Boatworks

Quick Nautical Equipment Aleph and Dylan

by David Schmidt, Posted August 18, 2009

If you’ve ever anchored in a really muddy bottom, or amidst blocky granite seafloors, you know firsthand that pulling an anchor up by hand is neither fun nor fast. Quick Nautical Equipment recently unveiled two new vertical windlasses, the Aleph and the Dylan. Each model comes in three sizes. The Aleph is for boats between 22 and 49 feet; the Dylan is for boats from 38 to 64 feet. The windlasses

LED Lights

by David Schmidt, Posted August 18, 2009

LED lights have revolutionized onboard lighting in recent years due to the featherweight draw they impose on house batteries. Initially LEDs were several times costlier than their incandescent brethren. Thankfully, this has changed recently, and Hella Marine’s line of NaviLED PRO navigation lights are a great example of affordable performance. These lights use a scant 10% of the power consumed by

Boat Cleaning Products

by Sail Staff, Posted September 23, 2009

WAX ON, WAX OFFTo make cleaning your boat a bit easier and a lot safer for the environment, Ecover recently introduced its eco-friendly Boat Wash Wax and Heavy Duty Boat Wash. These low-foaming cleaners and waxes clean and shine metal, fiberglass and painted marine surfaces, and are phosphate-free. The products are made from plant and mineral-based ingredients, including

Thin Film Solar Panels

by David Schmidt, Posted October 21, 2009

Looking for an innovative way of keeping your batteries trickle-charged, without adding a cumbersome and expensive fixed solar panel? SolarSail could be your solution.These rollable solar films attach to your boat's canvas via supplied fasteners (mounting instruction included), allowing you to easily stow them when you collapse your canvas. The monolithically integrated panels are made

Drum Tight: Surefas' Q-snap for Canvas Covers

by Sail Staff, Posted March 10, 2010

For canvas covers and dodgers to work correctly they need to be tight. Unfortunately, getting a drum-tight fit often means trouble snapping down the fasteners. Surefas has solved this problem with its ingenious Q-Snap, a device that functions like a normal press fastener, except it comes equipped with an extra ring on the underside of the fastener and a small hook on the deck. Sliding the extra

Kiwiprop Feathering Propeller

by Peter Nielsen, Posted March 23, 2010

The Kiwiprop feathering propeller is gradually gaining popularity in a competitive marketplace. It is set apart from its rivals by its construction—the blades are made of Zytel, a plastic composite made by Dupont, mounted on a 316 stainless-steel hub. This combination lessens the potential for galvanic corrosion, which was the main reason I decided to replace my bronze two-bladed folding

Go Microfiber

by Peter Nielsen, Posted March 23, 2010

I’ve become converted to microfiber cloth for polishing things like dodger windows, portlights and stainless steel. You can use them with just about any polishing compound and they’re resistant to most other chemicals. They seem to get rid of annoying little flaws better than cotton rag, and you can wash them and reuse them.Shurhold is now selling microfiber towels in 3-packs for $18.95 or

A Bit of Shade

by Charlie Garrard, Posted June 1, 2010

My J/105 is more of a racer than a cruiser, but every once in a while I put in a few nights aboard with the family. I’m 6ft 3in, and the boat has about a foot less headroom than I need, so I’ve always paid close attention to the weather—being stuck below on a rainy day for more than an hour or so would put a big damper on the trip. Last year I was offered a ShadeTree awning to try, and what a

Antenna, Wind Vane Saves Space

by Adam Cort, Posted June 30, 2010

Shakespeare's Galaxy 5445 antenna and wind vane combination saves space at the top of the mast by combining multiple functions in a single piece of gear. The system is lightweight and minimizes windage aloft, while solderless connectors simplify installation and subsequent removal for storage. The antenna’s 3dB whip measures 3ft and a PL-259 connector and a 65ft RG-58 coax cable are included. The

Solar Lighting the Easy Way

by Adam Cort, Posted July 29, 2010

The solar-powered RailLight Premium LED light comes with a QuickMount attachment “system” featuring multiple attachment options. These include a rail clamp that attaches to railings measuring 3/4in to 11/4in in diameter; a transom clamp that adjusts up to 2in, for use with cockpit coamings, toerails or the topsides of a dinghy and rowboat; and a post mount that attaches permanently to any deck,