David Stiller of Miami, Florida, asks:”Im getting a new Standard Horizon GX2100 marine VHF with integrated AIS receivers, and Im curious whether it will work with my Shakespeare masthead antenna?”Gordon West replies:AIS frequencies are 4.6 MHz higher than normal VHF ship-to-ship channels. However, Ive done some tests, and Don Henry at
David von Fruke of Ssen, Minnesota, asks: “Last year I purchased a 202 ft2 asymmetrical spinnaker for my Hunter 170 along with a sock for dousing the sail. My goal is to set the spinnaker singlehanded, and while I can manage it, I do have trouble raising and lowering the sail. I have been thinking about putting the spinnaker on a roller furler. What do you
After wed sailed our boat for a year, we decided to pull the mast and have the old paint blasted off so that we could recoat it. It turned out that it wasnt just the paint that was in poor shape. As we started picking away at the old paint it became obvious that the mast was more corroded than wed thought. Even worse, close inspection revealed cracks around a couple of the T-ball sockets on
When we acquired our new boat I saw at a glance that the plastic-sheathed lifelines were junk. Not only were they too thinshe had been used only for racing, so I guess the wire was underspecified to save a few pounds but they were all too obviously old and dangerously corroded. I once saw a friend fall overboard because a rusty lifeline gave way, so I knew I would replace them as soon as
If you are one of the many thousands of sailors who own a boat built before lines-led-aft became ubiquitous, and you want to be able to sail your boat without leaving the cockpit, leading halyards and reefing lines aft can be a relatively easy upgrade
If you are one of the many thousands of sailors who own a boat built before lines-led-aft became ubiquitous, and you want to be able to sail your boat without leaving the cockpit, leading halyards and reefing lines aft can be a relatively easy upgrade.Planning the projectStep one is to look at the feasibility of locating the hardware youll have to add. Your deck
Chet Sturgis of Chicago, Illinois, asks:”Recently, I installed a cell phone amplifierI dont recall the manufacturers nameto increase my range when Im sailing off the coast. Although range has improved, when Im back in my slip I cant get good reception from someone who is calling me from just several hundred yards away until I turn off the amplifier. What am I doing
Pete Ward of Wilmington, North Carolina, asks:”The packing in my stuffing box has become so tightly compressed on the shaft that when I put the transmission in gear, the whole thing turns in the rubber hose thats connected to the pipe going through the hull. Ive tried to get all the old packing out with a hook, but its still there. I dont want to use a hammer. Can I
Stuart Goldman of Shelter Island, New York, asks:”For the last two years the zincs on the shaft and MaxProp on my Hinckley SW 42 have started to really dissolve in early Julyafter the boat has been in the water for about a month. The boat is on a mooring thats at least 500 yards away from any other boat except a 50ft powerboat, which is also on a mooring about 50 yards
Terry McCoy of Gainesville, Florida, asks:”After running perfectly for years, the diesel engine on our Beneteau 331 stopped running when we were backing out of the slip. It started right up, but then stopped againand again. I changed the fuel filters and the engine ran without a hitch until one day we were returning to the marina and suddenly it quit again. Although it
As the Croatian fuel dock attendant flung the dockline back at our boat, I let out a memorable string of salty language. The bow thruster
Daniel Hays, at age 63, is now almost 10 years older than his father David was when they sailed around Cape Horn together in a
Careful with the Cranking Running out of fuel or losing the engine by way of filters blocked with dirty diesel is bad enough, but ending
I lay in my suspended bunk and waited for the next wave to lift me up and slam me down onto the hard bench below.
You may know Corsica as the island just north of Sardinia in the Mediterranean where, in August 2022, a violent derecho swept through with 140-mile-per-hour
You could argue that best thing about the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) isn’t really the camaraderie, the energy, or even the excitement of taking
We were anchored at the end of a narrow bay under glittering pink granite cliffs. A whiff of pine scented the air. From Belamies, our
Most sailors are well attuned to keeping an eye out for cold fronts, which can bring nasty, squally weather with strong winds and large seas.
Maybe you’ll remember back in 2014 when the Volvo 65 Team Vestas Wind, racing in the Volvo Ocean Race, slammed into the Cargados Carajos Shoals
“Why didn’t he point the boat into the wind to raise/lower the main to avoid tangling in the lazyjacks?” Ah, the comments section on YouTube.
