Port of San Diego Publishes Antifouling Paint Study

by Darrell Nicholson on February 7, 2011

Paint companies, boatyards, and boat owners will no doubt be closely watching the progress of an antifouling report posted today by the San Diego Unified Port District and funded by the Environmental Protection Agency.
San Diego port officials forwarded the “Final Report on Safer Alternatives to Copper Alternatives to Antifouling Paints for Marine Vessels” to the [...]

Read Full Article and Leave Comment

January 2011 Issue of Practical Sailor is Now Available Online

by Darrell Nicholson on January 3, 2011

The January 2011 issue of Practical Sailor is now available online at www.practical-sailor.com.
Highlights include an 18-month checkup on our test of wood finishes, a used boat review of the storied International Folkboat, and an on-the-water test of two new electric outboards. Technophiles who want to venture into the world of wireless technology will appreciate our [...]

Read Full Article and Leave Comment

Quickline Recalls Cast Stainless-steel Flip Swivels

December 15, 2010

Apparently Randy Boeselms, the president of Quickline, has been hammered by PS readers calling him about the recall of his Ultra Flip Swivels. We ran an announcement of the recall in our November issue along with a photo of a very similar swivel imported by Quickline that is NOT being recalled.
Here, I’ll try to set [...]

Read Full Article and Leave Comment

Is Stainless Steel Really the Best Metal for Use in an Anchor?

December 15, 2010

Each time Practical Sailor conducts an anchor test, we get questions about the materials used in anchors, particularly stainless steel. Stainless steel is much less prone to unsightly and destructive oxidation than mild steel, even when it has been hot-dipped galvanized and protected by a heat-bonded zinc coating.
Unfortunately, zinc is a relatively soft metal. As [...]

Read Full Article and Leave Comment

Build Your Own Long-range WiFi Antenna for Less than $100

November 22, 2010

As most sailors have found, trying to use a typical laptop WiFi card to connect to a marina or yacht club hotspot doesn’t cut it. A more acceptable compromise is an amplified WiFi card which can theoretically boost transmission power to about 1,000 milliwatts.
Practical Sailor has reviewed several solutions for boosting your WiFi connectivity on [...]

Read Full Article and Leave Comment

Multi-Purpose Marine Cleaners

November 12, 2010

If you’re like me, and have ever wandered into your local chandlery, or hardware store, or superstore looking for an all-purpose spray cleaner and found yourself instead swimming in a sea of cleaning solutions—each designed for a specific job—then the November issue of Practical Sailor, now available online at www.practical-sailor.com has something for you. (No, [...]

Read Full Article and Leave Comment

New High-Tech Rope from Yale

October 13, 2010

If you are shopping for new halyards, don’t miss the November issue of Practical Sailor. Just as we were putting the final edits on next month’s comprehensive review of running rigging, Tom Yale, of Yale Cordage, unveiled the company’s new Ph.D. (Performance Handling Delivered) single-braid Spectra 1000/polyester line. Our test focuses on double-braid ropes, and Ph.D. [...]

Read Full Article and Leave Comment

J/95 Boat Test by Practical Sailor

October 6, 2010

Check out this video from my summer sail aboard the new J/95 centerboard daysailer. For the full review, see August 2010 issue of Practical Sailor.
This footage has been sitting on my desktop for a while. Sorry about the delay, and the shaky camera. This clip is a good example of why people scatter when I [...]

Read Full Article and Leave Comment

October 2010 Practical Sailor Features Catalina 375

September 27, 2010

The October 2010 issue of Practical Sailor, now available online at www.practical-sailor.com features a bilge pump test, a comparison of UV-protective clothing, an update on antifouling paint, and a boat review of the Catalina 375.
The 375 replaces the Catalina 36, which was first launched in 1982 and went through one major design change in 1995 [...]

Read Full Article and Leave Comment

Attack of the Mutant Barnacles?

August 31, 2010

Paprika, chili peppers, diaper rash ointment, tetracycline powder . . . now you can add pet sedative to the list of potential antifouling agents that have been or are being investigated.
Several alert Practical Sailor readers passed on news reports regarding new research by Professor Anders Blomberg at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. Blomberg reports [...]

Read Full Article and Leave Comment

← Previous Entries