Safety & Seamanship

Every spring, there are numerous online forums discussing the best rope-cleaning methods. Practical Sailors interviews with technical representatives from major rope makers Bluewater Ropes, New England Ropes, Samson Cordage, and Yale Cordage yielded uniformly conservative guidance on how to get the grit out of old lines without destroying the rope's integrity. Testers also took to the laundry room to determine the effects of detergent, wash cycles, acids, bases and solvents, fabric softeners, power washing, bleach, hot water, and heat on rope strength and stretch.

Cruising the remote west coast of Vancouver Island is the dream of many Pacific Northwest sailors. The journey includes the 80-mile passage from Race...

For many boaters, damage control means a cell phone call to Sea Tow, Tow Boat US or another marine assistance provider. These are reliable...

The shelves these days are packed with an endless array of boat cleaners. A mild soap and elbow grease is often all that is needed. But when you are dealing with extensive coats of mold, mildew and dirt, deep cleaners are the ticket. Practical Sailor divided a neglected, filthy Avon Rover R250 into even sections and tested 11 inflatable boat cleaners. Three products scored an excellent rating. Products tested include the best products from Star Brite, MaryKate, Nautical Ease, Marine Development and Research Corp, Amazons, Seapower, Pennel & Flipo, Revival Ecological Paste, and Spray Nine.

Stagger while you anchor? It sounds like Ive either been drinking too much or sailing too long. Bear with me.

The hallmark of an overboard fall protection system is a system of jacklines running along the deck, with tethers attached so that the sailor can move throughout the boat with relative freedom. But this is not the real backbone of the system. A review of overboard accidents reveals that very few fall when transiting from cockpit to bow-they get washed overboard when they stop to perform a task. While moving, sailors are focused, holding on with two hands, and mindful of the approach of waves and the motion of the boat. But while taming a headsail or straightening up a tangle of line in the cockpit, the mind wanders, the hands are occupied, and risk increases. A wave strikes, we tangle our feet or step on a sail, and whoosh . . . were overboard.

We all want a crystal ball that tells us exactly what we will be in for during a passage, however long or short it...

With a double-headsail rig, you already have some powerful gear-shifting options. Putting your staysail on a furler adds an overdrive.

When it comes to sailboats, performance is a relative term, especially when it comes to a crews concept of how the boat will be used. Racing sailors, cruisers, and daysailors each have very different perspectives on performance. For example, those facing a light-air, around-the-buoys race measure performance in terms of how well their speed through the water holds up against the decrease in true-wind speed. Cruisers, on the other hand, especially those crossing oceans, often define it as a measure of versatility under sail, not just how a boat copes with near calms or gales, but how it performs in everything in between.

Off season sailing, and even sailing and kayaking in cold water climates, presents the very real risk of hypothermia. Some MOBs experience a gasp...