoes together literally melted. Over time, we adapted some effective strategies for staying cool. Scrolling through the archives, I was able to find several articles to help us all ease into the season of heat.