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ContentsIssue #188 September 2010DepartmentsChartroom Chatter4 Madman across the water – 1,152 days at sea6 More newcomers sail in Newport Bermuda Race7 Reports of dismasting greatly exaggerated?8 First electric-powered Alerion Express 339 Estrela returns after six and a half yearsof voyaging9 ON trophy winners at Trawler Fest10 Notable New Titles11 Product NewsMarine Tech Notes12 Another way to gauge electrical statusby Tim QueeneyPower Voyaging14 High-lift rudders and improved boat handlingby Dave GerrCorrespondence18 Avoiding Maine’s warps and toggles19 Delivering the queen of the show23 A hole in the boat25 Dealing with intrudersVoyaging Tips51 Minor gelcoat repairsby Roger MarshallNav Problem56 Ocean classroom aboard Harvey Gamageby David Berson10For more on voyaging, follow us on:2839www.facebook.com/oceannavigatorwww.twitter.com/oceannavmag4FeaturesOcean Voyaging28 A clearance paper chaseNegotiating the bureaucratic labyrinth ofofficially entering Indonesiaby Nat Warren-WhiteSpecial Section33 Soft rigging for voyagingThe latest high-strength, low-weightrigging uses yarns instead of metal wireor rodby Brian Hancock39 Learning the ropesHigh-strength materials way beyond nylonand Dacron are changing the capabilitiesof voyaging linesby Ralph Naranjo45 A twin hull rebuildHow a voyaging couple increased theircruising cat’s buoyancyby Karen TaylorOn the cover: Headed to Southwest Harbor, Maine, fromAnnapolis, Md., Morris 48-owner Doug Diehl checks the chuteaboard Consulting Time II. John Snyder photo.12www.oceannavigator.comSEPTEMBER 2010 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 1

CONTRIBUTORSOCEANAVIGATORNMARINE NAVIGATION AND OCEAN VOYAGINGALL DEPARTMENTS: 207-772-2466FAX: 207-772-2879www.OceanNavigator.comEDITORIALEditors@OceanNavigator.comDavid Gerr (Power voyaging, “High-lift rudders andimproved boat handling,” page 20) Designing bothyachts and commercial vessels out of his NewYork City office, Dave Gerr is director of theWestlawn Institute of Marine Technology. A Fellowof the Royal Institution of Naval Architectsand a graduate of Westlawn Institute, Gerr is alsothe author of Propeller Handbook, The Nature ofBoats, and The Elements of Boat Strength, publishedby International Marine Publishing. Hehas published more than 400 articles on boatsand boat design.Brian Hancock (Special Section,“Soft rigging forvoyaging,” page 33) has logged over a quarter millionoffshore miles in a sailing career that hasspanned three decades. He raced in three Whitbreadraces, in 1981/82 as watch captain aboardthe American yacht Alaska Eagle, in 1985/86 aswatch captain on Drum and in 1989 as sailingmaster on Fazisi, the Soviet Union’s only Whitbreadentry. He is the founder of an electronicbook publishing firm, courseforadventure.com.He is also the author of the books Grabbing Lifeand Grabbing the World.Karen Taylor (“A twin hull rebuild,” page 45) KarenTaylor holds a degree in Architecture and hasworked both in commercial and residential practises.With yachting in the family, Karen wasintroduced to sailing from the age of 3, participatingin both racing and cruising. She is now afull-time mother of two, Blake and Freya. Herpartner, Craig Nickalls, is a boatbuilder and currentlyowns a small business building specialized compositeparts for marine and automotive applications.EDITOR Tim QueeneyCOPY EDITOR Larissa DillmanART DIRECTOR Kim Goulet NortonCONTRIBUTING EDITORS Scott BannerotTwain BradenJohn SnyderNigel CalderSteve C. D’AntonioEric ForsythChuck HusickJeff & Raine WilliamsDavid BersonADVERTISING/MARKETINGBUSINESS / CIRCULATIONWEB SITEAdvert@OceanNavigator.comWEST COAST/CANADAINTERNATIONAL Susan W. HadlockMIDWEST / GULF / FLORIDA Bruce ColeEAST COAST Charlie HumphriesPUBLISHER/ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Alex AgnewBUSINESS MANAGER Doreen ParlinCIRCULATION ASSISTANT/EVENTS COORDINATOR Lauren KulbergFINANCE/PARTNER Michael PaysonPUBLISHER INTERACTIVE MEDIA Tony NapolitanoCUSTOMER SERVICEWEBMASTER Alden RobinsonOceannavigator@pcspublink.com866-918-6972ISSN 0886-0149Ocean Navigator is published in January, March, May, July, September, Octoberand November, with an annual special issue of Ocean Voyager in April, for$27.95 per year by Navigator Publishing LLC, 58 Fore St., Portland, ME 04101.Periodicals postage paid at Portland, Maine, and additional mailing offices.Postmaster: Please send address changes to Ocean Navigator, P.O. Box461468, Escondido, CA 92046.Copyright © 2008 by Navigator Publishing LLC. All rights reserved. No part ofthis publication may be reprinted in any way without written permission fromthe publisher.Subscription rate is $27.95 for one year (eight issues) in the United Statesand its possessions. Canadian subscription rate is $31.95 U.S. funds. Otherforeign surface is $33.95 U.S. funds. Overseas air mail is $62.95 U.S. fundsper year.Distribution: Newsstand distribution, domestically and internationally: Coastto Coast Newsstand Services LTD., 5230 Finch Ave. East, Suite 1, Toronto, ONM1S 4Z9. Phone (416) 754-3900; fax (416) 754-4900.Contributions: We solicit manuscripts, drawings and photographs. Pleaseaddress all material to Editor, Ocean Navigator, P.O. Box 569, Portland, ME04112-0569. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee the safe handling of contributedmaterials.PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES BY THE LANE PRESS2 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010 www.oceannavigator.com

in 1988). And his mostsignificant achievement,beyond the mere durationof his passage, seems tohave been the completionof two immense GPStrack drawings: a giantwhale in the Pacific,southwest of the Galápagos,and a giant heart,smack dab in the middleof the South Atlantic.Stowe’s unorthodox sailingstyle, his complete lackof performance orientation,plus the fact thatAhmad was suffering notfrom sea sickness, butmorning sickness, hasinfuriated a fanatical bandof critics at the SailingAnarchy (SA) sailboat racingWeb site. Indeed, SA’s“Couple Cruise for 1,000Days” comment thread hasprobably itself set somekind of record. As I write,the thread is 1,171 pageslong, consists of nearly30,000 comments, and hasgarnered about 950,000page views. It seems fair tosay that no other long-distanceocean sailor has everendured such virulentpublic abuse while activelyengaged in a voyage.In Stowe’s defense, therewas, in fact, much methodto his madness. His slowprogress was due in part tothe fact that he suffered acollision with a freighter atthe very beginning of thevoyage (just 15 days out)and lost his bowsprit. Thegreat reduction in foretrianglearea required him tosail much more slowlyunder reduced sail in orderto keep his rig balanced.His aged inventory of sails,plus some serious wear andtear on his standing riglater in the voyage, also ledhim to favor a very conservativepassage strategy.And though some maylaugh at his giant oceandrawings, Stowe can takecredit for pioneering a newart form that is gainingacceptance worldwide.Since at least 2001 or2002, serious artists havebeen creating pieces of performancevisual art bytracking their movementswith GPS receivers.Known variously as GPS,locative, or position art,this new mode of expressionwas first invented byStowe when he and histhen-wife LaurenceGuillem traced the figureof a giant sea turtle in theSouth Atlantic during a200-day voyage in 1999.I was fortunate to havethe chance to sail into NewYork harbor with Stowe onthe day of his return toManhattan. I had sailedout to Sandy Hook, N.J.,with Hank Schmitt ofOffshore Passage Opportunitiesand Tania Aebi,the former teen sailingprodigy who made herown triumphant entryinto New York 23 yearsearlier. I hopped aboardAnne to help Stowe get hisanchor up, then stayedaboard after it becameapparent he would have toshort-tack the boat into astrong headwind to get upto Manhattan.I can tell you one thing:Stowe is certainly a competentdeck hand. All hewanted me to do wasmanage the engine andwheel and keep the boat’shead to wind while he firsthoisted his anchor handover hand (there is nowindlass on the boat),then raised his huge gaffmain, a large gaff foresail, astaysail, and finally a jibwithout assistance. Stowerelies heavily on rollinghitches to shift lines onand off his two undersizedcockpit winches, and in allit took about an hour toget underway. Watchingthe methodical way hemanaged his schooner’scumbersome running rigginggave me an appreciationfor the enduranceneeded to keep a boat thissize sailing non-stop formore than three years.A large flotilla turnedout to welcome us. By thetime we got to the VerrazanoNarrows, the windwas blowing at more than20 knots. The schooner,however, in spite of hervery bedraggled appearance,stood up to it well.Stowe was very eager togreet his friends and family.His reception at Pier 81on the West Side, wherehe at last stepped ashore,was extremely emotional.He met both his 2-yearoldson by Ahmad,Darshen, for the first time,and also Lucy, his 3-yearoldgranddaughter (by hisadult daughter Viva Harris).Facing a battery ofcameras and reporters, herepeatedly broke into tearswhile speaking.Stowe’s immediate plansare unclear. He told meduring our sail up the harborthat he hopes somehowto capitalize on hisvoyage. But his first priority,he said, is refitting hisboat. He planned first topressure-wash the interiorand then haul out as soonas possible. After that, ultimately,he’s hoping in thefuture to embark on otherimportant voyages.Charles Doanewww.oceannavigator.com SEPTEMBER 2010 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 5

ChatterChartroom

Reports ofdismastinggreatlyexaggerated?ON SCENE, THE U.S. COASTGUARD’S SEARCH AND RESCUEonline publication, inaccuratelyreported in its weeklyrescue report that “a participantin the Newport toBermuda Race” was dismastedand abandoned onJune 15, 1,050 miles east ofNantucket, Mass.The report was given furthercredence when LaurenceSunderland, father ofsingle-handed ocean sailorAbby Sunderland appearedon NBC’s “Today” show onJune 30. When asked tocomment on press coverageof his daughter’s recent dismastingin the IndianOcean, Sunderland said, “Imean, let’s look at the NewportBermuda Race. A boattipped upside down, lost itskeel, we don’t hear any ofthat in the news.”A statement on the NewportBermuda Race 2010Web site clarified that “Aboat was dismasted at thatlocation, and, happily, itssolo sailor was rescued usingthe Cospas-Sarsat System.But this boat was notentered in the NewportBermuda Race. After thisinaccurate report becamepublic on June 23, On Scenewas twice notified by theBermuda Race OrganizingCommittee that the NewportBermuda Race was notstarted until June 18, morethan 1,000 miles from thescene of the accident.”According to the racecommittee, on July 8 theCoast Guard issued a statement:“Corrections &Amplifications: The NewportBermuda Race 2010commenced on June 18,2010 and On Scene is happyto report that all race participantssuccessfully completedthe race without incident.The On Scene WeeklySARSAT Rescue Reportdated Wednesday June 23,2010 incorrectly stated thatthe sailing vessel associatedwith the June 15thSARSAT rescue was participatingin the NewportBermuda Race 2010.”In the 47 NewportBermuda Races since 1906,4,860 boats and nearly50,000 sailors have racedacross more than 3 millionmiles of blue water. In thattime, two boats have beenlost: one due to an onboardfire in 1932 and the otherwrecked on Bermuda’s reefin 1956. The only life lost inthe races history was in the1932 fire.www.oceannavigator.comSEPTEMBER 2010 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 7

