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 them replaced because it will make my boat sail better. But quite frankly, I’d prefer not to spend the money on sails that seem plenty sturdy enough for the kind of ...read more
CETOL SKINI 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 ...read more
BRINGING BACK OLD WOODWORKQ: I’m looking to purchase a 1985 Sabre 38 Mk1 sailboat. It has the traditional dark teak/mahogany cabin woodwork. My question is, can the woodwork be effectively lightened to something like that of a white oak or similar appearance?Edwin M. Bellamy, St. ...read more
IS WACKY WIRING FATAL?Q: I recently went behind my nav station to hook up my old chartplotter to my 4-year-old GPS and discovered that the GPS data leads were taped together with several of the bare wire ends touching each other! Is my connection cooked?Tom Redler, Marina Del ...read more
IS WACKY WIRING FATAL?Q: I recently went behind my nav station to hook up my old chartplotter to my 4-year-old GPS and discovered that the GPS data leads were taped together with several of the bare wire ends touching each other! Is my connection cooked?Tom Redler, Marina Del ...read more
NEW VHF NOMENCLATUREQ: I am a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, and we regularly use channels 83A and 22A when working. They say these channels will soon be renamed, including regatta race committee channels 78A and 79A. What is going on?D. Arnold, Miami, FLGORDON WEST ...read more
VHF PORTABLES ON LANDQ: Our dockmaster tells me that portable marine VHF radios are now permitted for use on land. Does this mean I can use my hand-held on the ski slopes, or talk from the office with boats for weather reports?Don Hull, New York, NYGORDON WEST REPLIESYes, and no. ...read more
Q: I am the owner of a 1985 Cal 22 sailboat that is moored during the season in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. The boat is in very good condition; however, when I pulled it out of the water at the end of the season in early October this year I noticed a slight crack in the keel that extends ...read more
Q: Is it common that transmitting on marine single sideband will cause an automatic pilot to abruptly change course?This could be dangerous for those on deck when the boom suddenly swings. Vincent Andrews, Aberdeen, MDGORDON WEST REPLIESAll too common! Your long-range single ...read more
Q: I have an old 35ft, full-keel CCA-era sloop, and I love everything about it save one thing: the serious prop walk whenever I try to back up or even bring the boat to a stop. Over the years I’ve developed various strategies to compensate. But I was wondering if there’s anything ...read more
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 have checked the air intake and fuel filler gauge, made sure of good flow from the exhaust and use a bio-additive in my fuel. The oil level has not ...read more
Q: My new television is ultra-high definition, and I now see at boat shows that marine radars also offer UHD options, with dramatically fewer transmit power outputs. Have you seen this new gear in operation?D. Pritchard, Tampa, FLGORDON WEST REPLIESIndeed, the newer breed of ...read more
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 is then presumably used to pull the jib sheet inboard. What exactly is going on with this kind of arrangement? Is it like a barber-hauler?Taylor ...read more
HOLDING TANK BLOCKAGEQ: I recently purchased a 34ft cruising boat that has been sitting unused for a couple of years. Everything is great except for one thing: the holding tank is about two-thirds full with, uh, material that has presumably been sitting there unattended the ...read more
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 on the luff of the genoa and on the trailing edge of the main. The question is whether it makes sense to have telltales elsewhere, like in the ...read more
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?B. Hathaway, Coral Gables, FL GORDON WEST REPLIES The latest generation of satellite radio pre-amplified antennas offers such great ...read more
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 and stiff to the touch where they have been in contact with the deck. What’s the best way to clean the crud off polyester and nylon ...read more
ZINCS EMERGENCYQ: I need advice. All of a sudden I’m burning through zincs while at dock. My gut instinct says that there is a stray current somewhere. Is it most likely from outside my boat (dock or nearby boat) or inside my boat? What kinds of checks can I make with my ...read more
BASHED-UP BOW PULPITQ: The bow pulpit on my old 34-footer has seen more than its share of abuse over the years, and now it’s bent and dented to the point where I’m afraid to simply bend it back into shape. A couple of the sockets where it attaches to the deck/bow also appear to ...read more
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 porttack? It points higher on starboard tack than it does on port. Is my sail trim at fault? Alejandro Morassutti, Buenos ...read more
LOOSE DEPTH CONNECTION Q: The LCD readout on my boat showing bottom depth has become intermittent. When I pulled apart the nav station panel, it magically started working properly, but a few days later, it returned to intermittent. J. Hillier, San Rafael, CA GORDON WEST REPLIES ...read more
HOLDING TANK PUMP-OUT FREQUENCY Q: How long can I go between holding tank pump-outs? I can see it being over two weeks easily between uses and only one or two liquid uses at that. Should I pump out each time no matter how little is the holding tank? Richard Magoon, Canyon Lake, ...read more
Q: Do I need to buy an expensive VHF test meter to check my AIS antenna, which is separate from my normal VHF antenna?T. Rabie, Norfolk, VA GORDON WEST REPLIES First of all, VHF antenna test meters are not all that expensive. Check out the Shakespeare ART-3, which I’ve seen on ...read more
REVIVING NONSKID ON DECK Q: The molded-in nonskid is becoming less and less nonskid on the side decks and foredecks of my old 35-footer. I’m thinking the easiest thing to do is apply some kind of paint with an abrasive in it, but I assume it will either not work or look odd ...read more