Sailboat DIY And Repair Tips

What’s the latest on LED lighting strips? I’ve noticed a boat in our marina that has a pair of strips mounted in its cockpit, and they look pretty cool!

Every time I transmit on my marine SSB radio, my autopilot goes whacko. The installer says my radio is fine, and I should just “live with it.” Is it time to deep-six the radio and get a satellite phone?

I just read Nigel Calder’s article on the costs of generating energy (“The Cost of Energy,” Dec. 2012) and found it fascinating. I understand there is a high cost for generating energy at anchor by running an engine, but is there an additional cost to generating energy while underway? If my engine is running the alternator to recharge the batteries, as well as moving the boat, surely it must add to the load and increase my fuel consumption. Is the increase significant, miniscule or somewhere in between?

My sailing buddy and I are thinking about moving to a bigger boat. I now have a 31ft Pearson with a full-batten main. It is a reasonably high-performance boat, and I love to sail it. My buddy wants to go to an in-mast furling mainsail. I would like some information on how much performance is lost when switching from a full-batten to in-mast main.

I’m trying to figure out why my paddlewheel knot log is registering incorrectly. The plug is clean, and the wheel turns freely. Yesterday my GPS showed my speed over the ground was 5 to 7 knots, and the speedo registered 0 to 0.8 knot. It does this periodically to irritate me.  

I have a 2006 Najad 440 center-cockpit sloop with a 75hp Volvo saildrive. Last summer I kept the boat at a marina in Harpswell, Maine, and as the season progressed, I noticed it was slower under power. When I hauled her in the fall, the bottom was clean as a whistle (thanks to Sea Hawk AF-33 paint), but the bronze propeller blades and hub were completely covered with barnacles. I would like to put antifouling paint on the propeller. I’ve researched the topic, but have found no definitive answers as to whether it’s a good idea.

The government has, for a decade, studied the possibility of generating electric power from the tides. Because a sailboat on a mooring is subject to tidal flow, why can’t we use this method to help generate power? Sailboats sit on moorings for long periods, sometimes for weeks, and even a trickle charge would be beneficial.