ChatterChartroomFirst electric-powered Alerion Express 33

ChatterChartroomNotable New TitlesDoctor on Board –Your Practical Guideto MedicalEmergencies at SeaBy Dr. Jurgen HauertSheridan House,Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.Any medical crisis aboarda boat requires swift attention,and this new illustratedguide by orthopedicand emergencymedicinespecialistDr. JurgenHauertis a greatresourcefor treatingawide variety of ailmentsand injuries at sea.While not a substitutefor more advanced firstrespondertraining, it providesa quick referencewhen dealing with everythingfrom severe bleeding,shock, wounds, fracturesand dislocations,and more.The book is clearlyillustrated with excellentphotos and drawings alongwith bulleted procedurallists to simplify speedy diagnosisand treatment. Hauertalso provides guidelines forimmunization, your wellbeingwhile on board andhow to prepare for rescueand evacuation. Doctor onBoard also includes a fairlycomprehensive formularyaimed at seafarers embarkingon extended voyages.Highly recommended, it isa useful addition to anyship’s library.Storms and Wild WaterBy Dag PikeSheridan House,Dobbs Ferry, N.YBoating journalist Dag Pikespeaks from experiencewhen he describesthe awesomepower of the sea.During his 60years going tosea, he has survivedmore than30 severestorms, encounteredrogue waves and beenrescued 10 times. Anaccomplished powerboatracer, Pike served as naviga-tor aboard Virgin AtlanticChallenger on their recordbreakingfastest Atlanticcrossing by powerboat.Now in his new bookStorms and Wild Water,Pike reflects on the powerof the sea, its often unforgivingweather and itseffect on the boats andships that ply the waves.The book is a personalaccount of some of theworst weather he has experiencedat sea as well as acollection of stories andanecdotes of rescues, lossesand ships fighting for survivalon wave-tossed waters.Pike mixes in a bit ofmeteorological science as hedescribes the formation oftropical storms, hurricanes,Pacific cyclones, tsunamisand whirlpools and discussessome of thetechnologicaladvances thathave improvedship safety.The book’sphotographs aredramatic andhaunting, especiallyfor anyone who hasexperienced the ocean’s furyfirst hand.Overboard! – A TrueBluewater Odyssey ofDisaster and SurvivalBy Michael J. TougiasScribner, N.Y.Michael Tougias clearlyhas a knack for turningout sea disaster narrativesthat are riveting page turners.In his latest work,Overboard, he chroniclesthe 2005 ill-fated bluewaterpassage of Almeisan, aHardin 45-footer en routefrom Bridgeport, Conn.,to Bermuda. The bookwill ring true with anysailor who has venturedoffshore and especiallythose who have made GulfStream passages.Overboard is the storyof what can still go wrongdespite proper preparationand planning for theworst. It is a story ofbravery, teamwork andselflessness as the crewand their rescuers arepummeled by wind,waves and exhaustion.Quick-moving, Tougias’scrisp, no-nonsense styleleaves any offshore sailor toface the uncomfortablequestion of “What if…?”10 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010 www.oceannavigator.com

NewsProductAnchor retrievalsystem saves youranchorBoxer Marine, a boating productscompany in Cushing, Maine,announced a new, improved versionof AnchorRescue, its anchorretrieval system. Described as “thesmart alternative to a trip line,”AnchorRescue is an anchorretrieval system designed for useon both powerboats and sailboatsup to 60 feet in length. The new2010 version is designed to betrouble-free with fewer movingparts, is 50 percent stronger withthe load capacity increased to 760lbs, and has a lower price. “Aftermonths of thoroughly testing andfine-tuning AnchorRescue, we arebringing this new, improved versionto market in time for thesummer and fall boating seasons,”said Richard Provonchee,AnchorRescue inventor and BoxerMarine president.The product rescues anchors byretrieving anchors snagged onunderwater obstacles. AnchorRescueis a two-part system — onepart stays attached to the anchor atall times and the other is sentdown to the anchor when itbecomes fouled and quickly andeasily retrieves the fouled anchor.Most of the 13 million registeredboats in the U.S. carry at leastone anchor on board. When thatanchor becomes irretrievably stuckor snagged on a rock, debris orother obstruction, boaters caneither cut the anchor loose (anexpensive option) or send a diverdown to free it. Typically, boatershave had two options when tryingto avoid losing a fouled anchor: 1)Rig a trip line before they dropanchor or 2) Use a trip-able anchor.AnchorRescue attaches to aboater’s existing anchor system,and once installed, AnchorRescuerequires no additional setup, doesnot compromise the existing anchorsystem, and can never unintentionallytrip the anchor like some competingproducts.AnchorRescue, currently availablein two sizes, is matched to ananchor’s chain size. Designed tolast for years, AnchorRescue’s movingparts are stainless steel and theproduct carries a five-year warranty.To learn more or see howAnchorRescue works, go towww.anchorrescue.com.Recycling old sailsgarners a discountfrom North SailsAs part of North Sail’s more than10-year commitment torecycling/repurposing sails, thesailmaker is once again going tomake it worth a sailor’s while tothink green. Sailors who place anew North Sails order from July5th through September 3rd andwho recycle their old sail, willautomatically receive 25 percentoff the purchase price of their newNorth sail. Just register at theNorth Sails Web site (www.northsails.com)and they will send you afree UPS shipping tag along withyour new sail so you can ship yourold sail to the North RecyclingCenter. According to North, this isa great way to help the planet andsave on North Sails, too.New line of shacklesfrom WichardWichard’s new MX line of shacklesare designed to allow lines to runthrough them without the need fora block. They offer a lightweight,low-profile option to traditionalblocks whenever a static 2:1 purchaseor line redirection is needed.MX Shackles are strong,weather resistant and require nomaintenance. Made from highlypolished stainless steel, most lineswill slide smoothly along the contouredsurface of the shacklehead, creating a turning point orpurchase wherever it’s attached.They can be used for variousonboard applications and can beadded to working lines withoutreleasing the load. They workespecially well for static high-loadpurchase systems, such as a mainhalyard purchase system, and alsofor spinnaker guy twings/tweekersor jib sheet barberhaulers.MX Shackles come in threesizes ranging from the MX-6 for5/16-inch line, to the MX-10 for9/16-inch line. They are manufacturedfrom 17-4PH stainless steelfor a superior strength to weightratio and offer pin sizes rangingfrom 1/4-inch to 3/8-inch. The newMX line of shackles is availablenow through local marine storeretailers or online.SEPTEMBER 2010 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 11

MARINE TECH NOTESAnother way togauge electrical statusThe electricaldistributionpanel on GeorgeSotiriou’sTayana 42, MustardSeed. Sotiriou,owner of TridentInstruments,inventeda new type ofindicator lightcalled the LSI-55,seen installedhere.Sometimes you need totear everything down tosee things from a new perspective.That’s what happenedto electrical engineerGeorge Sotiriou when hedecided to rebuild the electricalsystem on his 1986Tayana 42, Mustard Seed.Ripping out the boat’s wiringharness not only gave anopportunity to redesign thesystem to his liking, he alsogot an idea for a new andimproved wayto indicate thestatus of electricaldeviceson board.His systemis based on asmart indicatorlight he calls aload statusindicator.Sotiriou nowsells these sensors,called theLSI-55,through hiscompany TridentInstruments,Inc.through hisWeb sitewww.LSI-55.com.Photos courtesy George SotiriouUsing a pilot light to indicatethe status of an electricaldevice on a circuit breakerboard is not new, of course.What’s different about Sotiriou’sLSI-55, however, is itsability to provide more informationthan a standard indicatorlight. The LSI-55 canshow if power is available toan electrical device, but it canalso show if the device is actuallydrawing power.The idea for the LSI-55came in the winter of 2006.Sotiriou had Mustard Seedon the hard and was pruningback its electrical system. Hetook out the existing electricalpanel and cut the originalwires back as far as possibleand labeled them.According to Sotiriou, “younever realize the amount ofwire that comes and goes ona boat of this size untilyou’ve filled up a 55-gallondrum with scrap wire.”His next step was toredesign the boat’s electricaldistribution system. Hedecided the long cables fromthe batteries to the panel atthe navigation station resultedin excessive voltage drop.A location closer to the batterieswas best, but the onlyBY TIM QUEENEYpossible space to put a distributionpanel was a bulkheadadjacent to the battery compartment.In this way hecould reduce the power cablelengths as much as 75 percentcompared to the previousdistribution panel at thenav station.There was only one problemwith this location, however.The companionwayladder blocked Sotiriou’sview of the bulkhead. Hedecided to go ahead and usethe bulkhead, but to mounttwo circuit indicator lights— one at the bulkhead distributionpanel and one atthe nav station panel.While redesigning his system,Sotiriou began to thinkabout what he saw as thedrawbacks to the standardpilot light approach. When apilot light is off, is thatbecause the circuit breakerhas been put in the off position,or because the breakertripped due to an electricalfault? Sotiriou also realizedthat he could not use thestandard approach of usingan ammeter mounted on thenav station panel to determinewhich device was drawingpower. Standard practice12 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010 www.oceannavigator.com

is to turn off each circuit breakerone by one until the current drawon the ammeter drops, indicatingwhich circuit is drawing power.With the circuit breakers mountedaway from the nav station thisladder with a full set of LSI-55s,but he also used No. 24-AWG signalwire to connect the distributionpanel units to a second “repeater”set at the nav station. Sotiriou saysthat at a glance he can see whichThe main distributionpanelon Mustard Seed islocated under the companionwayladder, soSotiriou mounted a secondarypanel wih LSI-55lights at the nav station.Below, the LSI-55 unit.becomes a more involved process.Sotiriou decided what he neededwas a device that not only indicatedwhen power was available,but also when the loadis active. This set Sotiriouon a six-month cycle ofdesigning and prototyping. Eventually,he was satisfied with his newsmart indicator light and called itthe LSI-55. The unit illuminateswith a green light when power isavailable and illuminates red whenthe load is active. Capable of operatingfrom 10 to 300 volts AC orDC, it draws only 10 milliampsand can be used on a boat’s DCbattery side and AC genset/shorepowerside.“This is an absolutely newdevice, with two patents,” Sotiriousaid. “The technology has gottento a point where a device like this ispossible. Five years ago the technologyto do this didn’t exist.”On his boat Mustard Seed,Sotiriou equipped the distributionpanel under the companionwaycircuits have power and which areactually active by seeing whetherthe LSI is illuminatedgreen (power isavailable) or red(load is active).A good exampleof how effective these indicatorlights might be is a bilge pump,which generally sits low down andinaccessible in the boat. If theengine is running or you are sailingin a stiff breeze, you often can’thear it. “Bilge pumps are reallydown deep,” Sotiriou said. “Youreally don’t know if it is running ornot. If the LSI turns red, you knowit’s running.”At $24.50 each for the basicLSI-55, equipping a panel of 36devices with LSI-55s will costroughly $882. LSI-55 units withmore advanced capabilities, such asfor use as a remote pilot indicatorand/or data module, or for usewhere the load is isolated from thesupply power, cost from $28.50 upto $32.50.■www.oceannavigator.comSEPTEMBER 2010 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 13

POWER VOYAGINGHigh-lift rudders andimproved boat handlingWouldn’t it be nice if yourboat’s steering — particularlyin tight quarters, lowspeedmaneuvering — wascrisp, precise, and predictable— if you felt confident and incommand around the fingerpiers? Though they are littleknown, there are rudderdesigns and refinements that(more properly hydrodynamicfishtail rudders) — or they canbe rudders with movable flapsor other variable geometry —articulated rudders. Fishtailhigh-lift rudders are also calledfixed-geometry high-lift rudders.All such high-lift rudderscan be thought of as propellerslipstream diverters since theyBY DAVE GERRrudder. This was invented byFrank MacLear. Frank waspresident and chief navalarchitect of MacLear & Harris,Inc. (where I onceworked). MacLear had set outto improve low-speed maneuveringin close-quarters situationsas well as enhancingsteering response at speed. Thereason for better performanceat speed is clear enough —smashing into your neighbor’sboat while docking can ruinyour whole day.Dave Gerr photosIncreasing the usefulhelm angleMost ordinary rudders are ineffectivewhen the helm is putover more than 35 degrees.Naval architectDave Gerr’sdesign for thepower voyagerImagine, above,called for a highliftMacLear Thistlerudder, right,that gives theboat addedmaneuverabilityat low speed.can accomplish just this. Standardairfoil-section rudders stalland stop generating effective liftat rudder angles of 35 degreesor more.There are ways to modifythe standard airfoil-sectionshape to induce the rudderblade to create useful lift (turningside force) at higher angles.This can be a fixed ruddershape that doesn’t change —often termed fishtail ruddersget their low-speed,high-angle lift bychanging the directionof the slipstream radically.Though articulatedrudders can workwell, they have movingparts and are thus morecomplicated andexpensive than fixedgeometryrudders.A good example of a fishtailrudder is the MacLear ThistleTurn a normal rudder furtherand it just acts like an unpredictablebrake. It can even cre-14 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010 www.oceannavigator.com

ate eddies that throw the stern aboutrandomly. But what if you could turnthe helm over more, say, 40 degrees,and still get controlled positive helmresponse? Reasoning it through,MacLear came up with a new rudder-sectionshape. As you can see inthe drawing, it starts off fattish androunded swelling out as it runs aft,then thinning down at the middle,and — at the very end — flaring outagain. Indeed, the shape is much likethe bulb of a thistle, hence the name.The shape is also basically a standardairfoil rudder section flared out in afishtail at the trailing edge, thus it’s atypical fishtail rudder.What does this shape accomplish?At normal cruising speed it doesn’thave much effect, though it doesincrease steering response slightly atsmall course-keeping helm angles.But — when low speed maneuvering— you can turn the MacLear Thistlerudder over as much as 40 degrees.The waterflow is guided around theleading edge and midsection by therudder’s section shape, and then theflared-out end makes waterflow continueto do useful work at the higherangle. The result is that the rudderacts like a stern thruster, allowingtight turns at low speed.Another plus is that the MacLearThistle rudder’s trailing edges can bemade of aluminum plate and —Dave GerrLeading EdgeRudder StockShaped Body SectionMacLear Thistle RudderTwo Alum. PlatesForm FlaredTrailing EdgeAdvanced blade design makes fixed props obsolete!Introducing the world’s first featheringprop to offer lower drag, higherefficiency, and fully adjustable forwardand reverse pitch. Faster motoring andsailing speeds – improved fuel efficiency– legendary VariProp quality standards.OPTIMIZED FORENGINES UP TO140 HPVARIPROFILE —MORE FOR LESS!207-354-7064info@varipropusa.comwww.varipropusa.comR M A NThewww.oceannavigator.comSEPTEMBER 2010 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 15

