Ask SAIL: Satellite Antenna Concerns
July 25, 2016
Q: Do I have to place my satellite radio receiver antenna out in the open, up high, for effective satellite radio and weather chart reception?
Q: Do I have to place my satellite radio receiver antenna out in the open, up high, for effective satellite radio and weather chart reception?
Q: I’ve just bought a sailboat that’s been sitting unattended for a couple of years. The docklines, sheets and furling line are green with algae
ZINCS EMERGENCY Q: I need advice. All of a sudden I’m burning through zincs while at dock. My gut instinct says that there is a
BASHED-UP BOW PULPIT Q: The bow pulpit on my old 34-footer has seen more than its share of abuse over the years, and now it’s
It’s essentially true that if you give a marine diesel engine clean oil, clean air and clean fuel, it will run, if not forever, then
DIFFERENT TACKS, DIFFERENT PERFORMANCE Q: What may be the reason that my boat exhibits different behavior depending on whether I am sailing on starboard or
LOOSE DEPTH CONNECTION Q: The LCD readout on my boat showing bottom depth has become intermittent. When I pulled apart the nav station panel, it
HOLDING TANK PUMP-OUT FREQUENCY Q: How long can I go between holding tank pump-outs? I can see it being over two weeks easily between uses
Q: Do I need to buy an expensive VHF test meter to check my AIS antenna, which is separate from my normal VHF antenna? T.
REVIVING NONSKID ON DECK Q: The molded-in nonskid is becoming less and less nonskid on the side decks and foredecks of my old 35-footer. I’m
A trans-oceanic performance catamaran loads up on practical features and comforts of home.
A classic racing yacht, three weeks at sea, and eight crewmates you’ve never met. What could go wrong?
Editor’s Note: This story is excerpted from SAIL Contributing Editor Christopher Birch’s upcoming book The Four Seasons of Boat Maintenance(available for order soon)—a compendium of
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