I used Sikkens Cetol on the bare wood on my Catalina 30, Morning Dew IV. The can was compromised over the spring, and I put the balance in a 16oz clean glass mayo jar. Last spring when I went to use it, a skin had formed over the top of the liquid, so I just cut the skin off. It is 1/8in thick. In the future, is it still OK to use?
TIME TO BUY NEW SAILS? Q: I have a very old set of Dacron sails on my Catalina. Friends have told me I should have
SMOKING DIESEL Q: I have noticed black smoke from my diesel under high rpm, over 2,000, and suspect unburned fuel to be the cause. I
WHAT’S WITH THOSE RINGS? Q: I’ve been seeing a bunch of boats at boat shows where each jib sheet passes through an aluminum ring, which
Q: My crew and I have been debating the location of telltales on our boat, a 30-footer we race only casually. We’ve already got telltales
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
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
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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It’s March, and if you’re like most sailors who’ve had to put their beloveds away for the winter, you’re champing at the bit to get
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