Mailport: Max Prop

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Max Prop

Regarding Folding vs. Feathering Props, (PS February 2018), we sailed with a Max-Prop for a number of years. The Max-Prop caught lobster pot lines daily and often more frequently when cruising Maine. One day I dove three times to cut the like off my prop and we are very careful to watch and steer around pots as best as we can. We finally switched to Flexofold and never in many more years have we caught a line. We are still very careful to steer around pots or immediately put it in neutral if we think we have run over a pot. I would not recommend cruising Maine with a feathering prop. I highly recommend a folding prop for line infested waters like the coast of Maine.

Richard McCowan

practical-sailor.com


Mainsheet Twist

Regarding your recent article Undoing Mainsheet Twist, (PS February 2018), I thought I was the only one who had this problem! After trying the untwist-the-sheet routine multiple times to no avail on my Newport 28 II, I finally figured out that by replacing the swivel block with a fixed block where the main sheet meets the boom above the traveler made the twisting issue disappeared. Thanks for validating my resolution.

Bill Griffin

Via practical-sailor.com


Solent Stay

Regarding your recent Inside Practical Sailor blog post Adding a Solent Stay, we added a solent stay to our Beneteau 473. The factory makes a retro fit kit, but we made up our own hardware. The sail is on a Profurl roller furling. The only drawback on this boat is the sheeting angle limitation due to the existing genoa track. We sail in the Caribbean and find that we use the solent headsail 90 percent of the time; apparent wind over 15 knots, AWA between 40 and 100. The boat has less heel and we sail faster in more comfort. Highly recommended.

Donna George

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Solent Stay II

I thought about adding a solent stay to our Pacific Seacraft 34 but opted instead for Code Zero staysail, since we had a hank-on sail already. I designed it and installed it last summer and what a gizmo. The sail is rolled and normally dropped on the foredeck. When we need it, the staysail is hoisted from the cockpit (no going forward) which makes my wife happy and furled and unfurled from the cockpit. When we sail as a sloop the staysail is out of the way when we tack. I have to say, its obviously not an original idea but one I copied from our sister ship we met in the North Channel a few years ago, but it works like a charm.

Khen Milcarek

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Solent Stay III

Our Outbound 44 was designed as a Solent rig. The forestay is attached to the anchor platform about 1 foot forward of the bow, with a short matching bobstay. The inner stay attaches about 2 feet aft of that. Our boat was configured with a detachable Solent stay, for which Carol Hasses Port Townsend sails cut a non-overlapping staysail. The removable stay was great for tacking the furling 125 percent genoa, but the process of attaching and tensioning the stay, hanking on the sail, and leading the jib sheets was challenging enough in strong winds that we didnt use it as much as we should have. By the time we reached New Zealand we saw the wisdom of having the staysail on a roller furler and changed it over. Great rig for offshore cruising, where frequent tacking of the Genoa is unlikely. One downside of the Solent rig: forestay and Solent stay tensions are shared, so you will never get quite as tight a luff.

Craig Johnston

Via practical-sailor.com


B&G Screen Delaminates

I have had two Zeus2 and a Triton on my sloop since 2015 and I love them and all the flexibility and use cases that they can address. However, unfortunately both Zeus2 screens failed due to delamination issues (that Im told were widespread manufacturing faults that have been corrected) and were replaced under warranty. B&G has been great in terms of responsiveness, customer support, and professionalism and I would recommend them without hesitation.

John D. Henry

Via practical-sailor.com

We will be exploring this topic in more detail in a future report and would like to hear from more readers who have had their chartplotter screens delaminate, or fail. Screen delamination has been a longstanding problem not limited to one particular brand and not all makers have been responsive to service claims.


LPU Paint Repairs

With regards to your recent Inside Practifcal Sailor blog post Extending the Life of Your new Paint Job, I found it impossible to blend in the repainted patch with the surrounding hull. No amount of rubbing compound seemed to create an actual blending of the surfaces. Instead, I now tape off the area to be repainted with masking tape; sand within the masking taped area (this often tears the masking tape, but I just replace it when Im done); wipe with solvent; and paint, going over the masking tape to insure total coverage within the masked area. When the tape is removed, there is a conspicuous ridge of paint along the tape line, but Ive found that if I carefully, lightly sand that ridge with 400 grit sandpaper and then compound the area around the patch perimeter, it blends very nicely. Naturally, the repainted area will be more shiny than the adjacent, older paint but from a distance of a few feet, you really don’t notice it. Plus, a little wax helps to equalize the shine. I use the Interlux wax that is formulated specifically for the Interlux LPU paint.

