Inside Practical Sailor

This coming Thanksgiving prompted my reflection on all that sailors like me have to be thankful for. It's easy to appreciate our good fortune on a tradewind passage—with the log ticking off the miles, and cloud streets stretching above us. But, looking back through the lens of time, it's clear even the roughest passages have their gifts. Here then, as Practical Sailor embarks on its 50th year of publication, are a few things I'm thankful for.

One of my projects this winter will be to upgrade the interior lights on my 1971 Yankee 30 Opal that I am restoring. The classic S&S design currently has some chintzy plastic LED lights made for the recreational vehicle market. The lights are effective, practical, and efficient, but when I came across a box of brass bell-type traditional bulkhead reading lights at a used gear chandlery, that was the nudge I needed to make a switch.

In plainest technical terms the tiller gives us immediate corrective feedback, an opportunity to learn from our mistakes, far quicker than any wheel assembly can do. Both devices help us become better sailors, but the tiller just does it faster. It is, at its core, more honest about the conditions were facing-sometimes brutally so.

In the upcoming December issue of Practical Sailor, we look at how a do-it-yourself boat sale can save thousands of dollars that would ordinarily go to a broker. However, for those who are looking to get the best sale price with the least amount of effort, a broker is usually a more sensible choice. If you're thinking about selling your boat soon, here are some inside tips on picking the right broker for you.

Be aware that a less-experienced sailors report of a great anchorage with plenty of depth, or statements like We ran aground here! don't do you much good if they fail to include basic info such as their boat's draft, state of the tide, etc. Other sailors' facility reviews should also be taken with a grain of salt. For example: The dockmaster hates Algerian Snaggle-tooth Poodles (like our Fluffy), so were never coming back, and you shouldnt either!

As long as the water hasn't turned to ice (and even if it has, if you are an avid ice boater), sailors will find a way to get out on the water. Fortunately for Practical Sailor readers, we have our own Dr. Chill to inform us of ways to stay floating through the winter.

While many items of drive train maintenance can be done as easily in the spring as in the fall, the rush to get the boat back in commission frequently means that some items fall to the bottom of the priority list, and may never get done. Most sailors sadly neglect their boat’s mechanical components.

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.