Split LeadSSB AntennaM No needfor backstayinsulatorsM Easy installationM No swaging, nocuttingM Tough, waterproof,reusableM Highly conductiveRF elementsM Watertight leadwireto antennaconnectionM Stiff 34’ LDPEhousing securesfirmly to backstaywireGAM Electronics, Inc.191 Varney StreetManchester, NH 03102Phone: (603) 627-1010Fax: (603) 622-4738N Mwww.gamelectronicsinc.comgamelectronicsinc@juno.comCommunicationsexpert Gordon Westreports“I have donenumerous SSB hamand marine radiochecks with this systemand have foundno discernible signallosses, even whenused with a wellgroundedbackstayaboard a steelhulledvessel. Theantenna...can bangout a signal just asthough it were suspendedin mid-air.”– Sail MagazineOctober 2005POWER VOYAGINGoptionally — left open and not weldedtogether at the trailing edge. Theseare precurved about as you see in thedrawing; however, you can adjustthem by grabbing them with Vise-Grip pliers, or whatever, and bendingthem in or out, either evenly fromtop to bottom, or to varying degreesfrom top to bottom and differentlyport and starboard. The rather cleveradvantage of this is that you canadjust the flare-out on each side bytrial and error until your boat’s handlingis exactly predictable and exactlyas you want it. Having worked onthe design of several boats fitted withthe MacLear Thistle rudder, I canattest that it works as advertised.The drawing shows the sectionproportions (along with theoptional endplates). Note that —as the center of pressure is a bit furtheraft on the Thistle rudder —the rudder stock is at 20 percentchord, giving 20 percent balance.Trying the Thistle rudderOn larger vessels the entire rudder isusually fabricated from aluminum orsteel. For smaller vessels, you canmake the forward three-quarters toseven-eights of the rudder blade inthe usual way, with a stainless steel orbronze stock through a wood/fiberglassblade. Add the flared-out trailingedges of simply curved aluminumplate, let in flush to the body of therudder blade. You can retrofit almostany standard rudder installation thisway. Even at the normal range (35degrees hard-over-to-hard-over) steeringis more precise and predictable.The only improvement I’ve made tothe MacLear Thistle rudder is —where possible — to build on endplates over the top and bottom of theentire rudder. These are fastened tothe body of the rudder blade, butproject aft over the curved flaredends, either attached or unattached.In this way you still have the endplateeffect at the trailing edge, whileretaining adjustability. Such endplatesfurther improve the MacLear Thistlerudder’s excellent helm response.Thistle-rudder steeringA rudder like this gives unusuallypositive steering, and my office hasinstalled them on most of our singlescrewdisplacement cruisers. Thoughyou can turn the MacLear Thistlerudder over to 40 degrees, all theinstallations I’ve done have only goneto the normal 35 degrees. At speed,somewhat less rudder angle is neededto get the same course correctionyou’d achieve with a standard rudder.During low-speed maneuvering,these rudders really shine. Steeringresponse is both crisp and predictable.You can very quickly kickthe stern of your boat around toexactly where you want it.Here’s what the skipper of one ofmy designs, Imagine, had to sayabout the boat’s handling with theThistle rudder:“Imagine is doing wonderfully! Todate, my strongest impression is howeasily she handles in close quarters.We’ve been staying at quaint, butsmall, marinas that are quite challengingfor even a twin screw to maneuverin. Two nights ago I was evenforced to dock stern-to. I gave theharbormaster my length and he askedfor my beam. I replied, ‘14 feet 6inches,’ and he said, ‘Great. In thatcase, you can stay because I have one16 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010 www.oceannavigator.com

YACHTINSURANCEslip left with 16-foot width.’ Andthen he told me I would have to followmarina custom and dock sternto.I had 20 people watching, and Ibacked in with one try — withoutusing the bow thruster. The response Igot from the audience ranged from:‘You must have been handling herseveral years,’ to ‘Yep, I can always tellwhen a boat has twin screw.’ Needlessto say, I’m flattered.”Of course, Imagine is single screw.This Thistle rudder had endplatestop and bottom, but it was set uponly for the standard 35 degrees hardover. The one drawback to gettinglarger rudder angles is that thehydraulic steering gear needs to besomewhat customized to handle theadded travel.The MacLear Thistle rudder, with20 percent balance as indicated,should be sized according to standardrudder area formulas; however, manycompanies size fishtail rudders as rectangles,with their height slightlygreater than propeller diameter, andcord (fore-n-aft length) between 70percent and 80 percent of propellerdiameter. This should give goodresults as long as the propeller sizeand installation is in the normalrange for the vessel it is driving. ■Dave Gerr is the president of GerrMarine, Inc. and the director of theWestlawn Institute of Marine Technology.He is the author of PropellerHandbook, The Nature of Boats,The Elements of Boat Strength,and Boat Mechanical SystemsHandbook, all published by InternationalMarine/McGraw-Hill. Thisarticle is excerpted from BoatMechanical Systems Handbook.Offering coverage in many states,Smithwick & Mariners representsmany quality insurance companiesto fit the needs of almost any sailor.Smithwick & MarinersInsuranceToll Free800-370-1883Ph 207-781-5553 Fax 207-781-5571Web site: http://www.smithwick-ins.comLearnto navigateat homeOcean Training Certified:Coastal NavigationRYA Certified Courses:Yachtmaster Ocean(Includes Astro Navigationand Global Meteorology)WWW.OCEANTRAINING.COMwww.oceannavigator.comSEPTEMBER 2010 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 17

48www.oceannavigator.comCORRESPONDENCEAvoiding Maine’s warps and togglesA look at theoptions forpreventing asnagged linearound yourpropellerThe Spurs propprotectionproduct uses afixed blade androtating bladefor cutting lines,nets, etc. A linewrapped on theprop canbecome tightenough tocause shaftmisalignment.Prop protectione’ve all had thatexperience, sailingWpeacefully alongon a sunny afternoon incoastal waters, an eye on thesails, thoughts drifting off,perhaps toward the evening’shoped-for destination, whensuddenly — clunk! — yourheadway drops to nothing andthe boat veers awkwardly likea fish caught by the tail.You’ve snagged a lobster orcrab pot in your propeller. Youthen execute a series of futileturns and sail combinations ina feeble, hopeless attempt tofree the wheel, knowing inyour heart that the only thingthat will clear the line involvesyou, a knife clenched betweenyour teeth and getting wetand banged up under therolling hull. You know the lineis a snarled mess around theblades and shaft, extendingWhile not alllobster trapbuoys are setup this way,this arrangementis morecommon indown eastMaine.Thisdiagram,adapted froma sketch doneby yachtdesigner JoelWhite, showsthe safe wayto pass withoutgettingtangled.Cutting bladesAn obvious answer to thepotential of a fouled propelleris to install cutting blades onthe shaft and wheel. The mostvisible brand, Spurs, has beeninstalled on more than100,000 boats around theworld, from small yachts tofull-size ships. Shaft sizes forshaft-mounted cutters rangefrom half an inch to seveninches. For prop-mountedblades, the size of the shaft ispotentially unlimited —such that they are installedon vessels over 1,000 feetlong with shafts over two feetin diameter.The Spurs system consistsof two rotating blades thatare clamped to the shaft. Afixed blade is held in place bya V-block which is fastened tothe bearing housing. All ofthe blades are double-sided sothat they will cut whether theengine is running ahead orastern, and for both left-handor right-hand turning proalmostbar-tight, out of sightbelow you to the sea floor.What’s even worse is whenyou’re motoring along and asnagged line violently causesthe motor to stall; the line hasbecome so jammed on theshaft that it has welded itselftogether, and it might behours before you can continueon your course.I’ve fouled a propeller inpot warp or mooring linesmore times than I canremember — both in theopen sea (fishing net) andnear the coast (lobster or crabgear). And although the experiencesrun together, I canclearly remember the awkwardand dangerous experiencethat hacking at a lineunderwater involves.Sometimes there’s noavoiding a snagged propeller,but this story examines severalmethods for avoidingsnags and then,should they occur, whatyou can do to preparefor such eventualitiesand keep yourself andyour boat safe.Clearly, some boatdesigns seem to snag anylobster pot within 30 feetof the boat, almost as ifthey suck them towardthe hull and then into theCourtesy Spurs Marine ManufacturingAlfred Wood/Ocean Navigator illustrationTo the editor: With respect toTwain Braden’s recent articleon line cutting devices (Propprotection, July/August 2010,issue #187), I recall the lateJoel White, aby Twain Bradenpropeller. Other boats seemimpervious to catching traps— no matter how many timesyou see the lobster pot slipbeneath the boat and you justknow you’ve snagged one, justas quickly it pops up in yourwake and slips harmlessly past.Pass hereBuoyWarpNo passTideTogglenaval architect atBrooklyn BoatYard in Brooklin,Maine, writing,when I was runningyacht races indowneast Maine,about his concernthat yachtsmendid not understandthe configurationof lobster buoys withthe result that they tendedto snag them. This, ofcourse, leads to the type ofprotection described byBraden in his article.White prepared a diagramshowing the configurationof buoys and lines.He shows a trap with a singlewarp coming to the surface.The important thinghe pointed out is that mostlobster traps (but not all)have two buoys. One isknown as a toggle and theother is a buoy. Between thetoggle and buoy is anotherwarp. One problem withthe toggle is that dependingon the strength of the current,the toggle itself may beslightly or even significantlyunderwater and thereforenot immediately visible.White noted that boththe buoy and the toggle areaffected more by the tidalstream than the wind. Thebuoy and warp will alwaysbe down tide from the trap.The buoy will be down tidefrom the toggle. Between thebuoy andthe togglewill be aNo passwarp. MyownTideobservationisthat manyof thesailboatsthat gethung updo sobecausethey failToggle may besubmergedWarpto see either the gap betweenthe toggle and the buoy orotherwise make the mistakeof attempting to passbetween the toggle and thebuoy. As White’s sketchmakes clear, any attempt topass the toggle on the uptideside will chance entanglementwith the toggle.Even more serious, anyattempt to pass between thetoggle and the buoy willinevitably lead to the warpcatching on the propeller.Obviously, any sailor inMaine waters must watchcarefully for buoys. It ismandatory that once a sailorsees the buoy, he should alsolook for a toggle and in anyevent, always pass on thedown-tide side of the buoy.I believe that if moreyachtsmen understood theconfiguration of the manylobster buoys in Mainewaters and followedWhite’s advice, therewould be far fewer snagson lobster buoys. Therewould also be no need toresort to the highly expensiveand perhaps unnecessaryuse of cutting bladesdescribed by Braden.—Phillip M. Cronin sails his boatCommon Sense out of North Haven,Maine.18 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010 www.oceannavigator.com

Delivering the queen of the showTo the editor: Many years ago, my wifeCarol and I, had contracted to deliverthe “queen of the boat show,”1,200 miles from San Diego to hernew owner, in Mexico. It was Octoberand there was still danger of a latehurricane, but the route was inshoreand the weather was perfect. Therewas only one catch.Boat-show boats are sometimesshipped prematurely to accommodatea show’s schedule, rather thanwhen they are ready. Aware of that,we ran the engine against the docklinesfor eight hours, while weinspected and tested every part of theboat. We removed building detritusfrom the bilge, inspected the sails andrigging from truck to step. We spenttwo full days preparing and repairingthe brand new boat, even thoughthere were more than 50 hours onthe engine when we took over.Our departure on ThanksgivingDay, from San Diego, was uneventful.The first 100 miles were fast andeasy. With 25 knots of wind behindus, we surfed past Todos SantosIslands and Ensenada. At nightfall,the wind died and we started theengine. John, our crew, noted thatthe running-lights were getting dimmerand dimmer, yet the ammeterindicated the alternator was chargingnormally. Mystified, we checked theentire charging system and couldfind nothing wrong. The lights continuedto dim and then failed, alongwith everything else electrical: HFradio, VHF, bilge pumps, engineinstruments, all navigation instru-www.oceannavigator.comSEPTEMBER 2010 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 19

