Ask Sail

A serious cruising boat should carry at least three different anchors on board, and one should be better than the other two for a particular type of bottom. I’m not a great fan of anchor-sizing formulas; if your boat is heavier or has more windage than an average boat of similar length, you’ll usually need a bigger anchor than the one recommended by any simple formula. Remember, too, that

Gray R. Riddick of Chocowinity, North Carolina, asks:”I know you have discussed using a multimeter to check a battery’s voltage. What does the reading mean? Will it tell me whether or not a battery should be replaced? My two house batteries, for example, read 12.82 and 12.36 volts.”Nigel Calder replies: A specific voltage reading won’t tell

“Many books on fiberglass repair, including one of yours, have drawings showing how to lay up cloth and mat over a tapered repair area, like a hole. The repair always begins with a small piece of cloth at the bottom, and as the layup continues, the pieces get larger. This makes sense to me, because a layup schedule doesn’t depend on just one interface bonding. Going from smaller to larger would

“I’m building a 42-foot cutter that I hope to launch this year, and my present sailplan is a fractional rig with running backstays. I plan to use a carbon-fiber mast, but I want to do away with the runners. Can a rigger redesign the standing rigging—particularly the chainplate locations—or will I have to redo the whole sailplan? And if that’s what’s required, where should I go to get a new

“I’ve got my boat well grounded for lightning protection and have a pair of insulators to isolate my backstay. I’m concerned that the grounded rigging will pull down my SSB signal transmissions.”– Jim Wonn, Cashmere, WashingtonGordon West replies: As long as your backstay is insulated so the SSB antenna can radiate, there is no problem. Although the signal

“My Grampian sloop is fairly heavy, but it performs well in a breeze. However, my arm gets tired holding the tiller to keep the boat sailing in a straight line. Would moving the foot of the mast forward or aft help correct this problem?” — Harry Newiger, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada Win Fowler replies: Several things could be causing this problem—it’s

“The two group 27 batteries on my boat are both four years old. After charging, all cells have a specific-gravity reading of 1.225 +/- 0.005 and about a 75 percent charge. Hoping to improve the readings, I have been charging at 16 volts and 1 amp. After several days, the cells read 1.260 +/- 0.005. Is this a sign of sulfation?”– Roger A. Karmes, North East,

“Our boat was built in the Far East, and the interior has a beautiful lacquer finish. I have a photograph of a worker brushing on the lacquer, and I can see he is using a 1-inch brush. I’ve tried a thick brush, a thin brush, short strokes and long strokes, and I can’t get a finish that looks like the original. Any suggestions?”– Duane Ericson, Oceanside,