Mailport & PS Advisor

Circumnavigators and Practical Sailor contributors Evans Starzinger and Beth Leonard, who produced the drogue report, have in fact made their Jordan Series drogue in two lengths. They can stream both for maximum drag, or just one for reduced drag. However, even a shortened series drogue is still more difficult to recover than a single-element drogue because you have to be careful not to rip the sewn-in cones while winching. Putting a trip line on the series drogue is an interesting and debated topic. Various manufacturers all advise against it, because they think it will create a major tangle. Also, the series drogue still has significant drag when pulled in backward by a trip line. Starzinger and Leonard know of two boats that have tried trip lines on Jordan series drogues and reported that they have not had tangles. The couple is currently working on a setup that uses two standard drogues, one behind the other, with 300 feet of rode between. With this, they can crank away at the winch when recovering and they will have an arrangement that is unlikely to pull out of a wave face and lose its bite. They don't have enough experience yet to say if this is a good idea or not. To follow this and other projects, visit www.bethandevans.com.

While most sea anchor manufacturers may use similar formulas for determining the right size sea anchor for a boat, other factors must be considered, including the weight of the material used in the anchor and a boat’s windage. Ultimately, what matters is that the anchor can displace enough water mass for your size boat. It’s a good idea to select a sea anchor, and then use that maker’s criteria to determine what size you need for your boat. If you have questions or concerns, contact the manufacturer for clarification. According to Don Whilldin, president of Para-Tech (maker of the Sea Anchor), the company figures Sea Anchor sizing based on a boat’s length, displacement, and type. If the result is on the line between two sizes, Para-Tech recommends going with the larger size.

I enjoyed Practical Sailor contributor Skip Allans accounts of preparations for the Single-Handed TransPac Race this year, and I was very upset to hear of his loss and the circumstances ("Farewell Wildflower," December 2008). Having made a couple of single-handed small boat Trans-Atlantic crossings in the 1970s and rolled my boat in a following sea, I concluded that a parachute sea anchor should be onboard every single-handed boat, whatever the size. There is always a breaking sea somewhere that will be big compared to ones boat and quite capable of a roll-over or trip-up. Running with a storm, in addition to being dangerous, is very tiring and also keeps one in the storm for the longest period. With a big enough parachute sea-anchor and good chafe-prevention gear, lying bow-to the storm will not be pleasant, but much more restful, safe, and brief.

Each year, the rudder on my 1986 C&C 35-3 has to have water drained from it. It is my belief that water gets in from the shaft/stock entrance to the rudder, but with the rudder in place, access is restricted. From speaking with other boaters, I’ve found it to be a common problem. The initial concern is of water freezing inside and splitting the rudder, but I also have the longer-term implication of possible internal, and unseen, corrosion. For now, I drill a couple of holes in the fall, and epoxy them before launch. Is there a fitting that could be implanted in the rudder, with a screw to be easily removed for drainage?

In the December 2007 Practical Sailor Advisor, you requested feedback on Ultimate Sole, a product for coating cabin soles. Two years ago, I added a -inch teak-holly veneer plywood covering to my sole and used Ultimate Sole as the finish. I first put on a sealer and then two coats of Ultimate Sole. It went on very easily and performed better than I expected. It is a hard, glossy finish that truly does offer nonskid properties. You look at the finish and think you will slide all over the place, but you don't! It is a wonderful product, and I wouldnt use anything else.

As with all wood-finishing techniques, there are a million different "best" coatings for a cabin sole-the answer just depends on who you ask. Advice runs the gamut-from using the same urethane clear-coat recommended for basketball courts and bowling alleys to leaving it natural. According to Interlux (www.yachtpaint.com), its Cetol products can be used on cabin soles, but we do not recommend using them. Cetol Marine, Cetol Marine Light, and Cetol Marine Natural are relatively soft coatings and will not last long or wear well with the amount of traffic a cabin sole sees. The Cetol gloss overcoat is not as hard of a finish as most urethanes, so it would offer less protection but just as much slipperiness as a hard varnish.

Regarding safety, the choice to design Glacier Bays system around a 240-volt DC buss was made for reasons of both safety and practicality. Increasing voltage reduces current and, with it, the risk of fire from overheated electrical connections. As for shock hazard, AC voltages above 50 and DC voltages above 80 are potentially dangerous. Unfortunately, the article leaves the impression that DC voltage is more dangerous than AC voltage. In fact, the U.S. Navy has found that DC voltage is five to six times less likely to cause fatality than the same AC voltage. Our system is based on the best practices of numerous standards for DC systems in other industries. We have been at the forefront in attempting to develop American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) guidelines for installations in yachts. Regarding fuel efficiency, the similar fuel burns seen by the Maine Cat 41 with diesel-electric propulsion and the Maine Cat 45 with a 160-horsepower conventional diesel propulsion are exactly what would be expected. It is only under rougher sea conditions that the diesel-electric system will be more efficient than the conventional diesel system. (See our website, www.ossapowerlite.com, for more on this.) What was not clear in the article is that Maine Cat significantly modified the hull of the boat to improve performance between testing the Glacier Bay system and the Volvo diesels. We believe that the efficiency improvement with the Volvos is a result of the hull changes, not the engines.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to applying antifouling to Hypalon. Were of the "don't do it" camp for a few reasons. First, once bottom paint is applied to Hypalon, it can be very difficult to remove without risking damage to the material. Second, if you ever store the dinghy on deck or deflate it for longer storage, you can be sure that paint is going to rub off on things youd rather it not foul-for instance, tacking headsails or the deck, if the dinghy is stored there. Even if you leave the dinghy in the water for long periods of time without use, cleaning the bottom regularly should be sufficient. The folks at Mercury agree with us on this point. Mercury Marine Sales Manager Larry Piechocki told Practical Sailor, "Once this paint is on the tubes, it will never come off. Im not a big fan of painting inflatables, but that is up to the customer."

Thanks to everyone who responded to our call for suggested DIY boatyards for an upcoming article. There is still time to participate: Send your picks to the editors e-mail at [email protected]. If you didnt hear from us on this topic, its probably because youre not getting the editors e-newsletter, which represents his very best efforts at 3 a.m. the night before deadline. To sign up, go to: www.practical-sailor.com/customer_service/ and select "Change My E-mail Address."

Ive created a 24-volt system by connecting two 200-amp-hour 12-volt batteries in series to drive an electric outboard as auxiliary power for our 25-foot sailboat. The 24-volt bank will be charged using a 24-volt charger on shore power and by a 24-volt series of solar panels when mooring. I would like to eliminate the 12-volt batteries. I bought a 24- to 12-volt converter to stand in place of the 12-volt batteries, but I learned that the converter is not compatible with driving any kind of motor due to the back-voltage created by the collapsing field when the motor stops. I have a freshwater pump and a motorized outboard-motor bracket, so this particular converter is out of the question. Do you have any suggestions? Must I maintain a 12-volt battery for all the 12-volt equipment or is there a step-down technique?