CORRESPONDENCEments, butane cooking gas solenoid,freshwater pump, refrigeration windlass.This was a real inconvenience,with 1,000 miles to go. We continuedto run the diesel engine knowingthat, as things were going, we wouldnever be able to restart it.John remarked, sourly, “Here weare on a one-and-a-half-million-dollaryacht, with three electric headsand we have to use a bucket.”We planned to broad-reach, withAMEL 54TEN GOOD REASONS TO CONSIDER AN AMEL 54SAFETY. With four watertight bulkheads describing seven separate watertight compartmentsand an unsurpassed approach to overall safety, you will not find a safer fiberglass boat. Yourcrew’s safety is our primary concern.QUALITY. A brief inspection will confirm that ours is genuinely second to none. Attentionto even the smallest detail is superb. Fit and final finishing is flawless. The closer you look,the better we look.EASE OF HANDLING. All sail handling, reefing, and furling is done entirely from thecockpit. Oversized electric winches, 15 H.P. bow thruster…single handing is a cinch. Thereis not an easier boat in this size range to manage.PERFORMANCE. A balanced blend of speed and sea-kindliness by virtue of sensible designand an infinitely reefable rig. 200+++ miles a day are the norm and effortlessly achieved.UTILITY. Designed to function with no regard to frivolous fashion or fad. Seven hugelazarettes on deck. Full sized stand-up engine room. Immediate and easy access to every maintainablecomponent…because a true cruising boat is a working boat.COMFORT. The helm is completely protected from sun, spray, rain and wind. The sensiblyspacious interior provides sybaritic accommodations for six in three staterooms.Everything is ergonomically correct to enhance your enjoyment and pleasure.SUPPORT. Every client receives a week of familiarization and training at the shipyard ontheir new boat. Our after the sale service department is unexcelled…just ask anyone whoowns an AMEL.VALUE. Compare the price of an AMEL, fully equipped for liveaboard voyaging, with anyboat in our class. You will be amazed at the overall value. Yes, amazed.DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY. Air conditioning, heat, refrigerator and separate deep freezer,clothes washer and separate vented dryer, and dishwasher are all standard. This ain’t camping.This is gracious living aboard.RESALE. AMEL boats hold their value extremely well because they are so well made, supportedby an entirely employee owned company, and only 35 are built each year, never more.Quality product/supply and demand equals returned value.NEW CONSTRUCTION AND SELECT BROKERAGE EXAMPLES AVAILABLEJOEL F. POTTER • CRUISING YACHT SPECIALIST, LLCAMEL’S SOLE ASSOCIATE FOR THE AMERICASAMEL 54 AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION IN FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDABY APPOINTMENT, PLEASEPHONE: (954) 462-5869 EMAIL: jfpottercys@att.netthe prevailing northwesterly behindus, down the coast, with the BajaCalifornia peninsula to port, andinside Isla de Cedros leaving it closeaboard to starboard. By the time wewere approaching Isla de Cedros,even the 0.5-watt compass light wasout. This made steering difficult,given the misty night and with nostars or clouds to steer by. It was wasnot a problem, but an inconvenienceto steer, with only the swell and thewind for reference. I wasn’t worried,knowing from experience that thelighthouse high on the north end ofCedros would offer us an easy andsafe landfall.I came on watch at 2000 andexpected to see the North Cedroslight at 2400. At 2400, however, thelight did not appear, although thiswas not surprising since it was highenough to be in the clouds. Becauseit had been a long, hard day, I wantedthe crew to rest, so I decided tostay on watch, alone, until I saw thelight. Just about this time the seabecame unaccountably agitated andthe motion of the boat became veryunpleasant. Being very tired myself, Ididn’t give it much thought, and thesea soon flattened out again. Wemotored on for a few more mileswhen I briefly saw the loom of lightsthat I took to be the fishing camp, onIslas San Benito, laying outside Islade Cedros. “How nice, they have gotelectricity,” I thought, and not muchbeyond that.Steering without a compass lighttook all of my concentration, so I didnot really notice when the boat quitrolling, but continued to surf on thenortherly component of the bigswells. I soldiered on, looking for that20 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010 www.oceannavigator.com

cursed light. Suddenly the westerlywind died, leaving the sea flat andglassy except for the northerly swell.This change of conditions wouldhave been enough to alert any attentiveskipper to the proximity of land.I continued on, however, glassyeyedand drunk with fatigue, whilethe crew slept below. Suddenly therewas a blast of wind from the westthat nearly laid us flat, then calmagain. Twenty minutes later thesame thing happened again. Overthe next two hours, we were hit by afew more fierce blasts of wind, followedby dead calm. I was completelyoblivious to its significance.Only the presence of land could createthat kind of turbulence. I wastired but enjoying the now-smoothsea. I was daydreaming and reminiscing— I recalled with great claritymy first day at school. Theteacher had given me a box of adozen, yellow, Dixon Ticonderoga,No. 2 pencils to sharpen, a greatresponsibility when you are 6 yearsold. I recalled the pleasant fragranceof the cedar wood pencil shavings.When the sun came up, everythingabout the sea was wrong. Thesea was a dirty green, not the blueblackof deep water. The waves wereshort and steep, not the expectedocean rollers. They were aligned, perfectlyparallel, clearly feeling the bottomas well coming from the wrongdirection, west. The rising sunrevealed mountain tops to the south,where there should be no mountains.Clearly we were not where we wantedto be. I put about immediately andreversed course, toward deeper water.During the night we had movedmuch faster than anticipated andbecame dangerously embayed off thenotorious and aptly named WreckBeach, while I was looking for thelighthouse instead of the island itself.The lighthouse was irrelevant. Theisland had announced its presence inat least six different ways.First: The zone of agitated waterthree to seven miles off the northend of Cedros (caused by windagainst the charted counter-currentand waves reflected off the cliffs)What’s your color?Now offering a selectionof 450 marine colors.New from Epifanes: Our famous two-part polyester saturated,aliphatic urethane formula is now available in 450 distinctivenautical colors. Brushed, rolled, or sprayed, Epifanes Polyurethaneis as simple as always to prep andeasy to apply for an incrediblyhard, mirror finish that will shinefor years to come. What’s yourcolor? We’ve got it!AALSMEER, HOLLAND ■ THOMASTON, MAINE ■ SHEUNG WAN, HONG KONG1-800-269-0961 ■ www.epifanes.comwww.oceannavigator.comSEPTEMBER 2010 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 21

CORRESPONDENCEshould have told me where I was,but I didn’t listen.Second: The lights that Ithought to be on Islas San Benitowere in fact a new encampment onIsla de Cedros itself. I should havenoticed when the lights were noteclipsed by the end of the island.Third: When the boat quit rollingit was because Cedros, outside,blocked the westerly component ofthe swell.Fourth: When the wind wentcompletely calm it was because thehigh island was sheltering us. I paidno attention.Fifth: The sudden blasts of windwere the well-known katabatic windsoff the high plateau on the island.Sixth: The memory of sharpeningpencils was triggered by the fragranceof cedar trees. Cedros is theSpanish word for cedars, whichabound on the island.We had been too far off to hearthe barking of the sea lion colonies orsee the off-lying kelp beds. I was sofatigued that I probably would havemissed those signs, too. I failed totake into account the possibility thatthe lighthouse was extinguished, acommon occurrence on that coast. Ahand-held GPS (had they existed atthe time) would have been a help,but limited, as charts of the Baja Californiacoast and the Sea of Cortezare one and a half to nine miles off inlongitude in some areas. It couldhave ended in disaster because Iallowed myself to become toofatigued to notice obvious indicatorsof our position. Fatigue, like alcohol,is an insidious killer.The electrical fault eventuallyrevealed itself to be a faulty splittingdiode, installed backward by the factory,damaging the alternator.On arrival we presented the happynew owner with the logbooks and alist of 44 structural and mechanicalanomalies, which we had beenunable to correct underway. We wereall happy to return to our ownbunks, in our own good old boats.—Sigmund Baardsen has captained many yachtdeliveries and lives in Vallejo, Calif.22 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010 www.oceannavigator.com

A hole in the boatTo the editor: My wife, Kathy and Itook our second Channel Islands,Calif., trip this year from Sausalitodown the coast to Avalon, on SantaCatalina Island, aboard ourBeneteau 411. After leaving Sausalitoon a Saturday with a mixedswell, we pulled into Pillar PointHarbor to let the seas calm down.After a great layover day, we leftaround 1100 with reefed main andjib and after 40 hours of smoothsailing with the wind and swell wearrived at San Miguel on a calmbeautiful afternoon. The nextmorning I went up to the fronthead and noticed some water dripsaround the front seacock at thehull. Iopened andclosed thevalve severaltimes. Thevalve andhose assemblycame offin my handand the bluepacific started rushing into theboat. I immediately pushed thebroken part back down onto thehull to slow the water flow andcalled to Kathy to “grab the corks!”The thru-hull that had failed was1.25 inches in diameter that can letin a lot of water very fast. With thewooden plug and mallet we wereable to successfully plug the hole.Then, with a couple of large woodenblocks that we keep on board, avery long straight screwdriver, andsome large engine size wire ties, wesecured the wooden blocks andBrad Shaffer photosscrewdriver in place so the woodenplug wouldn’t go anywhere.This was more excitement thanwe were hoping for on this peacefulmorning with calm seas aroundSan Miguel Island. We were ableto raise the Santa Barbara Harbormaster on our cell phone, get thenumber of the local boat yard, andset up an emergencyhaul outfor the afternoon(the Fridaybefore LaborDay). We pulledthe dingy, leftCuyler Harborand started our 45-mile motoringtransit to Santa Barbara withKathy on “cork watch.”The Santa Barbara Boatworkspeople were great: they were at thedock when we arrived and immediatelybrought the travel liftacross the parking lot and, with acrowd watching, they lifted usonto the pier.We were out of the water andbeing set up in the yard within afew minutes of our arrival. Theygave us a great spot with a view ofthe beach, water, power and a set ofstairs for our German Shepherd,Emma, to use during our time inthe yard.Upon hauling the boat, thewooden plug was nicely sealing thehole at the hull, and protruded severalinches. I don’t think that weleaked any water once the plug wasproperly seated and had a chance toAbove, the Shaffer’s Beneteau 411, Osprey,anchored in the Channel Islands. Left,Osprey, after being hauled, with the emergencyplug still in place.get wet and expand in the hole. I’msure this was because we took thetime and effort to clear out all thethru-hull debris from the holebefore we put the plug in.We were in the yard for severaldays, and were able to pump out allthe seawater that had entered theboat while the boatyard workersreplaced the thru-hulls (we decidedto make all of them bronze).We cleaned and dried the floorpanels as best we could. The Lifelinebatteries seemed to be undamagedfrom the exposure, but theinverter started to act erraticallywithin a day or so. There was alsowater damage to the wood on thewww.oceannavigator.comSEPTEMBER 2010 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 23

CORRESPONDENCEinterior of the boat. When we weredone pumping, we had removedabout 75 to 100 gallons of seawaterthat had sloshed around from bowto stern during our trip to the yard.The cause of the failure of thethru-hull was not clear, we mighthave hit something (or somethingmay have hit us) on the trip downthe coast, but there was not an indicationof that when we hauled outthe boat in Santa Barbara.As the prudent sailor certainlyshould, we had the boat hauled andinspected a few weeks before the tripand replaced two corroded thruhulls,but at that time the thru-hullthat failed at Cuyler Harbor wasinspected and found to be inacceptable condition.With everything back to normal,we left from Santa Barbara andsailed one overnight to Avalon Harbor,where we spent several days,then moved on to Twin Harborsand Emerald Bay where we stayedfor several more days.But, by this time the inverterchargerthat was damaged by theseawater from the thru-hull incidentfailed completely. We considereddisconnecting it for theremainder of the trip, but decidedto pull into Channel Islands Harborin Oxnard, Calif. With the help ofthe nice people of Oxnard (we gotto know the best taxi driver ever),we got a replacement inverter.We had a pleasant trip up thecoast with lots of motoring in mildseas. We weren’t happy with thetreatment we got from our marineinsurance company. After considerablehaggling, we did receive acheck, but it did not include paymentfor yard charges or for the costof replacing the inverter. We decidedto move on to another marineinsurance company.—Brad Shaffer has sailed San Francisco Bayand cruised the California coast for 20 years. Hesails his Beneteau 411 with his wife, Kathy, andtheir German Shepherd, Emma.STAR CLIPPERSOur fleet of tall ships offer authentic sailingadventures with all the amenities found on aluxury mega-yacht.We call our on board style theMega-Yacht Sailing Experience. You’ll call it theperfect vacation.The Mega-Yacht Sailing Experience:~ 7, 10 or 11 day sailings.~ Help sail or just relax.~ No crowds, 227 guests.~ Open seating dining.~ International cuisine.~ Superb service.~ Casual ambiance.Fall 2010 Transatlantic from $97* per person per dayAthens to St. Maarten on Star Clipper37-Nights Full Crossing. 23 & 14-Night Segments Available.Rome to Barbados on Royal Clipper28-Nights Full Crossing. 16 & 12-Night Segments Available.Cannes to Barbados on Star Flyer29-Nights Full Crossing. 22 & 7-Night Segments Available.Video & VR Tours: www.starclippers.comSee Your Travel Professional.Information: 800-442-0551*Restrictions Apply. Registry: Luxembourg.24 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010 www.oceannavigator.com

