SAIL.SailMagazine

"Whenever I’m motoring with the wind about 10 degrees off the starboard bow, the mast starts pumping so badly that it shakes the whole boat. The same thing happens at anchor. The mast is deck-stepped, and I’ve beefed up the compression post under the deck to make it rock solid. I’ve also checked the mast with a plumb bob and found that the column is straight but has a slight rake aft. All the

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Dave Storch, of Long Beach, California, asks:

"The former owner of my Ericson 39 installed a teak cabin sole with grooves for holly strips. The strips were never installed, and the sole was never sealed or finished. It remains unfinished, but now has a number of stains in the teak, including engine oil that escaped when the engine was removed to replace the transmission.

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R. Staats, of Neha Bay, Washington, asks:

"Have you tested the new SPOT portable position transponder? If so, is it living up to all the hype it has received?"

Gordon West replies:

Yes, I have tested it, and so far it has worked well for me. This $150 transponder provides reliable status signaling through 48 Globalstar low-earth-orbit

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"I am curious how the Odyssey TPPL AGM batteries are working out on Nigel Calder’s new boat. I am thinking about putting TPPL AGM’s on my boat for all the reasons Calder gives. However, I wonder about how they might affect my charging system. I have a160-amp Balmar alternator and an 80-amp Yanmar. When I’m running the genset I use a Prosine 2.0 charger. Do I have to reconfigure the chargers for
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As part of the refit of our project boat, Ostara, a 1973 Norlin 34, I decided to scrap its vintage hydraulic system for tensioning the backstay, boomvang, and babystay, along with the control panel in the cockpit. In its new role as a coastal cruiser and occasional racer, the boat had no need for such powerful trimming gear or for hoses full of hydraulic oil leading
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