Sails, Rigging & Deck Gear

Letters from the August 2010 issue of Practical Sailor. Subjects include: Shore anchoring, feathering props, earth-friendly cleaning products, staying hydrated and dink repairs.

Whether youre celebrating this sailing season with weekend cruises, offshore voyages, or simply plotting for your escape, Practical Sailors 2010 summer reading list has a pick youll enjoy. This sampling of some of the latest salty reads includes destination guides, marine maintenance and boat search resources, and a true-life account of survival at sea. Featured authors include Don Casey, Chris Doyle, Roger Marshall, and Michael Tougias.

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.

Practical Sailor recently took a look at nine different bosun chairs and bosun chair alternatives to determine which ones are worth recommending to the sailor facing a repair project high above the deck and which ones wed drop into the nearest dumpster. Included in this test were products from ATN, renowned-rigger Brion Toss, Black Diamond outdoors sports company, sailing hardware-maker Harken, French yacht-equipment manufacturer Plastimo, and Spinlock, a company that specializes in deck hardware and personal safety gear. While none of the products, which were bench tested and evaluated in the field, would ever be considered comfortable, several fit the bill for getting crew to the masthead (and down) safely and offer the features necessary for working aloft. In the review, we also give a rundown on tips and the essential techniques for going aloft safely.

The June 2010 issue featured letters on subjects such as: spiders, addition of color to handheld electronics, DIY boatyard recommendation and propane fridges.

My wife and I leave our boat moored in Bahia Coyote, Sea of Cortez, BCS Mexico. Our mooring is a system of anchors and chain that has worked well for us since 1987. Last year, I hired some friends to dive it. They replaced the chains and reported that everything else was in good shape. Days later, a neighbor noticed the boat drifting and rescued her. The cause: a swivel had failed. The swivel was in good shape, but the nut holding the halves together unscrewed. I don’t use jaw/eye swivels because cotter pin-related failures are too common, and I don’t use Chinese swivels because the U.S.-made ones are more reliable. Have you heard of this happening?

Practical Sailor frequently tests sailboat cam cleats and their applications and even developed a machine for testing cleats: Doomsday. For this test we requested production cam cleats designed to handle 3/8-inch line and received products from Harken, Selden, Ronstan, Garhauer, Schaefer, and Spinlock. The Doomsday machine runs the cleat through a series of tests to evaluate fuzz, neck, and abrasion, with results showing what we can expect from a cleat after a season of use. The models tested are just a sampling of the range of cam cleats offered in various sizes and materials. A racing sailor, who probably uses cam cleats more frequently than a cruiser and who is keen to keep weight down should consider a composite model. At the other end of the spectrum, a cruiser who is more concerned about durability should consider one of the heavy-duty cam cleats in the test.

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

Overheard aboard a bareboat charter at the Bitter End on Tortola, British Virgin Islands, at sunset circa 1978: "I wish George would hurry up and whack all those big orange balls out of the way, so we can anchor." There are still many places where snagging a mooring requires someone who knows the business end of a boat hook, but in most of New Englands municipal harbors, the ubiquitous mast buoy has made the chore infinitely easier. These "pickup sticks" are now standard in the region (much to the chagrin of area divorce lawyers). If you are tasked with maintaining your own mooring-and you don't yet have a good pickup stick-we can recommend a replacement: a "deluxe" mooring buoy from Island Mooring Supplies. Now, before the idea of a deluxe pickup stick starts you choking with laughter, please bear with us.

Cape Dory sloops-even those like the 25, which was not designed by Carl Alberg-have one of the most loyal followings among production boats. These loyal owners, added to a reputation for quality construction, enables Cape Dory boats to hold their resale value well, making them prime candidates for a do-it-yourself project boat like Practical Sailors test boat, Satori, a 1981 Cape Dory 25.Satori was purchased in 2008 in Sarasota, Fla., for $1,500. Although structurally sound for a boat her age, the interior had been gutted.Satoris sale price included an inventory of like-new sails, a new 5-horsepower Nissan outboard, and ground tackle. Completely rebuilding a boats interior would seem daunting to many, but Satori owner Jon Perkins is a carpenter by trade so he had the tools, resources, and know-how to get the job done. Cape Dory is an ideal fixer-upper boat, if the owner is up for the project. On today market, the Cape Dory 25 can fetch $3,000-$8,000. The pocket cruiser is also an excellent boat to fix and sail as a nice weekend cruiser for a family or a coastal cruiser for a couple.