Sails, Rigging & Deck Gear

If youve ever struggled to retrieve a balky rope-to-chain back splice with your windlass, youve probably wondered if there wasnt a better approach. The problem becomes especially acute if youve upgraded to higher tensile chain and want to use nylon rode with the same approximate tensile strength.

Dinghies are the Rodney Dangerfields of cruising. They get no respect, or at least not as much as they deserve. The little boat that will see nearly as many sea miles as the mother ship is often an afterthought.

Last spring we reported on tests of chain hooks (see Testing the Effects of Chain Hooks, PS March 2016). Those tests found that some hooks reduced the strength and seriously damaged the retained chain. The maker of one of the hooks, Mantus, criticized our methods because the chain size we used did not match their specs for the hook, so we repeated the tests using different chain. (For a complete discussion of this matter, see the Inside PS blog post Can a Snubber Hook Weaken Your Chain?) We also looked at newer products that had been introduced in the interim.

Designers of boat anchors deal in a handful of variables. The holding capacity of an anchor derives from its fluke, particularly the flukes size, shape, and the angle it makes with the shank. Other parts of the anchor-shank, roll bar, and stock-allow the fluke to set and hold as the designer intended. Based on the shapes and relationships between these components, an anchor fits into one of several broad categories: fluke (Danforth, Fortress, Manson Racer), plow (CQR, Delta, Kobra, SARCA Excel), claw (Bruce, Lewmar Claw, Manson Ray, Super Max), or fisherman (Luke).

In the August 2015 and October 2016 issues, we reported the preliminary results of our anchor-shackle tests. However, more recent testing has raised questions about the conclusions-most notably our Best Choice designation of the Peer-Lift brand anchor shackles, sold by Peerless.

In our second look at sailboat winches, we put the deck hardware into action, sea trialing traditional winches that have stood the test of time as well as the newest trends in winch design. Our goal was to hone in on the operational aspects of each winch, scrutinizing how each drum handled line loads and noting which drum shapes were less prone to overrides. Testers also compared the effectiveness of self-tailing systems and the various drum surface finishes used to keep the line from slipping.

When comparing winches, its important to understand how input and output interface. The winch handle is a rotary lever that is the first stage of power amplification. The ratio of drum radius-to-handle length is the first force multiplier. An 8-inch handle and a 2-inch radius drum, therefore, deliver a 4-to-1 boost in pulling power and a 4-to-1 decrease in line-hauling speed.

The basic design of the humble boat hook hasn't changed much over the years, but it has seen upgrades in construction and materials, along with some minor design tweaks. For this report, we set out to determine what constitutes the ideal boat hook. We evaluated boat hooks currently on the market and took a look at some old models still in service.

Southern sailors often put their boats away for a few months when the water gets a little cool. Northern sailors have a more definitive reason; they put their boats away when the water gets hard. Often, freezing is limited to harbor areas, where shallow water, freshwater input, and limited tidal flushing encourage ice formation. Far north, you can walk on it for weeks, while in the mid-Atlantic, the layer is often thin and transitory. And while a few inches of ice are generally harmless to a sound boat, thick moving ice can damage paint, exposed steering gear, and planking. Although we can't make the weather any warmer, there are measures boat owners can take to keep ice at bay.

When it comes to deicers, proper installation is key. Here are some tips to ensure your setup will optimize ice removal.