Dave Smith of East Aurora, New York, asks:”When I hit the starter button to crank the engine on my 1984 C&C 35, I can hear the solenoid clicking, but it doesnt normally activate the starter. Once in a while the engine will start on the first try. But usually I have to push the button a number of times before the starter engages. I did remove the starter and had it checked
Roy Labonte of San Bernardino, California, asks:”The main and jib halyard sheaves on my Islander Freeport 36 are corroded and frozen at the masthead. I freed the pins on the sheaves by knocking them back and forth with a rubber mallet. But I have had no luck freeing the sheaves themselves. Is there any way to get them away from the mast?”Don Casey
Ralph Furman of Newport Beach, California, asks:”I use wireless sensors aboard my Hunter 45DS to monitor temperatures for my refrigerator, freezer, engine compartment, engine-cooling system and air conditioning. My system works fine except for two hours a day when the engine compartment and refrigerator readings go blank. But during the other 22 hours everything is fine.
S.J. Byrus of Auburn, New Hampshire, asks:”My Bristol 32 was built in 1980 and its hatches are molded fiberglass with gelcoat on the outer edges. The center of the hatch is translucent, so light can pass through. After 30 years of it being exposed to the sun, Im starting to see some fibers in the translucent portion of the hatch, although no fibers have come loose. What
William Solberg of Los Angeles, California, asks:”You have done a great job keeping us up to date on the new AIS technology, but Im wondering whether it is better to use a masthead antenna with a splitter or a dedicated antenna mounted aft on the rail. Your suggestions regarding the installation of a secondary dedicated AIS antenna seem to put it on the aft rail or on
Robert Hall of Stuart, Florida, asks:”My stereo system works perfectly, but at a certain time in the afternoon, when the volume is set low, I can hear an annoying tic-tic-tic sound in the speakers when Im listening to my classical-music station. When I turn the volume up a little the sound goes away. Someone told me it was because I had a cheap audio system so I went out
Cat Fraser of Colchester, Vermont, asks:”How do I get rid of what I call ‘boat smell?’ Ive tried baking soda, a dish of vinegar and many commercial products. Somebody told me that coffee grounds are the way to go. A friend of mine made her husband change to stainless steel water tanks, but thats not an option here.” Don Casey replies:To
Allen Judy of Whortonsville, North Carolina, asks:”My boatyard technician tells me that there is such a thing as being over-zincd and that there is an optimum amount of zinc anode to install on any a given boat. He says this has something to do with an electrical field imbalance and that it is best is to have just enough imbalance to sacrifice the zinc that is in place.
Bob Boller of Benicia, Califonia, asks: “I have three headsails for my 1980 Catalina 30 and their LPs are 85, 110 and 150. As it does on many cruising boats, the bow pulpit interferes with the lower portion of the sails, especially the smaller two. What do you think about slightly raising the tacks of the sails up the forestay? What effect will that have on the performance
Using a popular airfoil analysis code (XFOIL, by M. Drela & H. Youngren, see http://web.mit.edu/drela/Public/xfoil/) we analyzed the performance of the stock centerboard of a San Juan 23. As this board was a thin flat plate, this performance was rather poor, consistent with the
The fleet couldn’t have wished for better conditions at the start of the 363-mile ocean race.
As the first competitors eye their approach Hawaii, Stan Honey talks strategy.
Living champagne dreams on a Top Ramen budget — and how you can do it too.
Simrad has upgraded their line of chartplotters with the NSS 4, a new model designed with going off soundings in mind.
Nearing the halfway mark of Falken’s passage between the Galápagos and Marquesas
Today we’re celebrating the birthday of one of history’s greatest yachtswomen.
Celebrating its 50th anniversary, Coneys Marine on Long Island has always counted on the power of family.
Bad puns aside, why do cats and sailing go so well together? It’s brain science.
Which modern synonym for “complain” originally was used to describe a ship that tended to round up into the wind due to a bad design
As the second fleet of starters get under way, a quick look at the tracker and the prep that goes into a race of over 2,000 open ocean miles.