Dealing with intrudersTo the editor: My husband Con andI have been sailing in and out of 30countries in our 51.5 Nauticat sailboat,Big Sky, from Finland throughthe Baltic states, the Kiel Canal pastAtlantic Europe, across the EnglishChannel, the Bay of Biscay and intothe Mediterranean to Africa andSouthern Europe.We often sail off the beaten pathand have never had safety issuesconfront us until last autumn inCorinth, Greece. We were inCorinth’s downtown harbor. Wewere one of four pleasure boats tiedto the pier; the other three boatswere unoccupied at the time. Con,his sister Albertine, and I weresound asleep at 0230.The wind had been causing ourlines to strain against the metalrings and then bash back against thepier with a rhythmic clangingsound. Funny how you can trainyourself to sleep through noisybashing, jarring lines and howlingin the rigging, but when it’s a bitout of the usual, you wake up — orat least I do.I woke to whispered voices onthe pier and remained motionless inbed listening. Con was sleepingsoundly beside me. The boat thenpulled hard to starboard. TheBarb Sprengermotion seemed more than just thewind jarring our lines. I lay in mycozy bed a moment longer hopingBarb and Con Sprenger’s Nauticat 51.5 BigSky at the dock in Croatia. It was whilespending the night in Corinth, Greece, thatthe Sprengers had to deal with intruders.Steiner XP performance.When you strive persistentlyfor the best, you attainthe exceptional.Starting with thisconviction, we havedeveloped the SteinerCommander XP.With our 60 year historyof manufacturingmarine binoculars, theresult is unparalleledblue-water opticalperformance.Whether cruising or racing,spotting the mark or a stake inthe channel, day or night; it’s allabout finding it fast.The Steiner Commander XPfeatures our brightestand sharpest opticalsystem with thehighest levels ofdaytime haze-cuttingcontrast. Combine thatwith Steiner’s stabilizedcompass and you’ll beon your target fast.You deserve the best,the Steiner Commander XP.©2010 Steiner Pioneer ResearchYou deserve it.www.steiner-binoculars.com

CORRESPONDENCEthat the boat listing wasn’t theweight of intruders. But the nextsound I heard was hammering atour companionway doors and at thelock; clearly intruders were aboard,intending to enter.Grabbing my housecoat, Iscrambled to the pilot house,knocked loudly from the inside andshouted into the darkened doorway:“Get off the boat! Get OFF theboat! GET OFF THE BOAT!”I purposely kept the interiorlights off so they couldn’t see me –at 125 pounds I was hardly a matchfor four 180-pounders. Shockedthat someone was on the other sideof the doorway, they stepped backand off our boat. Once they werehalfway down the pier, I came outto the cockpit, my white housecoatsilhouetted against the moon andmy right arm extended with the sortof firm instructions you’d give traininga dog. At that point, Con pokedhis head out the companionwaydoor, “What’s all the noise? Whyare you shouting?”I looked at Con realizing that theintruders would have gotten insideif I wasn’t there. He and Albertinewould have slept right through theentire break in.I’ve replayed the situation inCorinth a number of times in myhead, hoping that like a fire drill,if we’re ever broken into whileaboard, our reaction would be secondnature. Living in a paranoidfashion is no fun, you miss seeingthe beauty of the real, honest peoplein the world. However, beingbroken into or attacked can wreckyou for a lifetime. While dockedat the town quay, public harbor,private marina, or at anchor, hereare some practical reminders:If it appears unsafe, leave. If youcan’t leave, lock your windows, setup a buddy system with a neighbor,and do what we do, hide your valuablesin an I-bet-you-can’t-find-itspot, and put some cash in a fakewallet in an obvious place.CAPE GEORGE MARINE WORKS, INC.Cape George 38Now also buildingthe Lyle Hessdesigned 28' BristolChannel and 22'Falmouth Cutters31' 34' 36' 38' 40.5' 45'1924 Cape George Rd. Port Townsend, WA 98368360.385.3412 www.capegeorgecutters.com26 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010 www.oceannavigator.com

Leave a small light on in theboat, but not enough to illuminateanything within the boat. Don’tadvertise; tuck your valuables insideand out of sight.Keep a 1-million-candlepowerflashlight charged and nearby toshine in the eyes of would-benight intruders.If you’re comfortable, keep adefence weapon (baseball bat, orfire extinguisher) in an easy-toreachlocation.If the motive is theft; we won’tfight. If the motive is meant toharm us; we will fight. If you’reboarded by intruders while you’reasleep, keep your protection nearby,not in an awkward location. Discussin advance what protection makesthe most sense for you.Guns are not practical, theygenerally harm the innocent. Askyourself, “Can I shoot someone?”and know that it is very difficultchecking in and out of countrieswith firearms and often you’ll beasked to check them with the localauthorities and pick them upwhen you’re leaving.Is it practical to keep a flare gunnear your bedside? Again, could youshoot someone?Knives often harm the ownerrather than the intruder.Bear spray or wasp spray is anotheroption. Keep one can by yourbedside and the other near the companionwaydoor. Be sure to read theinstructions ahead of time. Neveropen your companionway door tointruders for the purpose of sprayingthem, as the wind may blow the irritantback in your own eyes.Lastly, think practically, believein the goodness of the people in theworld but at the same time, talk itthrough with your cruising companionsmuch like a fire drill. ■—Barb Sprenger is a freelance writer, andretired founder and national executive directorof the Kids Up Front Foundation of Canada. HerWeb site is: www.sailbigsky.com.I nternationalM arineI nsuranceS ervices&Al GoldenpresentTheJacklineFinally...Insurance ProgramAn insurance policydesigned from the keelup to provide first-rate,worldwide coverage for bluewater voyagers from an“A” rated U.S. Company!800-541-4647INTERNATIONAL MARINEINSURANCE SERVICES462 Kent Narrows Way North • Grasonville, MD 21638410-643-8330 • fax 410-643-8331www.IMIScorp.net • mail@IMIScorp.netAllowing you the freedom to roam while keeping you secure...www.oceannavigator.comSEPTMEBER 2010 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 27

OCEAN VOYAGINGonce, but twice, as we had originallyintended to make the passagefrom New Zealandnortherly round Australia andon to Bali, but found ourselvesdelayed due to family healthissues and the need to replenishthe “cruising kitty” en route.A clearance paper chaseNegotiating the bureaucratic labyrinthof officially entering IndonesiaAbove, BetsyWarren-Whiteand Bahati inSerangan, justafter arriving inBali. Right,Bahati captain,Nat Warren-White;Rembrandt, acustoms agentin Kupang;Napa, a yachtagent fromKupang; andBetsy.We recently spent considerabletime inIndonesia while voyagingon our boat Bahati, acenter cockpit Montevideo 43.One thing you can say aboutthe bureaucratic labyrinth ofyacht clearance in Indonesia: it’sunpredictable. No one can tellyou exactly how the processwill play out. At best, it is a relativelyeasy affair. But at itsworst, clearing into Indonesiacan be a nightmare. Often, itfeels a bit like you’re caught-upin the Shakespearean play, “TheMerchant of Venice” and everyoneyou meet is Shylock, tryinghis best to extract what hejudges to be his rightful “poundof flesh” (in the form ofIndonesian rupiahs).It’s the name of the game inthis part of the world and, aslong as you’re willing to playStory and photos by Nat Warren-Whitewith a bit of goodwill and nottake it all too seriously, wepromise it won’t hurt too much— in fact, it can actually turnout to be kind of fun.We cleared into Indonesia inWest Timor having fulfilled therequisite “paper chase” notUsing a local agentWhen we first explored the variousoptions for clearing-in toIndonesia we followed theadvice offered on www.Noonsite.com, Jimmy Cornell’sonline compendium of goodcruising guidance. Noonsitesuggested we contact Bali Marinawho would, reportedly, handleour clearance for a fee of$250 U.S. and a projected timelag of six to seven weeks. We e-mailed them and heard backquickly from their office saying,“no problem...we’ll be glad tohelp you out.”We filled out an onlineapplication, forwarded it (plus28 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010

10º0º10º0Phuketmiles200 400MalaysiaSumatraVietnamJohorBatamI n d i a n O c e a nproof of our bank draft for$250 deposited to their Jakartaaccount), forwarded copies ofpassports for all crew intendingto join us entering Indonesianwaters, all scanned and e-mailed to their address in Bali.In exchange they would supplyus with our CAIT (therequired Indonesian securityclearance document) plus, ifwe chose, a “letter of reference”for our “social visa,” whichwould, in theory, extend ourlegal stay for as much asmonth, maybe more, all for anadditional $70 U.S.The “social visa” must beapplied for in-person in a foreignport at an Indonesian consulatebefore arriving in Indonesianwaters. Most yachts comingfrom the east stop and walkthrough this process in Darwin,Australia. We did it in KualaLumpur, Malaysia, when I flewthere on business from Bali.This seemed fine with the powersthat be even though we’dalready cleared-in at Kupang,West Timor. Sound confusing?Yes, it was.It dependsThe long and short of the storyis that sometimes these rulesand procedures are followedand sometimes not. It alldepends on who you talk toand who you happen to meetfirst upon arrival. The truthseems to be that you can manageall of the paperwork onyour own upon arrival (with theexception of the CAIT whichmust be applied for andobtained before arrival). However,we heard from severalboats that they never actuallysaw the requisite piece of paperuntil they arrived and it waspresented to them by the folkswho signed them in.In our case, the final versionof our CAIT was not availableuntil we landed in KupangSouth China SeaJava SeaBorneoBahati’s routeJ a v aBaliLombokCelebesSeaCelebesKupang100º 110º 120º 130º 140ºM o l uBandaSeabecause we’d had several lastminute crew changes whichrequired that the CAIT beupdated and re-stamped inJakarta. Good news is that“Haryo” and “Charlie” at BaliMarina were very responsiveand managed to get everythingaccomplished and e-mailed tous in time for our arrival inKupang. All I needed to do wasfind an Internet café and downloadthe document in Kupangso I could present it to theimmigration officer, aptly andartfully named “Rembrandt,”upon request.Of course, there is the ongoingquestion about “the bond”which everyone who plans totravel to Indonesia by boat hasheard of and worries about.Everyone you talk to has a differentstory to tell about thismysterious “luxury boat tax”which, in theory, is supposed tocover the expense of dealingwith your boat should youc c aEastTimorLesser Sunda IslandsTimor SeasPhilippineSeaArafura SeaAustraliaBahati’s routefrom Australia toIndonesia andthen on toMalaysia.Warren-White found thatusing an agent toassist him inclearing inhelped speed upthe process.N e w G u i n e aAlfred Wood/Ocean Navigator IllustrationSEPTEMBER 2010 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 29

