Mailport: Marelon Seacocks
Regarding your recent report on Seacocks (Beneteau Responds to Seacock Query, PS August 2018) I owned a 1987 Catalina 30, Mark II. It had four gate valves instead of seacocks.
A Sure Way to Secure the Boom
When the wind really blows, the pleasant chiming of a marina takes on a different character. Above the howling of the wind is the Devils Tattoo, the racket of one hundred poorly-secured halyards hammering against aluminum. Booms creak from side-to-side, and some pound against stays. Workers are distracted and anyone living aboard wishes his neighbors had taken a few small steps to preserve the peace, not to mention their rig.
Mailport: Low Budget Navigation
Regarding the article on recycling gear for cruising in the September 2018 issue, I found that an old Windows laptop, with an external GPS puck and running OziExplorer, makes a fabulous chartplotter. The software is just a hair over $100 and is capable of using NOAA charts, USGS topo maps, aerial photographs, and any other map that can be put in registration, using only latitude and longitude of a couple of points on the map.
Wrapping Stainless Steel for Better Grip
The very first project tackled on my new-to-me catamaran a decade ago was to wrap the helm wheel with line. Our delivery trip home took place in late December on the Chesapeake Bay, and I didnt want to spend the next three days with an icy stainless steel wheel sucking all of the heat from my fingers. Instead, I spent a productive hour before dinner wrapping the wheel with line.
Mailport: October 2018
An F-24 covers as much territory as a lot of 40 footers. With speed like that, you have a lot more options for each days destination. We can really cover a lot of territory. My 1992 F-24 Mk1 actually weighs 2,507 pounds, with outboard, empty gas tanks and all required sails and safety gear. The trailer weighs about 900 pounds. After loading it up with cruising gear, the towing weight for the boat and the trailer is about 3600 pounds.
What Chain Connector Will Fit My Gypsy?
Regarding your recent article on joining chain segments, Ive been coastal cruising from Canada to Panama since 1983, and continuously since 2005. I have wondered about using a single 5/16-inch shackle, which will connect two lengths of 3/8-inch, G-43 chain. The Crosby top of the line 5/16-inch will go around the gypsy pretty well. I tried it, but I am reluctant to use it. Any thoughts?
Weather & Navigation Seminars Set for October 2018
On October 9-10, hell be conducting a 2-day introduction to celestial navigation. The course covers introduction to the basic skills required for celestial navigation. Topics include introduction to taking a sun sights with a sextant, reading time and arc, using sight reduction tables (Publication 229), reducing sights by calculator, and identifying celestial bodies.
Mailport: Tourniquets at Sea
Add a tourniquet to your first aid kit and know how to use correctly - it is less likely to accidentally loosen or inflict additional tissue damage.For further training, I would refer you to the American Red Cross, they have a Basic and Advanced First Aid certification, and along with the American Heart Association offer classes in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs).
Mailport: More Trimarans Please
Please include more and more articles on smaller trimarans as time goes on such as reviews on Corsair 24s, Ostac Tramps, etc. Since I sold my monohull (ODay 26) I find myself searching for good articles on multihulls and I certainly see more and more of them out on the water than before. Used ones are becoming affordable as the Corsair fleet ages.
Reads for Reviving Gelcoat
Sometimes spring seems to sneak up on us, catching us off guard. When launch day arrives, some low priority chores still remain. For many of us, one such chore is waxing and buffing the hull. Weve undertaken countless tests to find the best boat wax and polishes, the most effective waxing-and-polishing tools, and the products that can be used for a speedy touch-up. If waxing is on your to-do list, be sure to check out the following articles.
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Practical Sailor Logbook – September 2026
In September we tour the Hans Christian 48T — the offshore cruiser many sailors call the holy grail — walk the custom Antigua 60...
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If you’re searching for a mid-30-foot sailboat, affordable cruising sailboat, liveaboard sailboat, first sailboat, or a capable used sailboat for coastal cruising, the Catalina...
Latest Sailboat Reviews
Cal 2-27 Used Boat Review
Our story begins in 1970, with the introduction of the Cal 29. Looking for something similar but a bit smaller, the company asked designer Bill Lapworth for a 27-footer, which at first was the Cal 27, a fin keel, spade rudder design with a convertible pop top; another incarnation of this basic hull was the T/2. But the concept of the 29 found its full expression in the Cal 2-27, which began production in 1975 and continued to 1977, after which it was again modified and called simply the Cal 27...again. Production of it ceased in 1986.
