Boat Maintenance

Eurostrips, Euroblocks, set-screw terminations-whatever you want to call them-they are here to stay. Many companies supply set-screw terminations as part of electronics installations, solar controllers, inverter/chargers, navigation lights, or even engine gauge panels. These set screws, if not protected by a pressure plate or a wire terminal, can cause damage to the wire stranding and eventually lead to failure. Attention to the details should always be top on the list when dealing with Euroblocks or any set-screw termination that bears directly onto the wire strands.

So far, no one at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has returned my phone calls, so Im left trying to imagine what might have compelled the commission to release a public survey on anchoring restrictions during the days bracketing Thanksgiving week, with very little (if any) advance notice, as far as I can tell.

Is there a quick, easy way to get a glossy shine on the deck and topsides between the grueling wax-and-buff efforts? To find out, testers launched a search for affordable spray waxes-liquid waxes designed for speedy touchups rather than full-tilt compounding-and-waxing jobs. We specifically sought out spray-on products that offer a glossy finish and some surface protection and that are applied after rubbing compounds, fillers, waxes, and polishes.

Our 38-foot catamaran, Josepheline, was built by Lightwave Yachts near Brisbane, Australia. Josepheline draws 3 feet, 6 inches and has a 22-foot beam. It is a fairly conventional design: mini fin keels, two forward queen berths under the bridgedeck, a double berth aft to starboard, and a decent sized shower and head located aft in the port hull. Shes stood the test of time-and distance. Weve cruised about 35,000 nautical miles aboard Josepheline.

When it comes to onboard water tanks, we prefer stainless, fiberglass, and even roto-molded tanks (in that order) to aluminum ones. Aluminum tanks tend to pit and corrode over time, often needing to be replaced. The insides of the two 60-gallon aluminum water tanks in our 30-year-old Valiant 40 were more like a nasty moonscape than a drinking source. Their surfaces were pitted and rusted from what looked like a reaction to long-time use of chlorine.

When contributor Drew Frye commissioned his familys PDQ 32 catamaran six years ago, his daughter asked, What are these pink lumps in the sink, Dad? The toilet bowl was even more spectacular, a science project in a dozen hues of pink, green, yellow, and black. The boat had been winterized for some time, down in south Chesapeake Bay, where winters are mild and many boaters and don't take freezing seriously.

Regarding your blog post on restoring gelcoat (posted online March 18, 2014): Ive seen many similar articles over the years directed toward refinishing topsides. However, Ive seen no discussion about restoring decks. I have an 18-year-old boat, and Im beginning to see pinholes in the deck gelcoat, particularly on edges and curves where I suspect the gelcoat is thinner. Im curious what the experts would recommend.

When testing a chemicals toxicity and its ability to biodegrade, a common procedure is to dilute each target chemical at various ratios of interest, and then to inoculate each with an acclimated microbiological seed. For our test, the seed was developed by filling a five-gallon bucket with several gallons of water and a weak mixture (two percent total glycol content) of all of the winterizing agents to be tested.

If I ever discover seawater sloshing around my cabin floor, I cannot be sidetracked by the need to operate a manual bilge pump; I need to be free to search for the leak and correct it. A reliable, high-capacity, electric bilge pump, reserved just for emergencies, is a necessity. On board our boat, Brick House, a Valiant 40, we mounted the backup pump in the extreme forward bilge area, which never gets wet in normal conditions but would certainly be flooded about the time the floorboards started to float. In fact, a manual bilge pump was once located there.

Bottom paint? Again? Frankly, sometimes we feel that way, too. According to company lore, more than a few former Practical Sailor editors ran screaming for the exits after phrases like ablative copolymer and Irgarol began creeping into their dreams. As much as some like to poke fun at our bottom paint obsession, antifouling is a topic that deserves attention. Choosing the wrong paint can set a boat owner back $1,000 or more, but more importantly, antifouling is a fast-moving topic; paints available last spring are suddenly gone, renamed, or reformulated. This is particularly true for the newer eco-friendly paints.