OCEAN VOYAGINGA localIndonesianfishing boatseen offKupang.choose to abandon it inIndonesian waters.In Indonesia, the whole“bond” issue seems to have beena creative way for a few cleverpeople to collect a little extracash by taking advantage ofunwary yachtsmen. The realityis that no one has figured outhow to enforce this recent regulationand everyone we talkedwith involved in the yachtingindustry agrees that this “bond”concept is really just a good wayto discourage people from visitingIndonesian waters.As Rod Heikell writes in hisIndian Ocean Cruising Guide:“the whole process is solabyrinthine that many chooseto go on one of the rallies fromDarwin to Indonesia,” insteadof trying to sort things out forthemselves. You can pay a heftyfee to join the rally and, yes, therally organizers will wadethrough the bureaucraticswamp for you but, in reality,it’s not that difficult to sort itout for yourself if you have thestamina and willingness to sendthe necessary e-mails and negotiatewith the locals in trueIndonesian style. It can actuallybe fun if you don’t let the myriadtwists and turns get to you!Noonsite continues to be a greatclearing-house and resource ofthe latest cruising info comingout of Bali and elsewherearound the world. In this case, itseems quite up-to-date so it iswell worth researching for thelatest information available.The first version of ourCAIT arrived via e-mail in lessthan a month following ouronline application filing and wewere able to pick it up inNoumea, New Caledonia, anice surprise, and ahead ofschedule. It was hand-typed onan old ribbon typewriter andstamped/signed by officials inJakarta. Very archaic, but officiallooking. No sweat.Changed crew listWhen our crew list changed enroute we simply sent new photocopies of passports to the goodfolks at Bali Marina and, for anadditional $70, the new nameswere typed into the document,scanned and e-mailed back tous again. In the end we had tochange, or actually add to ourcrew list, at least four timesbetween leaving New Zealandand arriving in Indonesia, butno one seemed to mind theupdates and we only had to paythe change fee once.En route between ThursdayIsland in the Torres Straits andIndonesia, we were advised by“Charlie” at Bali Marina thatwe might best stop in Kupangand contact their “agent” there,named “Napa,” who couldtake care of all clearance issuesand, in fact, give us a threemonthvisa instead of the twomonthvariety (or as little as 14days!) we might expect toreceive “on arrival” had wesailed direct to Bali.We heard horror stories in2008 about boats being“impounded” and fines leviedwhen the Darwin to IndonesiaRally used Kupang as theirclearing-in spot. We were nervousabout having the samething happen to us, but after along, slow, engine-dominatedcrossing from Thursday Island,and knowing we needed torefuel anyway, we decided totake the risk and drop-in atKupang first. We were told tosimply “call Napa on VHF” aswe made our approach, whichwe did several times receivingno response.As close as we daredEventually, the British captain30 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010 www.oceannavigator.com

of a small coastal tankeranswered our call and stated “ifyou just go on in and anchor,Napa will find you.” We didjust that, dropping our hookoff the beach near “Jimmy’sBar,” as recommended. Wewere immediately hailed by aSwiss catamaran, the only otheryacht in the anchorage, whotold us to get even closer to thebeach because “Napa only has adugout canoe and won’t comeout if you’re not as close as possible.”We followed this adviceand got as close as we daredanchoring in slightly more thantwo meters of water. Sureenough, as soon as the hookwas down a voice came on theradio announcing in clear English:“Hello...this is Napa onthe beach...be right out!”...andthen… “maybe you just comeget me in your dinghy as I donot have good boat?”It was the middle of the firstweek of Ramadan, the Muslimhigh holidays, and we were surroundedby serenadingMosques from dawn ‘til dark,and even throughout the night.Napa, or at least the “Napa” wemet, was most helpful and,when we finally got ashore, ranme around town on his scooterto do the necessary paperworkafter telling my all-woman crewto “go walking-walking-shopping-shopping.”They werehappy to do that and I endedupat Napa’s house just asevening prayers were beingsung. We sat in silence forawhile after which he sharedsome simple food and drinkwith me...the first he’d had allday since he was following thecustom of fasting duringRamadan. It was a pleasurebreaking bread with him andmeeting some of his family. Weshared stories about our mothers,both of whom had died theprevious year.A couple of millionshould doWhile riding on the back of hismotorbike I asked him howmuch money I would need toretrieve from the ATM to completeour clearing-in process andbuy some extra fuel? “Oh, acouple of million should do!”My initial shock dealing withIndonesian currency! After takingme back to the beach andreconnecting with my crew,exhausted from their “walkingwalking-shopping-shopping,”he promised to return with ourempty jerry cans full of “goodclean diesel” by the next morning.In fact, he showed-up, thistime in his dugout canoe with ahelper, under the cover of darknessaround 2400. He surprisedus out of our deep, post-passagenap in the cockpit. When Ioffered to turn on the decklights so we could better seewhat we were doing he quicklymotioned to us to shut themdown. Clearly he was nervousabout being seen selling us this“black liquid gold.” What’s thestory behind that one? We’llnever know.Next morning he calledagain bright and early: “It’sNapa on the beach.” He askedthat we come in and get himand the customs agent, “Rembrandt,”who wanted to “seeour boat.” We brought themboth out and they sat politelyrefusing any libation. (“It is theMuslim custom to fast duringthe day,” Rembrandt remindedus. “And, though I am Christian,since Napa is Muslim, Ihonor his tradition.”)When I offered to returnNapa’s hat to him, which hehad left behind during thesecret diesel run the nightbefore, he signaled me with awink and a wave to put it away.Colorful smallboats at apopular Serangananchorage.www.oceannavigator.comSEPTEMBER 2010 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 31

OCEAN VOYAGINGTop, two wellusedfishingvessels raftedup in Kupangharbor. Belowright, Nat andBetsy visitingthe Uluwatusea temple inBali.Again, he clearly did not wanthis good Christian friend toknow that he had already beenaboard Bahati. Rembrandt artfullysigned the necessary papersand we returned both our visitorsto the beach, quickly.Later, Napa returned to collecthis hat and the money forthe fuel. He told us his feewould be collected from BaliMarina as he was only acting astheir agent. But we could tiphim if we wanted and did wehave any whiskey on board?“I’d love a bottle for afterRamadan is finished.” We gavehim a bit of extra cash and abottle of JW Black Label whichno one aboard had been interestedin drinking since we leftMaine. Napa departed lookingand sounding quite happy afterexchanging cell number’s so wecould “stay in touch and recommendour friends” to hisgood service.A fine lineIn the end, we were very satisfiedwith Napa’s help and weexperienced our first Indonesiancultural adventure in theprocess. Just beware that if youask “how much?” he mayrespond “it’s up to you!” whichcan put you in a tough place.How much of a tip is appropriate?Of course, finally, it is upto you. But in Indonesia thereis a fine line between “tipping”and “graft.” In the end we gavehim a few thousand extra rupiahsand he seemed very pleased.No doubt we spent moremoney on this whole processthan we needed to, but Napatook the pain out of runningaround chasing the papers andstamps ourselves. So, at least forthe time being, best advice is to“Call for Napa!” on VHF 16when you arrive, but don’texpect any response until youare fully “anchor down” andclose enough to the beach. Bythe way, when we quizzedNapa about “the bond” he said,“No bond, no worries.” Welcometo Indonesia.The other option is to gostraight to Bali and check-in atBali Marina. Again, you can dothe run around to necessaryoffices and banks yourself, butmuch easier to let “Charlie”and “Haryo” manage it for youand pay them the required fee.We also found, after arrival,that you can anchor around thecorner in Serangan and letAlvin at TM Marine Services(also the home base for theRoyal Bali Yacht Club), do thechecking-in and out for you.Alvin’s a good guy and, thoughBali Marina will tell you otherwise,there seems to be noproblem letting him do thebureaucratic chase for you. Thebottom line in Bali, and all ofIndonesia, is that everyonewants a “piece of the action.”You will be charged somethingby whoever you deal with andeverything is negotiable.Again, the much-feared issueof “the bond” is a non-issue itseems, at least for the moment,as no one knows how to enforceit and everyone realizes that it ishurting the yachting business totry and hold people to this kindof extortionist payment. If youarrive with your CAITprocessed, a smile on your face,and a willingness to cough up afew extra rupiahs to help pavethe way, life will be easy.We also met at least one“super yacht” agent in Bali whohad apparently found a wayaround the whole bond issuefor his clients by “guaranteeing”payment himself shouldthey overstay their welcome.Everyone we talked with,including this “super agent,”the good folks at Bali Marina,and Alvin at TM Marine Services,were actively lobbyingwith the government in Jakartato try and do away with “thebond” issue all together. Howit all plays out next season,only time will tell.■Nat and Betsy Warren-Whiteare circumnavigating on theirMontevideo 43, Bahati, visittheir blog at: www.bahati.net.32 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010 www.oceannavigator.com

The latesthighstrength,low-weightrigging usesyarnsinstead ofmetal wireor rodSoft rigging for voyagingBY BRIAN HANCOCKRalph NaranjoDuring a break whiledelivering a catamaranin the Baltic Sea thissummer, I took the opportunityto walk the length of themarina in Cuxhaven, a smalltown on the Elbe River in Germany.The boats tied alongsidewere the usual mix of Mom,Pop and dog cruisers all enjoyinga perfect summer sailingthe North Sea.One boat, however, caughtmy eye. The boat itself was nodifferent from the rest; a slabsidedfiberglass monohull withplenty of interior space and aspacious cockpit. It was the rig,and rigging, that held my gaze.Instead of the sturdy looking1:19 wire commonly used onproduction cruisers, this boathad a spindly high-tech mastheld up by some equallyspindly high-tech rigging.I knocked on the hull and atall, handsome German manappeared. We talked about hisrig. He was an engineer, and asailor, and while he acknowledgedthat his boat was no racingmachine, he told me thatthe change in the boat’s rig hadmade a big difference to hissailing pleasure. By his estimationhe had saved about 30percent of the overall weight ofhis original rig. Without allthat extra weight aloft his boatheeled less and more importantlyto him, since he usuallysailed in the North Sea wherethe shallow water kicks up ashort, steep chop, the boatpitched significantly less.This all got me thinking.First it was interesting to onceagain see that new technologiespioneered on the extreme racingedge slowly trickle down tothe rest of us average sailors.And second, I wondered justhow much of an applicationhigh-tech rigging would play inthe sailing pleasure of mostvoyagers. Would there come atime when formerly exotic Vectranshrouds and Spectra runningbackstays were as commonplaceon a small cruisingboat as the now ubiquitousroller furling gear?While racingboats now useso-called “softrigging” on aregular basis,voyaging boatshave been slowerto takeadvantage of thishigh-performanceapproach.www.oceannavigator.com33

RIGGINGRight, Dyformwire hasabout 30%more breakingstrengthcompared totraditional1:19 wire.Below, rodrigging isstronger thanwire riggingand producesless winddrag.Traditional wire riggingMost of us are familiar withtraditional wire rigging. Thesetwisted strands of stainlesswire with swaged end fittingshave held up our masts fordecades, mostly without incident.Why then consider anythingdifferent? Before youplunge into the world of hightechrigging and decide if it’sright for you, let’s take a lookat some of the forms of riggingcurrently in use.There are three most commontypes of wire rigging; the1:19 stainless wire, a sevenstrandwire and Dyform, a relativelynew type of wire rigging.The ratio 1:19 refers to the factthat the wire is made up of 19small wires twisted together toform one strong wire. Whilethis kind of rigging has been inuse for decades, it’s not withoutits drawbacks. The strength-toweightratio renders it onlyapplicable to cruising boats andJohn SnyderRalph Naranjothose racing classes that insiston the cost saving of traditionalwire. When measuredagainst a high-tech piece of rigging,wire is bulky, heavy andstretchy. The stretchinesscomes from the twisted wiretrying to untwist as a loadcomes on it. That, along withsome inherent “give” in thewire strands themselves, meansthat new rigging has to beadjusted over time to compensatefor the stretch.In order to adjust wire riggingto keep the right tensionon each piece of rigging fromthe longest cap shrouds thatrun in some cases from decklevel to the top of the mast, tothe shorter “diagonals” thatlend support to the mast columnitself, turnbuckles areused. These turnbuckles can bemade from a variety of metalssuch as bronze, chrome platedbronze or stainless steel. Use agood waterproof grease such asLanocote to keep the threadslubricated. For stainless steelscrews in stainless bodies agrease containing molybdenumdisulfide should be used. Thisis extremely effective but beaware, the grease is black andcould stain your sails.The wire, end fittings andturnbuckles all add up to ahefty package with lots ofwindage. For those who carenot about performance, butwant reliability at a reasonableprice, this is the rigging foryou. Those sailors who arelooking for a bit more performancefrom their riggingcan consider rod rigging.Instead of strands of wire, therigging is made from colddrawn Nitronic-50, a nitrogenstrengthened austenitic stainlesssteel. This metal has higherconcentrations of chromium,nickel and manganese thanregular stainless steel giving itmuch better corrosion properties.The strength to weightratio of rod rigging over wire issignificant, as is the amount ofwindage since the rods aremuch smaller, for an equalstrength, than their wire counterparts.There is some initialstretch in rod resulting in theuse of turnbuckles to keep therigging properly tensioned.34 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010www.oceannavigator.com

