Id been thinking about installing new sailing instruments for a year before I finally took the plunge. The difficulty of choosing between several excellent makes was one problem. Another was the hassle factor; the significant amount of labor involved in running cables around the boat and installing the display heads. This accounts for much of the cost of upgrading instruments. The more I thought
All too often the problem with cockpit navigation monitors is keeping them in clear view when youre under sail. Take a seat immediately behind the helm, and life is good. But find a comfy perch steering to windward, and the next thing you know youre continually having to crane your neck to keep an eye on where you are with respect to those pesky shallows off to leeward; same can be said for
Clyde Collins of Seneca Falls, New York, asks:”Ive moved up from a Catalina 22 to a Bayfield 29 with a 20-gallon diesel fuel tank. I sail on the Finger Lakes of New York and only use about 5 gallons of fuel a summer. My understanding has always been that I should store the boat over winter with a full tank to minimize condensation. But that means I have 15 gallons that
Finding the perfect gift for the sailor whos got it all can be as tricky as trimming a mainsail in an oscillating breeze while sailing through sharp square waves. Get it right and your skipper will be happy; bugger it even a little bit and the old salt with a careful eye might subtly let you know that your efforts need to be stepped up a bit. To help avoid this dilemma, SAIL searches
Not all sunscreens are created equal. Some run the second they get wet or sweaty; others burn the living hell out of your eyes, while others fail to properly protect you from the sun. As with many sailors who have spend decades on the water, I have had a few little skin problems and have been advised to use the heartiest sun block on the market Meet ZBlok, a new sunscreen thats water and sweat
If youre a junior sailor who spends hours out on the water or if you know one who does you clearly understand that the clothing you choose to sail in has a huge impact on how your feel, and how you perform, whist sailing. If you meet this description, check out SailFasts new line of junior (ages 7 15) rash-guard shirts. The shirts, which are made out of SPF 50+ material that dries quickly
We live in a disposable world. Our water often comes contained in land-fill plastic, our myriad electronic gizmos and gadgets are trendy for a year or two before they too join the plastic bottles in the landfill, and thats not even to mention the batteries and power cords that power them. And lets not even talk about racing sails, broken boat bits, or the massive pile of aluminum cans and glass
Few honors have more prestige in the marine equipment field than the DAME Awards, which are decided at the METS trade show in Amsterdam in mid-November. The entries represent some of the most forward-thinking advances in marine aftermarket equipment. They are also a litmus test for the health of the industry: the more innovative products on show, the more effort is being put into R&D and product
Synthetic rigging has come of age. Colligo Marine is now taking orders for made-to-order twelve-strand Dynex Dux (pre-stretched Dyneema SK-75) shrouds, backstays, and forestays (and other standing rigging), which are compatible with either lashing or turnbuckle-style tensioning systems. Colligo claims that the synthetic rigging is roughly the same cost as stainless-steel wire shrouds but is only
James Brener of Lorton, Virginia, asks:”Id like to get a laptop computer for the boat so I can get Wifi at the dock, run electronic charts, and access webbased weather and radar when Im underway. What specifications do you think are important when buying a laptop for use on a boat?”Tim Bartlett replies:In terms of headline specs you really
The Cruising Club of America (CCA) is a collection of 1,400 ocean sailors with extensive offshore seamanship, command experience, and a shared passion for making
Most sailors take months or more to learn a new boat since, truth is, most of us have limited or sporadic time to devote to
The Ocean Race‘s 5,550-nautical-mile sprint from Itajai, Brazil, to Newport, Rhode Island, concluded last week, complete with Gulf Stream storms, the intense equatorial heat of
Mother Nature is good at heavy lifting. She effortlessly—and depending on where you sail, fairly regularly—delivers thousands of gallons of precious drinking water directly to
Truly it’s vexing that sailing luminaries don’t get more attention in the U.S.—a nation founded on the very skill of being able to sail successfully
“I’m gonna lose you! Don’t let go…. Don’t let go!” Those were the words that I kept pleading to my husband as he clung to
It should probably come as no surprise that a major philosophical design element behind the new Italia 14.98 is simply beauty. “The boat was designed
In the small hours of the morning a mere two days from the Leg 4 finish in Newport, The Ocean Race competitor GUYOT Environment has
For more multihull reviews and stories, subscribe for free to Multihull Power & Sail at sailmagazine.com/multihull Just when monohull purists have become accustomed to catamarans,
The idea of packing it all up and going cruising is simultaneously massively appealing and daunting. To a young sailor, it can feel almost impossible,
