Mailport & PS Advisor

Like an increasing number of senior sailors, I require hearing aids to effectively communicate. However, in the cockpit of a sailboat-with the wind blowing or the engine running-hearing aids are not helpful when trying to carry on a VHF radio conversation. What I need is a VHF marine radio that will accept headphones (preferably noise cancelling). Of the many VHF radios that you have evaluated, have any been wired for headphones?

In regard to your December 2013 Chandlery article on the Vesper SP160 VHF splitter. After too many near misses with merchant ships, we installed an AIS in 2012, using the Vesper splitter to the masthead antenna. Your article mentioned target reception at 1.5 miles without and 11 miles with the SP160. In our experience, we sometimes see merchant vessels at 80 miles or more, and other cruisers at 30 to 40 miles with the Vesper. When approaching Colon, Panama, the display was maxed out at 50 miles (it only shows the closest 100 contacts).

The bolt in the handle on my Shurhold buffing machine vibrated out and fell overboard in 16 feet of water-most likely because I had not tightened it sufficiently. I called Shurhold (www.shurhold.com) to purchase a replacement bolt. When I asked what I owed them, I was told not to worry about it, and I received two replacement bolts and the tool for their replacement, even though I admitted responsibility for the problem. In short, I am impressed with Shurholds customer service!

For winterizing a small outboard engine, is it best to run the gas out of the engine or store it full with an additive mixed in? Is it the same for two-stroke and four-stroke engines? What about ethanol and non-ethanol gasoline?

I have sailed a Tartan Fantail powered with a Torqeedo Cruise 2.0 a few times. I fell in love with the silence and the power of the engine, and as a result, I have my diesel for sale. I plan to replace it with an inboard, electric 48-volt powerplant. I have investigated quite a few.

We were paging through our emails filtered spam folder last summer to make sure we didnt miss anything and came across an ad for a compact, flexible hose that looked ideal for small boats. The incredible expanding Flex-Able hose is made of a tough double-wall construction that is designed to bend and never kink, and included a seven-way spray nozzle with the hose. The hoses ability to shrink down to an extremely compact size when not in use was particularly enticing.

My 1979 Tayana Vancouver 42 came with two horizontal propane tanks and one vertical propane tank (all three 20-pound aluminum) when I bought the boat in 2007. I contacted Worthington Industries and learned that horizontal LPG tanks are those with the additional brackets attached for horizontal installation and must be used horizontally; those without brackets are vertical tanks and must be kept vertical, which is the norm from everything Ive read. Im a bit surprised that not more is published about horizontal LPG tanks.

Its not surprising that boat-shoe makers don't have any suggestions for restoring grip to worn-out boat shoes. I just rubbed the bottoms of three pairs of mine with a rag soaked in acetone (in a well-vented area, of course). It seems to have softened the soles and improved the grip; time will tell how long it remains.

Practical Sailor is working on updating some used boat reviews and adding some new ones to our online library, and we need your help. Were looking for opinions (and photos) from current or former owners of the following boats: Cabo Rico 38, Com-Pac 35, Cheoy Lee Clipper 42, Stuart Knockabout, Express 37, and CSY 37.

In response to your recent blog on removing bottom paint: We totally stripped our 1984 Camper Nicholson 58 in two days. Without a doubt, the best tool in our kit for stripping many layers of bottom paint was a massive linoleum floor scraper. It has one straight blade and one slightly curved. I used the belt sander with 800-grit sandpaper to keep it razor sharp. Sharpening was needed every 5 square feet.