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experts

Ask SAIL: A Diesel Conundrum

 I’m trying to determine why the diesel fuel for my 4.108 low-line Perkins is getting black. I use the word “black” instead of dirty, because the fuel looks as if it is getting crankcase oil (or soot) mixed in it.

Ask SAIL: Short on Shortwave Weather

While in the Bahamas, I tried, with no success, to pick up weather using the SSB function on my portable Grundig YB400 radio. Can this little radio effectively hear SSB bands like weather, ham radio, or international shortwave?

Ask SAIL: Lowering the Gooseneck

My boat is a 1974 C&C 30 with a gooseneck fitting that is set very low on the mast. What would you think of raising the gooseneck 12 inches? As it is, it isn’t possible to use a conventional boom vang, and fitting a dodger under the boom is out of the question

Ask SAIL: Cabin Insulation

I would like to add some insulation to the cabin sidewalls, because we sail in Maine, where it often gets chilly. Is there a way to do this without developing a future mold problem?

Ask SAIL: Bad Plug?

Do marine electronic plugs just go bad on their own? I have a GPS chartplotter that sometimes go off intermittently until I reach back and wiggle a certain multi-pin plug connection.

Ask SAIL: Repainting Fiberglass

 I have a 1972 Cal 2-29. The interior fiberglass was evidently painted at the factory. Now, however, large pieces of paint are peeling off everywhere. I have found a solution for removing the old paint by first scraping and then using a combination of peel-and-strip paper with some orange citrus Home Depot paint remover.

Ask SAIL: Thumb Trick Test Coax

I am doing a retrofit on my old CRT radar to a new Garmin LCD radar system. All my wiring is replaced, except for a spaghetti-sized coax cable that was original

Ask SAIL: Boom Pocket Configuration

I’m planning on replacing the mainsail on our 1994 Catalina 320 with a loose-footed cruising sail, using a two-line Dutchman rig. One loft is recommending that the Dutchman boom pockets be fitted with a bolt rope

Ask SAIL: Saildrive Conundrum

 My 35ft Cooper 353 sloop, Rhumb Line, has a Volvo MD2030 saildrive. The zinc between the saildrive and three-bladed folding Volvo-supplied propeller comes loose and rotates on the shaft.

A bridge and a moon

Understand the Tides

Tides are an essential part of coastal sailing, so don’t forget to look at the moon once in a while. 

John Rousmaniere Speaking about Inductee Lord Dunraven at Americas Cup Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony NYYC Oct 21, 2016. Photo by Carlo Borlenghi

Eight Bells: John Rousmaniere

The sailing world has lost another great this week in the passing of John Rousmaniere, author of Fastnet Force 10 and numerous other sailing texts.

A boat anchored in a calm and pristine green water.

Zero to Caribbean

As a yacht broker, many people have talked to me about wanting to buy a boat, learning to sail, and then taking their own boat

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