Mailport & PS Advisor

Two years have passed since I stepped into the oversized editorial shoes at Practical Sailor, and it is a good time to deliver a status report to the most valuable stakeholders in all of this: the subscribers. Now going on 33 years of publication, Practical Sailor is one of the longest-running North American sailing publications. It has for more than three decades been one of Belvoir Media Groups flagship publications and one of its most popular. It is the only no-advertising sailing magazine that tests and evaluates boats and sailing gear. Its contributors range of experience is vast. Its readers are brilliant and immune to flattery.

I have a keel bolt issue with my 1981 Freedom 33. To bolt the keel to the hull, Freedom set stainless J bolts into the mold and then cast the keel around it. While I was trying to torque one of the six keel bolts (5/8-inch), it sheared off. The rest seem fine. As much as 100 foot-pounds of torque, and repeated hammer blows have not had any effect on them. However, I plan to install multiple sister bolts to be safe. Here is how: Drill bolt holes within a few inches of the old ones, then fill them with fresh water. Drill a small-diameter hole horizontally, from the outside, to intersect the bolt hole. When that "pilot hole" is in the right location, the water in the new bolt hole will run out of the pilot hole.

We subjected some volunteer bare feet (and the individuals to whom they are attached) to the same test used in the comparison of mens and womens athletic-style boating shoes (June and July 2007, respectively). On average, bare feet gripped as well as the top performers in our shoe test: Bare feet lost grip at a 35-degree angle on fiberglass (wet and dry) and 40 degrees on teak (wet and dry). We suspect the "grippiness" of bare feet can vary greatly according to each individual, so these conclusions probably cannot be applied broadly. Several readers also inquired about other style boat shoes, including sandal-style and the familiar Sperry Topsider moccasin style. We will compare those in future tests.

One Practical Sailor contributor, the manager of a custom boatbuilding and repair/refit yard, had this reply: "Not all filters are created equally: There are differences from filter to filter. We see no problem using after-market filters whose reputations are proven: brand names such as Fram (makes filters for Honda, Chrysler, and others), NAPA, Wix (Wix actually manufactures NAPAs Silver and Gold series filters), Fleetguard (owned by Cummins Filtration), and Baldwin to name a few.

Weve gotten a lot of interesting responses to our sunblock test, including a correction from a chemist pointing out that our description of potions that rely on physical blockers as sunscreens "don't have any chemicals" was inaccurate.

There is a lot of dispute about the benefits of diesel-electric propulsion over traditional diesel, and comparable numbers are hard to come by. Could you arrange a test? Diesel-electric benefits in charging house batteries and powering the fridge are obvious, but propulsion is less so. What I would like to see is a chart of the kinetic energy of each system in the X-axis, and in the Y-axis, consumed fuel. That ratio should be the value that counts. Of course, a range of appropriate propellers would also have to be tested.

Linear polyurethane paint is a thin, hard coating in comparison to gelcoat, and does not have the same ability to be compounded and waxed. It can be cleaned with a mild, non-abrasive detergent, and some can be waxed. But once the gloss is gone, it takes very careful use of a fine rubbing compound and wax to extend the coatings life for an extra season or two. The one-step waxes compared in our April 2007 issue were not tested on LPU paints because most contain an abrasive that, with repeated use, would shorten the life of an LPU paint.

In 1997, we routed a recess around the windows and had new acrylic windows bedded without mechanical fasteners. We eventually had to add mechanical fasteners. But the bolt holes werent large enough to allow for expansion, and in 2004, we replaced the windows again. Now, they are cracking at the bolts. Weve realized they are affected by hull flexing. Were seriously considering fiberglassing the openings and installing portlights. If we decide to install Lexan windows, which compound and caulking should be used?

I have little space to stow a life raft on my 30-foot Baba. On my three trips to Bermuda, I rented a valise-packed raft, tied it down, and used it as a helmsman seat. For liability reasons, most life raft manufacturers oppose sitting on the raft, but cannot explain why it is an unsafe practice. I have read too many stories of life rafts being swept off deck mounts, plus, I do not have a good place for a deck mount. In my view, there is no downside to a valise-packed raft, especially a vacuum-packed one from Winslow. I am considering one of theirs, and they will pack it to spec so I can fit it in a cockpit locker (on top of course). Most life raft makers officially support the valise for liability reasons. My only suggestion to Winslow is to include a meter of some type inside the vacuum packaging so that any moisture intrusion can be detected.

Keel voids of this size are quite common, and its one reason why you don't see bare lead at boat shows or in the dealers lot. Casting imperfections and partial, localized collapse of the sand mold cause these voids and much worse. When voids form around the support for the keel bolts, bad things happen. Narrow, high-aspect keels tolerate this far less, and its one of the reasons carbon or high-modulus steel fins and ballast bulbs now rule in that realm.We forwarded this readers question on to the folks at Alerion, who then passed it on to Mars Metal, a Canadian-based metal manufacturer and one of the most prominent manufacturers of lead keels. Heres what they suggested.