Mailport & PS Advisor

The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) and other regulatory bodies frown upon using PVC-coated 7x7 wire for lifelines. As you noted, this is because lifelines should be easily inspected for corrosion or other signs of possible failure. The corrosion that can take place under the coating is not just a saltwater issue. Air quality and other factors also can lead to corrosion. We suggest uncoated, 1x19 stainless-steel wire with swaged terminals—3/16-inch wire for upper lifeline and 1/8 inch for the lower. Uncoated 1x19 is easy to inspect, and even though the top wire is overkill from a tensile-strength perspective, it will be durable and almost as comfortable to lean against as the coated wire. It’s also more convenient to lash netting to than a smaller-diameter option.

I am looking at antenna mounting options for my 2.2-kilowatt radar. I like the idea of keeping the antenna out of the foretriangle and its sail and rigging, but am a little concerned about crew exposure by mounting the antenna aft on a pole or lower on the backstay. The manufacturer (Furuno) mentions nothing about exposure hazards in its installation manual. Does a hazard exist in this configuration?

The way I was taught towing Lightnings to LIS regattas, you used a towing hitch around the mast for the line ahead and a similar hitch around the mast for the line to the boat astern. A towing hitch (two wraps around the mast, a wrap around the standing part, back the other way around the mast and two half-hitches around the standing part) could be cast off under tension or even eased under way to place the boat astern on the second wave. Bowlines, we were told, presented a danger of catching a finger in the knot if the towline came under tension while you were catching on or casting off the tow.Recently, a sailing director setting up a tow of Ideal 18s, directed us to tie a bowline with a generous bight around the mast and then to take up the towline from the boat astern and tie a bowline through the bight around the mast. He asserted that this would produce no pressure on the mast at all, as the forward pressure of the tow would be offset by the aft pressure of the boats behind. Can you advise on the best method for securing sailboats in a tow? And what is the optimal distance between boats in a tow?

Boat maintenance master Don Casey, on the BoatUS website (www.boatus.com), suggests cleaning the surface using a mild abrasive like Bar Keeper’s Friend (www.barkeepersfriend.com) and fine bronze wool, and then sealing the surface with a wax. Sparmaker Seldén Mast recommends applying Woody Wax (www.woody-wax.com) using bronze wool to seal the surface and remove the pox. Casey cautions against using a polish on aluminum as some are so abrasive they will peel away the anodizing. We’ve had success with Mothers (www.mothers.com) and Prism Polish (www.mppros.com), but we do not recommend using the Mothers with the Powerball on aluminum. Be sure to read the label on any polish before using it; some advise against use on anodized aluminum.

As a prior owner of a Charley Morgan yacht, I greatly appreciated your article on the Morgan 30. I could relate to the difficulties of that boat, having had to replace a broken centerboard pennant, replace the Palmer M60 with a Yanmar diesel, install a second battery, and live with fairly primitive belowdecks amenities. Yet for all those issues, I loved the boat. The centerboard could be used to move the lateral resistance forward or back, so it was possible to get the boat to balance perfectly and track with barely a finger on the tiller. Ive sailed the Chesapeake Bay for 39 years and have owned a Morgan, Bristol, and Pearson. Of the three, the Morgan was the most fun to sail.

Isn’t there an old adage about rousing the rain gods by opening a can of varnish (or paint)? Having lived (and sailed) mostly in sub-tropical climes, we can definitely sympathize with a rain-delayed boat project. The rain actually isn’t doing any harm to the wood or varnish so much as it’s just a nuisance, adding more work and time to the job at hand. After the rain ceases, let the wood dry for several days. The higher the humidity, the longer the dry time. Denatured alcohol or Naphtha can remove surface moisture. Once the wood has dried, you will need to resand any bare wood areas so that you’re coating fresh wood.

As a new boat owner, I have no end of questions, but here’s a quickie: I have recently had my boat hauled and sanded to the gelcoat, and repainted with all the right stuff. (The bottom was coated with Interlux CA Bottomkote.) Now, how often should I have a diver clean the underside, bearing in mind I live in San Diego? The service providers have a vested interest in selling frequent cleans—one company running a special at the moment wants me to sign a contract for a bottom clean every three weeks, but that sounds way too often to me. I realize it may well vary with geography and ambient temperature, but there should be some kind of general rule of thumb, perhaps?

Mobil 1 extended performance oils for automobiles are advertised as providing engine protection and performance at extended intervals of up to 15,000 miles or one year, whichever comes first. Its 5W-40 Turbo Diesel Truck oil meets American Petroleum Institute (API) standards for diesel truck lubrication, and except for the price ($5-$8 per quart, or three times the price of conventional multi-grade oil), would seem to be an attractive option for ocean voyagers who might otherwise have to carry out an oil change at sea. However, the official party line at Mobil 1, as we expected, is that you should defer to your manufacturer’s recommendation on oil type, weight, and service ratings appropriate for your engine. Typically, if an engine maker does certify the use of a high-mileage oil, it is in combination with routine sampling of the oil to determine its condition.

Were trying our best to provide subscribers with the most value for their money, but for now, we must continue our policy of charging everyone to download articles published more than two months prior. Subscribers get a discounted rate on these archive articles, available at www.practical-sailor.com, and all subscribers have full access to this months issue and the previous months issue, as well as to other subscriber-only online content. Readers who register online get e-mail notifications, along with issue highlights, when each new issue is posted online. We encourage readers to download and save the articles (features are now available in PDF format) as soon as they become available. We recognize the value of having access to archive tests and are working to expand subscriber access.

I own a 1978 Columbia 9.6, which I sail on freshwater Lake Erie four to five months each summer at Sandusky Harbor Marina in Ohio. My problem is keeping the 1-inch white bootstripe between the bottom-paint line and the molded-in black stripe clean. After three or four weeks, the scum buildup requires heavy brushing or sanding to remove.