Mailport & PS Advisor

I have a 2008 Gemini 105MC catamaran that I purchased new, and the fuel tank level indicators on both tanks failed a couple years ago. However, I noticed that the fuel-return line is attached to the top of the fuel level sensor. It seems to me that this may be the problem-fuel spraying down on the level indicator shortens its useful life. All the other Gemini owners that I know also have had the level indicators fail. It is not a huge problem. My tanks are transparent so I can see the fuel level in the tanks. My friends who have black non-transparent tanks use a wooden stick-which can be inserted down the fill hose.

I have a boat with a good amount of teak. As a lazy-er, efficient! thats the word, efficient-owner I have waited out the previous owners Bristol Finish. This product was great when new, but difficult to patch as it aged. It has finally flaked off after 10 years or so. For me, the most important characteristic for a coating is that it be easy to remove without damaging the teak, and be easily and imperceptibly patched, because coatings don't go all at once. Also formulations change. It sounds like a mix of Cetol Natural covered by Cetol Gloss is the way to go?

Regarding your recent article on the evolution of the cruising multihull (see PS, March 2017): I have owned a 34-foot Chris White-designed trimaran for the last 10 years and thoroughly enjoy great sailing and exploring shallow waters on the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. Chris Whites book The Cruising Multihull is a good resource for those interested in cats and trimarans. My biggest problem with the boat is finding a place to get her out of the water for maintenance. The 24-foot beam is too wide for the local travel lifts. Thanks for the interesting article.

As a (long term and digital) subscriber I find your articles extremely valuable, but most of all the bottom paint evaluations. I live in Punta Gorda, 50 miles to your south and have to do a bottom job in the next two months. Any recent observations/suggestions on a good ablative that for the coast of Southwest Florida?

Im a marine installer and weve come across another boat with a radio-frequency (RF) issue coming from a Frigoboat refrigeration system. The boat started with two Danfoss compressors and when one was replaced recently, the SSB whines when the new compressor is running. Weve run though the normal RF isolation procedures, but havent had too much luck yet. It seems like RF leakage might be a good topic to explore. What really works to solve it? What installation procedures are necessary?

I am in the process of having my boatyard install 250 feet of anchor chain and new anchor shackles. Seeing a top star rating on the Peerless Peer-lift blue pin shackles. I told my boatyard to order and install two of them only to read in the December issue that you had just finished testing the Peerless Peer-lift shackles and no longer recommend them. Whats up?

As I was doing research, I was looking at potentially installing a household Honeywell dehumidifier in a 58-foot wooden boat (vented from outside) while connected to shore power, for use in New England where temps this weekend dropped into the 20s F. The water outside obviously is colder than the inside air and the outside air is freezing. However, the boat is well designed with good ventilation and two stoves to keep the cabin warm. The builder, a wise sea captain, told me he would not install a dehumidifier in a wooden boat. In a fiberglass boat, yes, because they sweat and start to smell of unpleasant things. This is a wooden boat, but Im not sure ventilation alone will be effective. My concern that the dehumidifier would dry the oak planks out and possibly open up the seams. If the boat was in San Francisco Bay, I would not be so concerned, but the cold New England temperatures are a worry.

I am a relative novice to sailing, and my new-ish boyfriend is thinking about bringing his boat to Lake Superior, Mich. Hes one of those sailors who needs the best of everything, and he hopes to race, with me as crew. He asked me to inquire with the local racers what bottom paint they used, but there seemed to be no real agreement. Some use no paint at all. Does he even need any bottom paint?

In regard to your December 2016 review of the Vesper AIS products: Weve used the Vesper XB-8000 for some time now with exceptional results. Be aware, though, that if you are using a masthead antenna with LED navigation lights, such as a masthead tricolor, it can create electrical noise that can reduce the effectiveness of the AIS send/receive capabilities. We had this happen using an Imtra LED masthead light. When we switched back to a standard incandescent bulb, the problem disappeared. Vespers technical support was extremely helpful in diagnosing this, and the XB-8000 even has a built-in display showing signal noise to verify this.

Choosing a properly sized, high-quality shackle is important, but its also essential to be familiar with proper use. The typical anchor shackle is a galvanized bow shackle, with the bow (not the pin) passing through the oversized slot in the anchor shank. In some cases, a D shackle is used, but only when there is no slot in the shank. Examples of slot-less anchors include the CQR, Guardian, and the Manson Ray.