Rod rigging is sized according to itsrated breaking strength and is measuredin pounds. According to Navtec,one of the companies that produces asignificant amount of the rod riggingfound on boats, the prefix “-” is calledthe “dash size” and is placed beforethe rated strength in thousands ofpounds. In other words a -12 (dashtwelve) rod has a rated strength of12,000 lbs.Made from yarns, not metalRod and wire still dominate the riggingmarket, but their share is steadilybeing eroded by some new, innovativeand highly engineered rigging,the so called soft rigging. This riggingAnother use of softrigging is as a sort of“soft turnbuckle.”Instead of a heavymetal turnbuckle thatcould corrode, sectionsof high-performanceline is lashed betweendeck fittings andshrouds. The result is astrong and lightweightconnection.is soft because it is made from yarnsrather than extruded metals and ismanufactured in a completely differentmanner. Instead of a single materialbeing used, a composite piece ofRalph Naranjorigging can be made from any numberof different materials, in anynumber of forms. Just as the sailmakingindustry before it, the riggingindustry has discovered many choiceswww.oceannavigator.comSEPTEMBER 2010 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 35

RIGGINGof high tensile yarns that when properlyengineered can result in lowstretch rigging with incrediblestrength-to-weight ratios. This newrigging has revolutionized the racingmarket and proven its reliability inextreme offshore conditions such asthe double-handed Barcelona WorldRace and the Volvo Ocean Race.Let’s take a closer look at themakeup of soft rigging. There arethree main parts to it; the inner core,the outer covering and the terminals.The inner core yarns are the loadbearing yarns and can be whateverthe engineer deems best for each particularapplication. The most commonyarns are Vectran, carbon, PBOand Kevlar. Each of these yarns havetheir strengths and weaknesses andeach piece of rigging is engineeredwith these differences in mind. Forexample, Kevlar, PBO and to someextent Vectran are all extremely sensitiveto UV degradation. Their tensileproperties are amazing, but as soon asany light comes into contact with theyarns there is immediate degradation.This problem is alleviated by encapsulatingthe delicate yarns in an outercover that serves three main purposes;to protect the inner yarns from theelements, to bundle the lot togetherinto a length of rigging and to providea rugged chafe protective coveringso that the rigging can withstandthe abuse of a tough offshore passage.Navtec has been at the forefront ofsoft rigging. In 1997, they pioneeredPBO rigging in a product called Z-System. The “Z” stood for Zylon,another name for PBO. By bundlingPBO strands together in differingamounts, the engineers were able toprecisely customize a specific piece ofrigging to meet its needs. This kind ofprecision means that the size of eachpiece of rigging is kept to a minimum,an important considerationgiven the drive to reduce windage.The cost is also kept down. The individualyarns are expensive. Preciseengineering means that there are noextra yarns along for the ride in anyTA N K T E N D E RTHE ORIGINAL PRECISIONTANK MEASURING SYSTEM!Accurate tank soundings have never beeneasier when one TANK TENDER monitorsup to ten fuel and water tanks. Reliablenon-electric and easy to install.www.thetanktender.com(253) 858-8481 Fax: (253) 858-8486Handcrafted,high efficiency Overhead area lightwith LED Night-Vision option. Dual power allowschoice of bright light or gentle glow, and two levelsof red. The attractive wood fixture is availablein different wood finish options, as well as splashproofmodels. LED Reading Light in chrome or titaniumfinish. Our website provides helpful informationon selecting cabin lighting.Email: alpenglowlights@gmail.comwww.alpenglowlights.com36 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010www.oceannavigator.com

given piece of rigging.For the outer cover, Navtec uses awoven Technora. Technora is imperviousto sunlight and is highly chaferesistant. By weaving the outer coveryou are able to create a surface that,when tensioned, bears down on theinternal fibers giving the piece of riggingits desired rigidity. This outerbraid protects the delicate innerfibers from sun and moisture. Theends are created from a carbon compositethat binds the outer braid andthe inner fibers around a titaniumthimble to seal and protect the pieceof rigging allowing it to be attachedto a mast or deck fitting.Tackling the same issue of creatinga lightweight, extremely lowstretch piece of mast rigging, theComposite Rigging division ofSouthern Spars has taken a differentapproach. Instead of PBO or Kevlaras the load bearing yarns, CompositeRigging has engineered its cuttingedgerigging using bundles of carbonfiber in a product they call ElementC6 (EC6). The EC6 cables are madefrom bundling 0.043-inch-diameterpultruded T800 fibers sheathed in ajacket that can be made from a varietyof different fibers. The T800 carbonyarns are what they call anintermediate modulus fiber, meaningthat it is engineered to providethe optimal combination ofstrength, stiffness and stretch resistance.One of the weaknesses of carbonis that the wrong modulus canresult in yarns that are too brittle forstanding rigging.The outer cover serves to protectthe delicate carbon yarns and to providethe piece of rigging with chaferesistance and overall durability. Oneof the fibers that Composite Rigginguses for its covers is Spectra, anextremely rugged yarn that resistsabrasion and withstands UV andhumidity better than most otheryarns. In some applications SouthernSpars will use a regular polyesterbraiding for the outer cover. Theyalso produce cabling with a braidedstainless steel cover.While all these different engineeringtechniques, each claim superiorwww.oceannavigator.comSEPTEMBER 2010 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 37

RIGGINGstretch resistance and strength-toweightratio over the other, it wouldseem as if the EC6 product does havean advantage when it comes towindage. The carbon yarns areextremely strong, meaning that fewerindividual yarns can be bundledtogether to make a single piece of rigging,resulting in an overall smallerdiameter for the rigging. On a racingyacht where there are a dozen ormore pieces of standing rigging holdingup the mast, the accumulatedbenefit over a long passage makes abig difference. The drawback, however,is the prohibitive cost of carbon.Precisely engineeredOne of the great benefits of soft riggingis the ability to precisely engineera product that meets a variety ofdifferent requirements. The engineercan consider not only the perfectblend of yarns, but also the budget ofthe person buying the rigging. It maybe that for some applications anextreme, cutting edge product is notnecessary. The requirements may bemore modest and less expensive loadbearing threads that can be usedalong with a basic polyester coverrather than Spectra or Technora. Theresult is still a light, low-stretch pieceof rigging. Someone looking to trickout their sailboat with higher technologythan wire is not saddled withcarbon as their only option.Where heavy old fashioned turnbuckleswere used to attach wire riggingto the deck and to allow forsome adjustability, new sleek, lowwindage turnbuckles are being usedfor the soft rigging. Add to that thearchaic steel shackle is no longer seenaboard a high-performance yacht.Instead the riggers have gone evenfurther back in time for a solution.Soft rigging is usually tied togetherwith a lightweight lashing, a means ofattachment that was used on old clipperships. The result, however, is acheap, extremely reliable and superlightweight means of accomplishingthe same thing.Just as roller furling needed to gothrough a few years of intense testingin some rough sailing environmentsbefore the equipment was deemedsuitable for the rest of us to use withfull confidence, soft rigging will alsoneed to prove itself. Indeed it hasalready proven itself in some of themost extreme environments. TheOpen 60 Paprec-Virbac had EC6 forstanding rigging for the gruellingBarcelona World Race, a doublehandedsprint around the planet; nonstop. The rigging was returned to themanufacturer for a complete testonce the race was over and the resultswere remarkable. With the exceptionof a cut in the cover of one of theshrouds the rigging was in great condition.There was no discernabledegradation in either the strength ofthe rigging or in its stretch resistance.To illustrate the performance gainsby using the EC6 system, considerthat the carbon rigging is a quarter ofthe weight of an equivalent strengthrod rigging. Consider that theBarcelona World Race is 29,000miles long and physical weight savingscoupled with most of thatweight being over 50 feet off the deckalong with the significantly reducedwindage and you start to see a costperformance benefit that knows noequal. The same can be said ofNavtec’s PBO rigging as numerousboats competing in the last VendéeGlobe used the latest custom engineeringfrom Navtec without failure.If anything is keeping sailors fromupgrading to high-tech soft rigging,it’s the cost, not reliability.■Courtesy NavtecA Z-system turnbuckle by Navtec usesan assembly of PBO fibers specificallyengineered for that application.Brian Hancock has recorded 250,000offhsore miles. His most recent book isGrabbing the World.38 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010www.oceannavigator.com

Highstrengthmaterialsway beyondnylon andDacron arechanging thecapabilitiesof voyaginglinesLearning the ropesSTORY AND PHOTOS BY RALPH NARANJOModern sailors andpower cruisers mayhave little recollectionof natural fiber lines, butthe rope manufacturing processthat began centuries ago continuestoday. The process hasbeen bolstered by bettermachinery and cutting edgechemistry, allowing miraclefibers to be spun into yarns,twisted into strands and combinedinto ropes.Most contemporary cruisersstarted messing around insmall boats well after manila,sisal, hemp and jute were allocatedto forgotten corners ofold chandleries or put on displayat the Mystic SeaportMuseum. The aroma of tarredmarlin and reels of manilaanchor rode linger in the memoryof “old salts,” but today theterm rope has become synonymouswith nylon and Dacron(polyester) cordage.These miracle polymers aregrown in the lab and deliverbetter mechanical propertiesthan natural fibers, plus theyeliminate the age old problemof rot. They begin life as filamentsthinner than a humanhair, and can be bundled inmuch the same way grownfibers were handled, but theresulting line emerges as astronger, more supple andtougher cordage. Nylon andDacron were anything but theend of the road for thechemists and engineers whocontinue the hunt for lighterweight materials with bettermechanical properties.The old industrial slogan,“better living through chemistry”underscores the theme ofthe rope revolution. Dacronand nylon may have been theprototypes, but today all thebuzz is about Dyneema, Vectran,PBO and other unpronounceablefiber names that aregetting stranded, braided, plaitedand tucked inside familiarpolyester or polypropylene linecovers. Skeptics assume it’smarketing spin, a fancy line totie up the emperor’s new pants.But look at the data with anengineer’s curiosity and thenumbers speak for themselves.Better numbers meanmore strengthThe numbers highlight the differenceamong similar diameterThese colorfullines could almostsymbolize thecurrent revolutionin line materialtechnology.www.oceannavigator.com39

Index to AdvertisersPage Advertiser Product Page Advertiser Product36 Alpenglow Marine Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lights20 Amel - Joel F Potter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boatbuilder (sail)19 Beta Marine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Engines/Generators26 Cape George Cutter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boatbuilder (sail)21 Epifanes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Varnish/Paint16 Floscan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fuel Management Systemsc2 Fujinon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Binoculars16 GAM Split Lead Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Antennas36 GLEAW Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Location Technology13 Hansen Marine Engineering . . . . . . . . . Engines/Generators36 Hart Systems (Tank Tender). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tank Gauges52 Hathaway Reiser & Raymond. . . . . . . . . . Safety equipment27 International Marine Insurance Svcs (IMIS). . . . . Insurance37 Maine Yacht Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boatyard/Refit40 Marion to Bermuda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yacht race35 Newport International Boat Show . . . . . . . . . . . . Boat Show27 Nobeltec. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Navigation Softwarec3 Nordhavn Brokerage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brokerage Yachtsc4 Nordhavn Yachts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boatbuilder (Power)3 North Sails Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sailmaker43 Nova Scotia Boatbuilders Association . . . . . . Boatbuilder(s)17 Ocean Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Training43 Offshore Passage Opportunities. . . . . . . . Offshore Passage43 Para-Tech Engineering. . . . . . . . . . . . Sea Anchors/Drogues7 Profurl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Furling systems25 Steiner Binoculars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Binoculars17 Portland Yacht Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Boatyard26 QuicklineUSA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marine Products17 Smithwick & Mariners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Insurance36 Spartite . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mast Wedge Replacement System24 Star Clippers Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sail adventures22 Surrette Battery Co Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Batteries15 Variprop USA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Propellers40 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010www.oceannavigator.com

lines, and by looking at specssuch as the tensile strength ofnew cordage, one sees a cleardifference between look-alikelines on similar size spools.Pull-to-destruction test resultsare accrued by tensioning testsamples set up on a sturdymetal jig and hauling awaywith a hydraulic ram, screwjack or a powerful winch. Asthe load increases, the ropesample stretches, eventuallyreaching its yield point whereelastic deformation becomesplastic. This is the point wherethere is no longer any springback if the load ceases. If tensioncontinues to increase, catastrophicfilament failure occursand the line breaks. A line withhigh tensile strength and minimalelasticity will usually offervery little yield, and massive filamentrupture will occur ratherthan any prolonged period ofplastic deformation.Shock loading is both difficultto quantify and hard topredict. It results from shortlivedspikes in the tensile load,and cordage with minimal abilityto elongate tends to suffergreater damage from suchmomentary increases in tension.Nylon’s elasticity can actas an energy absorber dampeningshort-lived shock loads.This ability to stretch may be agood characteristic in ananchor rode or a spring line,but it’s far from advantageousin a halyard. When it comes tolow stretch cordage, shockloads are handled by designingan appropriate safety factorinto the rigging system. This iswhy manufacturers providesafe working load data for specificuses and these numbersmay be three or more timessmaller than the actual breakingstrength of the cordage.The Cordage Institute, therope industry’s technical body,specifies a safety factor of 5-12for non-critical use, and a safetyfactor of 15 for lifelines!Keeping the loading at such asmall percentage of the breakingstrength of the line alsominimizes stretch and prolongsthe lifespan of the cordage.Creep is another interestingmechanical factor, and linesthat remain under constantload are most affected. Oneresearch team in the UKfound that loading polyesterrope to 50 percent of its breakingstrength equated with a100-year lifespan of the materialin that use. This was adead weight study, no inertialloads, UV, abrasion or otherwear-and-tear factors wereinvolved. Using the same scenario,the load was increasedto 64 percent of the breakingload and the lifespan of theline in this configuration wasshortened to one year. Loadand lifespan are obviouslyinversely proportioned andnonlinear in their relationship.Creep has several stages, andin its primary phase there’s arelatively abrupt elongation asfilaments share loading and thephysical dynamics within therope conform to the stress. Thesecondary phase in the creepphenomena is more linear andBottom left,extrudedsyntheticfilaments arecombined intohigh-modulusyarns andbraided intolight, strongrope. Top, thecore material(Dyneema SK75) contributesmost of thetensilestrength tothis highmodulusline.www.oceannavigator.com SEPTEMBER 2010 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 41

