Sails, Rigging & Deck Gear

You might recall a February 2007 Chandlery review of the Lewmar OneTouch winch handle. The handles inventer, Don Steiner, has come out with his own, updated, lighter weight version, the Dax OneTouch. Steiner engineered the OneTouch and sold the license to Lewmar for the metal version, but his Dax OneTouch is made of 50 percent fiber-filled nylon, and all metal parts are high-grade aluminum or stainless. It also has a wider grab bar and higher operatng arc than the Lewmar.

Unlike their rigid counterparts, small flexible tanks make adding small stores of drinking water aboard a cruising boat relatively easy. But not all flexible tanks are equal in terms of ability to withstand wear and tear. Practical Sailors testers evaluated popular models from Vetuswww.vetus.com, Nauta Imtra Corp., www.imtra.com, and Plastimo Navimo USA, www.navimousa.com. The Vetus and Nauta tanks are rated to hold 14.5 gallons (55 liters), while the Plastimo tank holds 13.2 gallons. Testers took note of each tanks flexibility, weight, construction, seams, tie-down grommets or straps, valves, exterior and internal materials, capacity, and other characteristics. The smell and taste of the stored water were evaluated. The tanks also faced abrasion, seam strength, and drop tests-and thats what separated the weak from the winners in the water storage arena.

Although stainless steel wire and rod rigging are still the traditional, most popular, and economical material of choice for mast rigging, metal is rapidly giving way to a new generation of synthetic rigging material. There are a handful of companies that manufacture standing rigging using ultra lightweight high-modulus synthetic fibers such as Kevlar, PBO (polybenzoxazole), and carbon.There are many advantages of synthetic rigging. Weight savings aloft is the primary benefit, and high-modulus fiber can be up to 50 percent stronger than similar diameter rod or wire rigging, and up to 90 percent lighter. Another touted benefit is greater fatigue resistance. For the average racer-cruiser, there are three big drawbacks to PBO: It is four times as expensive as stainless steel wire, although roughly on par with rod rigging; should its cover fail, it drastically loses strength in direct sunlight; visual inspection and DIY repair is currently impossible. Until recently, the technology for high-modulus, synthetic fiber rigging was only available to deep-pocketed mega-yacht owners. As development advances and competitive pricing is sparked, this type of rigging may one day be an option for average sailors. Under the current state of technology, we can only recommend this product for the serious racer with very deep pockets.

An inspection of storm-damaged boats reminded Practical Sailor editors that sailboats are designed, engineered, and built to handle sailing loads, and the point-loading that occurs during collisions or fetching up make all promises of ruggedness and survivability a tenuous crapshoot at best. Fiberglass hulls have many redeeming qualities, and its these positive traits as well as their limitations that boat owners need to understand. One things for sure: Its easier to become a proficient navigator, install a secure storm mooring, or transit to safe shelter before a storm, than it is to build or buy a catastrophe-proof vessel.

The snatch block was developed to be installed and removed from the mid-region of a working line, and it has been loved and cursed by racers and cruisers alike. Snatch block preferences can vary greatly according to particular needs. Race-oriented sailors will want something strong, light, and efficient, while robust construction and reliability rank high for cruisers. Practical Sailors ideal snatch block will be rugged, serviceable, and made of high-grade materials that wont fail in demanding saltwater-sailing conditions. The snap shackle and opening mechanism should be easy and quick to open by hand. The block should rotate and pivot freely so that it provides a fair lead at a wide range of angles.We evaluated products from six manufacturers-Antal, Garhauer, Harken, Lewmar, Schaefer, and Wichard-to find the best snatch block for cruisers and club racers. The blocks working loads ranged from 1,980 pounds (Wichard) to 5,000 pounds (Schaefer). Sheave diameter ranged from 2 inches (Antal and Wichard) to slightly over 3 inches (Garhauer). For historical perspective, we included a collection of similarly sized blocks dating back more than two decades.

Sail performance is directly affected by the type and condition of your halyards. Upgrading your halyards to a low-stretch fiber helps ensure youre getting the sails full power, and it can add life your sails. After testing a sampling of lines from New England Ropes, Novatech Braids, Samson Rope, and Yale Cordage, Practical Sailor found that line stretch decreases significantly as cost increases. And while the very-low- to no-stretch high-tech lines often come with through-the-roof prices, there are low-stretch halyard options available for the budget-minded sailor.This article offers a line cost vs. line stretch analysis and an overview of the fibers available. UV resistance and other factors like abrasion resistance and ease of splicing will be the subject of future tests on these halyard materials.

Practical Sailors 12-month results in the mooring chain test gave us no reason to change our previous ratings. Our vote still is for the Acco grade-30 proof coil. Its the best chain for the dollar. If youre made of money, you could set up your mooring with the Suncor stainless. But the dark side of stainless is that after years of cyclical loading, it can break without warning. Corrosion is just one of the factors affecting a chains integrity, and until we start putting these chains under load, and ultimately, testing them for breaking strength, many questions will remain unanswered.

The micro-wind turbines assembled for this comparison include the KISS High Output Wind Generator, the Rutland 913, the Superwind 350, the Ampair 100, and a prototype of the Air Breeze. The four-day test period brought a good mix of light- and strong-wind days, so testers were able to review wind generator output in a variety of conditions. Wind speeds for the 4-day period averaged 12.6 knots, with two blustery days, so were not surprised the high-output, three-bladed wind generators topped the five-bladed ones overall.

In our July 2005 issue, we reviewed an innovative Mooring Bridle Plate from Colligo Engineering and Design, a company located in Mesa, Ariz. Now the folks at Colligo Marine have come up with a new product, one designed to help boaters lay out their storm anchoring system when prepping for the big blow. The Hurricane Anchor System provides an easy, secure method of attaching three anchors to your vessel, utilizing two or three mooring bridles (depending on whether you purchase the mono- or multihull model) while reducing the possibility of rode fouling by allowing the boat to swivel at anchor.

When cruising sailors think of renewable energy, their thoughts immediately turn to the wind. When selecting a marine wind generator for your boat, several factors must be taken into account, and separating fact from fiction is hard. Claimed output data for specific units can vary greatly from real-world performance. In part one of our series we introduce the six units we test, the Air Breeze from Southwest Wind Power, the Superwind SW250, the KISS High Output, the Ampair 100, and the Rutland 913. The selection presents a good cross-section of micro wind turbines available today and allows us to make some conclusions regarding the best wind generator for particular marine applications.