Ask SAIL: a Bag of Lines
September 24, 2025
You ask, we answered: Ask SAIL is back. Send your questions to sailmail@sailmagazine.com to be featured in the magazine. We have a whole bag of lines
You ask, we answered: Ask SAIL is back. Send your questions to sailmail@sailmagazine.com to be featured in the magazine. We have a whole bag of lines
Q: In one of your recent Ask Sail responses, you wrote about loose-footed mainsails. I have an S2 7.9 that has a rope-footed main.
Q: I’ve been watching the most recent America’s Cup down in Auckland, which has got me thinking about technology and sails. My question is, how
Q: I recently removed my radar’s white radome, which covers the internal rotating antenna. I gave the radome a light sandblasting to clear it of
UNDERPERFORMING SOLAR Q: I have a pair of solar panels on my aft arch feeding to a solar voltage regulator and then feeding my bank
TO VANG OR NOT TO VANG Q: Last year, I bought a new, fully-battened Dacron main for my 36-footer. Unlike the old one, the new
I used Sikkens Cetol on the bare wood on my Catalina 30, Morning Dew IV. The can was compromised over the spring, and I put the balance in a 16oz clean glass mayo jar. Last spring when I went to use it, a skin had formed over the top of the liquid, so I just cut the skin off. It is 1/8in thick. In the future, is it still OK to use?
Q: I have an early ‘70s Catalina 27. The keel bolts look pretty good. My question is, why not glass over the keel to bond
Q: When sailing dead downwind (assume 22 knots of wind), if the main is eased out to 90 degrees relative to the wind (perpendicular to
Q: I’ve sailed and raced on a number of boats over the years. I feel like aboard most of the boats I’ve sailed, we’ve just
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Twist: The Big Question When asked to help out onboard, I’m sometimes surprised to find how many skippers only have a vague notion of how
