Mailport & PS Advisor

Letters to Practical Sailor from our readers. November 2010's topics include cleaning products, sail hardware, galley stoves and anti-fouling paints.

I recently installed an 80-watt solar panel on my bimini. I am concerned that this may have reduced the positional accuracy of my GPS, a Standard Horizon 180i, which has an internal antenna mounted directly below the solar panel. Do solar panels cause interference with GPS signals?

Letters to Practical Sailor, October 2010. Subjects include an owner's comments about MacGregor boats, digital maps, teak cleaners, props and adhesives.

Recently, while working to add third-reef controls to the mainsail reefing on my Morgan 382, I realized I had no idea how to calculate loads and, therefore, no concept of the size and strength of hardware to install.

Letters to Practical Sailor from our readers. September 2010's topics include barnacles, teak finish, knots for a bosun chair and LEDs.

I use Collinte’s No. 885 Heavy-duty Fleetwax in the Chesapeake Bay area, and I’ve been impressed with how well water still beads each spring as I wash the hull in preparation for a new coat. But no matter how nice the shine, black streaks develop, starting with the first rain following waxing. I think the boat would look better with no wax than with wax with black streaks.

Letters from the August 2010 issue of Practical Sailor. Subjects include: Shore anchoring, feathering props, earth-friendly cleaning products, staying hydrated and dink repairs.

I’ve got an old manual anchor windlass with a badly corroded gypsy that needs to be replaced. There is a 1:1 bronze "cross" on the outside of the gypsy—where the lever fits to turn it when not using the geared mechanism. Unfortunately, I can’t figure out how to get the bronze cross off, which needs to happen in order to replace the gypsy. There’s a grease zirk/fender washer on the outside of the cross, but unscrewing it still doesn’t get the cross off.

Letters to the editors of Practical Sailor in July 2010 include questions and comments about mildew, galley blenders, teak cleaners, online captains courses and personal hydration.

Practical Sailor tested the FLIR system (www.flir.com) in the June 2008 issue, and we tried out the company’s new First Mate recently (look for that report in an upcoming issue). While the FLIR images are impressive and offer some information not available with radar or even night-vision gear, infrared thermal imaging is no replacement for radar. FLIR bases its readings on thermal contrast, and objects that are the same temperature as their surroundings remain invisible. Take for example, a steel buoy or granite ledge that’s the same temperature as the sea surface at night. Another drawback: FLIR doesn’t offer any range or bearing information.