Waypoints Tips

Excerpted from Seamanship Secrets When the two charted objects line up as viewed from your boat – say a church spire behind a tank – you...

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Several sailboat equipment makers have introduced gear to cope with unusual mooring needs, but there is still a lot of improvising. In any ‘extreme’...

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If youre getting ready for sailing this summer and feel like you are still losing the battle against mildew, then youll probably be interested in some of the cheap and easy mildew "cures" we've come upon in our testing. PS tester Drew Frye made a pleasant little discovery when he was researching and testing various anti-mildew protectants. Two inexpensive homemade concoctions did as well as or better than retail formulas that are 20 to 100 times more expensive.

Pressure Cookers

No kitchen pot fights a bad reputation the way a pressure cooker does-one pot of lentils exploding in someones face can quickly wipe out 20 years of good memories. While todays triple safety valves and stainless-steel construction have taken the trial-and-error out of pressure cooking and nearly eliminated accidents, theres still something about boiling water under pressure that sets the butterflies free in a cooks belly.

Despite the belly-flies, most galley cooks argue that the pressure cooker is the most versatile, most valuable pot on a boat. Pressure cooking is faster than regular cooking; it better preserves flavors and nutrients and can tenderize lean meats. If the user follows the instructions, it can be a sailors best friend, saving cooking fuel, water, and time-and having a lid that is locked on is a bonus.

PRESSURE COOKING 101

There are four basic types of pressure cookers: jiggle-top/weighted valve, fixed weight, spring valve, and electric. The jiggle-top is a decades-old pressure cooker design. A weight on the steam vent pipe begins gently rocking, spinning, or swinging when pressure is reached, indicating that it is time to turn down the heat under the pot. If the jiggler is bouncing rapidly, theres too much pressure in the cooker and the heat should be further reduced to keep from losing too much cooking liquid.

Fixed weight cookers use a weight valve that is either fixed on the vent pipe or locked into place by the user. When pressure is reached in the pot, the valve raises up slightly, emitting wisps of steam and a slight hissing to indicate it is time to the lower the heat.

Spring valve cookers are the most-advanced of the non-electric cookers. When pressure is achieved, a spring-loaded valve raises an indicator. These designs tend to vent the least amount of steam.

Electric pressure cookers reach and maintain pressure automatically.

To learn more about cooking aboard and see the pressure cookers Practical Sailor likes best, purchase the ebook Galley Accessories and Cookbooks from Practical Sailor.

THE LIGHTWEIGHT ANCHOR

All anchors are a compromise. Since some anchor types work best in certain bottoms, it is a good idea to carry anchors of different designs. At minimum, a cruising sailboat should carry at least two anchors adequately sized to anchor the boat under most conditions. Four anchors is often the norm on offshore cruising boats-two working anchors (a primary and secondary), one stern anchor or kedge, and one over-sized storm anchor-but cruising boats that sail with six or more full-sized anchors are not uncommon.

So where does a lightweight alloy anchor fit in the hierarchy of cruising anchors? It depends. Aluminum alloy anchors, particularly multi-part anchors, have a number of strikes against them. Lighter anchors take longer to set and are more likely to drag; their shanks are more vulnerable in side-load situations (aluminum alloys can shear when steel will bend); and multi-part anchors like the Fortress and Spade introduce other handicaps.

Despite these drawbacks, if Wednesday evening buoy racing is your passion, theres nothing wrong with an alloy race-day anchor. Owners of heavy-displacement boats with formidable bow rollers should look at high-tensile steel anchors for their primary anchor.

While high-tensile steel is the king of primary anchors, lightweight alloy anchors have two chief advantages-even for cruising sailors. They are portable, and they are easier to deploy by hand from a small boat. This is useful for kedging a boat into deeper water or away from a pier or obstruction.

Because alloy anchors are so easily moved around the boat, they don't need to be stowed on a dedicated bow roller, making them an appealing choice for a third, backup anchor- especially on boats with only one bow roller. Sizing an alloy anchor varies according to its purpose. Generally, the alloy anchor you choose should have similar holding capacity as the boats primary anchor.

For more advice and information on anchoring, purchase the ebook Specialty Anchors/Real World Anchoring from Practical Sailor.