Safety & Seamanship

For many sailors, boatbuilding can be the ultimate do-it-yourself project. The skills derived pay off as extra dividends when it comes to repairs or fitting out projects aboard larger sailboats. And as Matt Zephry and his 12-year-old son Alex found out, sharing the boatbuilding process with a loved one is like passing along an important piece of family history. The father-son duo began their boatbuilding project without any plans. Their intention was to create a boat that was easy to row and could double as a sailing skiff for father-and-son fishing trips. Their dream boat-and first boatbuilding project-was a success, and the Z&S team launched Odyssey in time for a Fathers Day sail.

According to multiple reports, most AC electrical fires occur at the boats shorepower inlet. To address this and other shortcomings of the standard twist-type boatside connection, SmartPlug Systems developed a new AC shorepower system that the company hopes will become the new marine standard. Loose and corroded connections are most often the culprits when overheating occurs. Corrosion typically results when moisture gets in at the plug-inlet connection, while arcing-which in turn leads to pitting, scorching, and heat build-up-is partially due to the shape and small contact area of the connector pins.

As the summer heats up, we were reminded that staying hydrated and healthy is as essential to a safe sail or a successful race as having the right gear on board. Dehydration occurs when the amount of water leaving the body is greater than the amount being taken in. It can rob muscles of strength and can fog the mind, compromising a sailors boat-handling ability and capacity to make tactical decisions. It can also lead to seasickness, or be a result of mal de mer. Its easy to prevent: Just be sure to get enough of the right kind of fluids before, during, and after sailing. But what are the right fluids? With the advice of a dietitian from New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center, Practical Sailor weighed the pros and cons-from a sailors standpoint-of various beverages marketed for athletes, including plain old water, coconut water, vitamin-enriched water, and sports drinks.

Topside paints for inflatable boats, in general, have a poor reputation for durability. Practical Sailor checked out a selection of coatings for Hypalon and PVC fabrics to see which one would best stand up to the tests of time on the water-and under the sun. Testers coated PVC and Hypalon panels with dinghy paints from MDR-Amazon, Synergy Research Corp. (Tuff Coat), Inland Marine, Polymarine (Flexithane and Superflex), and Flexdel Corp. (Flexabar Buoy Coating).

A recent ocean race-aboard a Cape Dory 25 sans lifelines in 30- to 40-knot winds and 5- to 10-foot seas-presented a good opportunity to sea-trial Wichards LyfSafe jackline kit. Wichard Inc., which is based in France and has an office in Vermont, has been making marine hardware and accessories for more than 30 years. Its LyfSafe kit offers a ready-to-go jackline setup and comes with everything needed to install the system.

Practical Sailor tests the Seascoopa man-overboard device and compares it to our top pick in the previous man-overboard device test, the horseshoe buoy Lifesling2. Seascoopa solves many of the problems of other parbuckle-type devices in that it is compact, lightweight and has an interlocking three-piece carbon-fiber whisker pole that holds the trapezoid-shaped net out at right angles to the boat. The ultimate goal of the device is to make it possible for a single person to safely secure and lift a much heavier person aboard with minimal effort. In addition to reducing the risks associated with a vertical lift, the Seascoopa aims to simplify making contact with the victim. Because it can be employed while the vessel is slowly making way, the recovery involves less stationary bobbing, when the boat is at the mercy of wind and waves.

Letters to the editor in May 2010 included topics: lightning, tsunami warnings, MOB retrieval and cam cleats.

After testing navigation applications for Windows-based smartphones and PDAs, Practical Sailor focuses on three apps available for the iPhone. iNavx, Memory-Map, and Navionics can each be downloaded for a reasonable price and used as backup to primary navigational aids such as a chartplotter or handheld GPS. Cellphone-based programs are not recommended as a standalone approach to navigation, but the iPhone apps are a great way to investigate, plan routes, and set and send waypoints at a very low cost for cartography.

Spring is here, and that means its time for systems and safety checks. Among the items that should be on your to-do list are checking your seacocks and making sure essential safety gear is on board. For us, that has always included keeping an inventory of soft wood thru-hull plugs for plumbing emergencies, but this year, we decided to also add a few of Forespars new closed-cell foam TruPlugs.

We know the drill now. If we feature a Mac product, we have to appease the PC crowd, and vice versa. Otherwise, the earth spins off its axis and our inbox starts smoking. So while the iPhone crowd gets their fill with our review of navigation apps (page 24), heres a morsel for readers using Windows Mobile devices. After testing several navigation programs for Windows Mobile handhelds in December 2009, we had the opportunity to evaluate Memory-Maps Weather Radar for Windows Mobile cellphones.