Ask SAIL: The Ultimate Ground
September 18, 2015
Q: I have a new Icom M-802 that I am installing aboard. I read about wires that make up the needed ground, and a wire
Q: I have a new Icom M-802 that I am installing aboard. I read about wires that make up the needed ground, and a wire
Q: My headsail has hanks and I am thinking of buying a new roller-furling unit. Can I convert the sail to a reefing headsail? Paul
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.
The Outremer 51 illustrates perfectly the “light is fast, fast is fun” philosophy endemic to performance-cat builders. A development of the popular Outremer 49 designed
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?
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
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?
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.
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.
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
Note: This story is excerpted from SAIL Contributing Editor Christopher Birch’s upcoming book The Four Seasons of Boat Maintenance—a compendium of lessons learned during his
In the May issue, Charles Scott writes about sailing OPBs—other people’s boats—and a host of voyages that he’s been on thanks to generous invites, offers
A little know how will save you a lot of stress on passage.
The wind built faster than it was forecasted to. We ate dinner with full sail, close-reaching on a building SSW’ly breeze. Before dark we had
Sailing on a schedule is famously a recipe for disaster, but on charter you don’t have much of a choice. The adventure is what you make of it.
Francesca Clapcich has announced the onboard crew roster for the inaugural Ocean Race Atlantic. First up is Will Harris (Great Britain) who was Clapcich’s co-skipper
A spin around the steaming cauldron of the Aeolian Islands makes a bewitching visit to the heart of the Mediterranean.
After a long absence, one sailor finds herself sailing the waters of her youth and contemplating years of change in all its forms.
The 52nd annual St. Thomas International Regatta (April 3-5) wrapped up on Easter Sunday with nearly 40 boats from all three U.S. Virgin Islands, the
Spring is in the air and warmer weather is right around the corner. Get ready for the season with SAIL’s adventure issue! Through the Eyes