Mark Branse

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Kyocera Solar Panels

In 2015 I installed four Kyocera (4 x 140W = 560 W) solar panels on Destiny (1979 Tayana Vancouver 42); two above a renewed dodger and two above a new stainless steel stern arch to charge my two 8D Gel batteries. The package included a Blue Sky Energy Solar Boost 2512iX-HV charge controller for each pair of panels and single Blue Sky Energy IPN-Remote to monitor their progress. Biggest challenge was to locate a reasonably priced vendor to build and install the stern arch; my dodger vendor gave me the tip that was half the cost otherwise noted. It had to be built on site while the boat was hauled. A previously installed Xantrex LinkPRO Battery Monitor lets me know how the batteries are doing. Tested during my 2016 round-trip to Hawaii showed the batteries rarely dropping below 80 percent even during the return across a cloudy/foggy North Pacific. The panels themselves are relatively cheap. It is the cost of everything else related to the install that drives up the cost.

Mike Hirko

Tayana Vancouver 42

Gig Harbor, Wash.


Kudos to Seabreeze

We sent an email to Seabreeze International asking where we could send our electric heater used on our boat, in for repair. We promptly received a reply from Arthur Tateishi, President of Seabreeze, saying that heater model had not been made for over 12 years, but told us we could trade in the old heater and we would get the newer model for $35 including freight and a 2 yr warranty. We returned our old heater with the required check and just received our new heater. We have seen this heater in stores for a much higher price.

This is what I think is excellent service and old model lasted many years.

Seabreeze is a Canadian company and I think this service deserves to be mentioned for kudos.

David Rice

1999, Hunter 380,

Hudson, OH

DIY Bottom Scraper for In-Water Cleaning
Mailport: Max Prop

Heavy cleaning carries the risk of paint damage and pollution of the environment. But often there are just a few stubborn barnacles that you can’t pry off with your gloved thumb, and the prop typically needs frequent touch ups. A metal scraper can scratch. Most plastic scrapers are too stiff and often hard to hold on to. All of these sink to the bottom if your concentration lapses for even a moment. Thus, the DIY scraper.

The handle is a scrap of broom stick, or a wooden closet rod. It should be 12-18 inches long, so that it floats, and for longer reach (handy when used to scrape mud off the anchor on its roller), and so that both hands can be used. Carefully round the end, in case it becomes necessary to park it in your waistband.

The blade can be an epoxy spreader (soft), a disposable plastic drywall knife with the handle cut off (firm), or scrap plastic. Slot the stick about 1 1/2 inches with a hand saw or on a table saw (photos 1 & 2), chamfer the end for better clearance (photo 3), and drill one or two holes for retaining screws. (photo 4). Barnacles will wear down the blade, but it is easily replaced if you remembered to make a few spare blades.

Darrell Nicholson
Practical Sailor has been independently testing and reporting on sailboats and sailing gear for more than 50 years. Supported entirely by subscribers, Practical Sailor accepts no advertising. Its independent tests are carried out by experienced sailors and marine industry professionals dedicated to providing objective evaluation and reporting about boats, gear, and the skills required to cross oceans. Practical Sailor is edited by Darrell Nicholson, a long-time liveaboard sailor and trans-Pacific cruiser who has been director of Belvoir Media Group's marine division since 2005. He holds a U.S. Coast Guard 100-ton Master license, has logged tens of thousands of miles in three oceans, and has skippered everything from pilot boats to day charter cats. His weekly blog Inside Practical Sailor offers an inside look at current research and gear tests at Practical Sailor, while his award-winning column,"Rhumb Lines," tracks boating trends and reflects upon the sailing life. He sails a Sparkman & Stephens-designed Yankee 30 out of St. Petersburg, Florida. You can reach him by email at practicalsailor@belvoir.com.