Boat Maintenance

It always happens. Youre ready to embark on your first overnight cruise of the summer; you flick on the masthead light, and . . . nothing. Even if you don't plan a full-time career as a rigger, youll want some way of getting aloft for repairs or emergencies. We recently had the opportunity to try a chair made by the Connecticut-based sailmaker Hathaway, Reiser, & Raymond, makers of the Galerider drogue. The chair, which was designed by professional riggers who spend hours aloft each day, is constructed of heavily reinforced Dacron that can be adjusted to fit snugly around the thighs. A thick, adjustable webbing strap supports the back, and a safety tether and heavy-duty snap-hook are stitched onto the lifting ring. Velcro pockets on either side hold tools.

Im in the process of installing new teak and holly veneer in the interior of my boat. I have the old floor out and have the new plywood/veneer cut. I am ready to varnish/seal the new veneer, but I am in gridlock as to how to go about it.

I just received the June issue and was pleased to see the sandbaggers Bull and Bear on the cover. However, when I looked inside for the cover photo description, I saw one, possibly two errors. The description reads: The replica 1860 Sandbaggers, Bull and Bear, offer students in Maine a real-world exercise in sailboat stability.

As I write this, the resurrected VO65 Vestas Wind has just rejoined the Volvo Ocean Racing Fleet in Portugal for the last two legs of the nine-leg, around-the-world Volvo Ocean Race. Barring any further misfortune, the rebuilt hull should arrive safely in Gothenberg, Sweden, along with the rest of the fleet. No matter where Vestas Wind finishes during the final leg, I wont be surprised if the boat attracts as much media attention as the winner-a twisted ending to a truly bizarre tale that holds as much significance for the cruising sailor as it does for the offshore racer.

After a brief-and for testers, much needed-hiatus from testing wood finishes, we recently launched a new long-term evaluation of exterior wood coatings. Our last round of tests, a two-year death match, wrapped up in 2011. Although the test field this go-around is smaller than the previous tests lineup, it includes some new products and some that have been reformulated since the last long-term test began in 2007.

Spring is a good time to check your fire extinguishers to be sure they havent expired, but if you own a Kidde extinguisher, youll want to also be sure yours wasnt part of the companys recent recall. Well-known fire extinguisher manufacturer, Kidde, in conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), announced a voluntary recall to replace certain Kidde fire extinguisher units, according to Boat Owners Association of the United States (BoatUS).

In regard to your March 23, 2015 blog on bird deterrents: I moved to Florida a few years ago and was the only sailboat in a 20-slip location. Little black birds infested it right away. I tried flying owls, kites, balloons, sitting owls, snakes, etc., and nothing worked for long. Those little black birds would sit on top of my Windex and spin around, and poop all over the boat.

You know that youve been testing bottom paint too long when you start rooting for the slime and barnacles . . . or tunicates and seaweed, or sponges, or algae, or oysters . . . the whole lot of em. Go sea critters, go! If you ever felt an ounce of sympathy for the invertebrates that sailors spend so much money trying to defeat, then here is some news that will warm your barnacle-hugging heart. We just returned from pulling our 18-month antifouling-paint test panels, and the past year and a half has been very good to barnacles.

Family-owned and -operated New Nautical Paints, the makers of Sea Hawk marine paints, is operating under an environmental compliance program that requires strict monitoring and reporting requirements for the next three years. The program is one of several punishments that a U.S. District Court judge in Miami handed down in December after New Nautical Coatings, its owners, and two employees pleaded guilty to violating U.S. laws regulating the manufacturing and distribution of pesticides.

Shortly before this issue went to print, Practical Sailor learned that Irgarol, a pesticide commonly used as a boosting agent in antifouling paints, is in short supply in the United States. Although we have not fully investigated the ramifications of this news for boat owners, it seems likely that the supply of paints containing this pesticide will be exhausted sometime this year.