CORDAGEAbove, thetechnical teamat New EnglandRopes testsnew and usedlines, measuringthe effect offatigue,abrasion, UVand otherfactors. Right,strength andelongationcharacteristicsare importanttraits, but so isthe manner inwhich a linecoils andbehaves on awinch.slower to occur, but in the tertiaryphase, filament snappingcan actually be heard and elongationbecomes more rapid,continuing to accelerate up tothe point of complete failure.The bottom line when it comesto creep is to choose a cordagetype and diameter that keepsthe working load well south of50 percent of the breakingstrength under the mostadverse circumstances, andunder 25 percent if truelongevity is of interest. Creeptends to be more common inOlefin-based lines and almostnil with high-end fibers such asZylon-based PBO.In the lab, researchers continuethe quest for polymersthat form repeatable long chainlinks, and in some cases evenform crystalline lattices withimmense tensile strength. Carbonfiber is a classic example ofsuch a eureka moment.Researchers discovered that byheating inexpensive polyacrylic-nitrilefiber to about2,000° C in the presence ofpitch, the common inexpensiveT-shirt fiber turns into crystallinecarbon — a filamentwith an exponential increase intensile strength. Such lead-togolddiscoveries represent theforward strides made in chemistry,advances that have beenleveraged by the cordage industry.But regardless of the recipe,good cordage, like good pancakes,relies just as much onhow the batter is handled.When it comes to ropemanufacture, the raw materialis the fiber bought in bulk byeach cordage company, andpicking the right filament formulaand fiber blend is a bigdeal. The process mimics theold software adage “garbage in,garbage out.” Quality cordagerequires top notch raw materials,plus quality control in howyarns are twisted, braided orparalleled. Each manufacturerspends an inordinateamount of time making surethat the spools of raw materialthat they invest in areboth high in quality and costeffective. Every manufacturerknows what batch inconsistencyor supply disruptionscan do to their brand andtop label companies likeNew England Ropes, Samsonand Yale work as hard tomaintain product consistencyas they do to introducethe next new miracle fiber.The bottom lineBy comparing the tensilestrength of a variety of7/16-inch lines, a crew willget a feel for how wide arange of rope options areavailable. Independent testinghas shown that three-strandnylon rates a 5,900-poundbreaking strength, while ahigh-quality Dacron (polyester)braid such as Sta-Settallies up a 6,600-pound tensilestrength rating. New EnglandRopes’ Endura 12 andtheir Pro-PBO, Samson’sProgen II and Yale’s PoBOndeliver an astounding tensileload rating of 24,000 pounds.These lines are the samediameter as the Dacron andnylon mentioned above, butthey are four times stronger!Elongation, or stretch, isanother big deal when it comesto line choice. Here we are talkingabout the elastic phase ofstretch that occurs with repetitiveloading. It’s in this realm42 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010

that high-tech fibers really earntheir keep. Take for examplesimilar diameter lines that areeach 100 feet long and loadedto 30 percent of their brakingstrength. The higher end PBO,Vectran and Dyneema (Spectra)products will stretch lessthan a foot under such loadwhile conventional lowerpricedpolyester products willadd three feet to their length.Combine this data with thefact that 30 percent of thebreaking strength of a top-endline is about triple the strengthof a lower-cost Dacron product,and you can see thatstretch minimization per equalload is even more impressive.The bottom line is thatstronger, less stretchy, lighterlines are like better quality tools— likely to be worth theinvestment in the long run.Tensile strength and elongationare by no means the onlyconsideration when it comes tocordage consideration. Creep(elongation under load), UVstability, abrasion resistancehandleability and cost are alsokey factors. For example, whenit comes to replacing a wirehalyard with rope, stretch isonly one factor. Other variablesthat need to beadded to the mixare issues such asthe manufacturer’sline diameterto sheave radiusratio, or how hardthe cordage canbend withoutharming the fiberbundles. There’salso some concernabout the cover materialand special coatings on the linethat help keep UV and chemicaldamage, caused by atmosphericdeposition (acid rain,etc.), at a minimum. In short,A light, strong nonwaterabsorbentDyneema core/polypropylene covermakes for an ideallight air sheet.Offshore Swan Sailing ProgramMay:June:St. Maarten to NewportBermuda Cruising Rally with Tania Aebi SailNY to Bermuda or backFrom only $1400Offshore Passage Opportunities# 1 Crew Networking Service since 1993.Sail for free on OPB’sCall 1-800-4-PASSAGEfor free brochure/membership application.Need Crew?Simply contact us!www.sailopo.comCREWwww.oceannavigator.comSEPTEMBER 2010 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 43

CORDAGEit’s important to consider the fullrange of factors influencing linechoice when selecting the rightcordage for a specific application.This includes cost, and the per footprice of 7/16-inch diameter cordagein many chandleries ranges from justover one dollar per foot to just underfive dollars per foot. In the mid pointof this price spread is where highqualitydouble braid polyester beginsto give way to partial Dyneemacores, and the result is a significantupturn in performance.Sheets are another classic exampleof balanced decision making. Limitingstretch is a good thing, but otherfactors must also be taken into consideration.Just ask anyone in thecrew who’s handling a genoa sheetwhile tacking up a tight channel,and their preference will lean towardthe line with the best handling characteristics.This includes its suppleness,ease with which it wrapsaround a winch, and how it gripsand releases the surface of the drum.Other important factors are how theline holds and releases from the jawsof a self tailing winch and how thecover holds up under the repeatedclamping of a rope clutch. There’seven an interest in how easily theline coils and its willingness toremain hockle free.Putting special purposecordage to useThe racing sailor doesn’t need muchconvincing to see the value in lessstretch, lighter weight and increasedstrength. Voyagers often take a littlemore convincing in order to let o oftheir nylon for anchor rode anddock lines and polyester for all run-ning rigging tradition. However, acloser look at what’s at stake canturn the tide. Take for example, thevalue of a Dyneema (Spectra)-coredhalyard with a tough, UV protectivepolyester cover and only one-thirdthe stretch of a Dacron sequel. Oneof the most important upsides ofsuch a halyard is how it behaves in agust. Its reluctance to stretch keeps asail’s luff from loosening and preventsincreased draft when it’s leastdesirable. A taught luff in heavyweather is essential and with manycruisers preferring to run halyards allthe way back to the cockpit, even asmall stretch percentage can add upto significant luff sag.Another very beneficial use ofhigh modulus cordage is as a replacementfor wire running backstays.Voyagers making long ocean passagesbenefit from the extra support andcolumn control afforded by runners,not to mention their mandatory usewith a heavy weather forestaysail. Butin light air it’s nice to be able to tiethem off near the shrouds and sailsans runners. Using an all-lineoption, that eliminates the need for awire stay and rope tail combination,makes handling a runner tricky.Those who are serious about minimizingdiesel fuel usage while cruisingunder sail tend to gravitatetoward light air reaching sails andasymmetric spinnakers. No foil, endlessline furlers and spinnaker socksalso benefit from light, easy to handlecordage, but the biggest use in thisrealm is the value of light air sheetssuch as New England Ropes’ FlightLine, a polypropylene braided coverover a Dyneema core. It’s strong,non-stretchy and very light — a bigplus in ghosting conditions.There are even specialized braideddinghy painters that are abrasionresistant, UV stable and comprised ofa core that’s buoyant. Keeping theline on the surface makes wrappingthe painter in the prop a difficultmaneuver to execute.But the big news in paintersrevolves around the way majorbrand rope manufacturers areresponding to the age old challengeof mooring a vessel and providingthe best possible chafe protection.Post-storm rope forensics has shownthat friction from stretching nylonfilaments can cause enough heat tomelt these tiny fibers.Today there’s a move toward ablended painter technology with atad less stretch. Yale’s Maxi-Moor iscomprised of a Polydyne line (polyesterbraided cover with a nylon core)over which a urethane jacket hasbeen added. Splicing is done at thefactory and a piece of built-in chafegear can be slid into position whereit’s most needed.When all is said and done, nylonand Dacron line does more than anadequate job aboard a voyaging boat,and it remains the price pointfavorite, but special purpose highermodulus cordage is the top gradesolution for those looking for lessstretchy halyards and runners, lighterdrifter reacher sheets and more securemooring pennants — all worthy of avoyager’s interest and investment. ■Ralph Naranjo is a circumnavigatorand a marine technical writer basedin Annapolis, Md. He is the authorof the books Wind Shadow Westand Boatyards and Marinas.44 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010www.oceannavigator.com

How avoyagingcoupleincreasedtheircruising cat’sbuoyancyA twin hullWe wanted to leadthe voyaging lifeand we found acatamaran we thought couldbe our boat. The catamaranhad washed ashore at Paihiahere in New Zealand’s Bay ofIslands. After we boughtMazuran, a 42-foot SouthAfrican “bullet” design, the first40+ offshore catamarandesigned by Alex Simonis inthe mid-1980s. Mazuran hadhull damage and we had aboatbuilding challenge to complete.Fortunately my partnerCraig Nickalls and I have theStory and photos by Karen Taylorsame passion and Craig is aprofessional boatbuilder..At first glance, the hullsdidn’t seem that bad — theframes were pretty much stillthere, and all that was missingwas from the waterlinedown. It seemed fairly simple.At first the plan was to fix herup and put her back in thewater. But then Craig had theidea that we could redesignMazuran’s hulls. It wasn’tuntil we cross referenced thewaterline back to the originalplans that we found that theboat was sitting 13 inchesrebuildlower in the stern and seveninches in the bow. This factmade up our minds. We seriouslyneeded more buoyancyAbove, Craig Nickallstakes a measurementwhileredesigning thecat’s twin hulls.Below, Mazuran onthe rocks in NewZealand beforeTaylor and Nickallsbought the multihull.www.oceannavigator.com45

Top, the lowersections ofMazuran’s hullshave beenremoved.Right, thenew, deepersections takeshape.or we would endup half submergedafterloading Mazuranwith voyagingsupplies!For more thantwo weeks Craigstudied both planand boat, set upcenterlines, andcross-referencedbetween the two. Using hisold manual boatbuildingapprenticeship techniques, hecalculated center of weight(fore and aft), center of payloaddistributions and manyother factors that help determinethe performance of avessel. We found that therewere many issues that mayhave contributed to her sittinglower than on thedrawn/designed waterlines.One of the major changes wefound was the change from asingle central 40-hp outboardto two 27-hp diesel engines,one in each hull — certainlya major weight change thatwould help lower the sternconsiderably from the initialdesign allowances.Need more clearanceWe have often talked tooffshore voyagers discussingbridge-deck clearance,recognizing that thiswas crucial for comfortduring ocean passages. If itis too low, the vessel endsup wave slamming and the passagecan become very uncomfortableand noisy. Craigworked out that without anyload aboard, Mazuran had aclearance of 22 inches. Itseemed to us that this wasn’tgreat tolerance, especially if wewere to have two children anda whole lot of gear still to comeaboard. We therefore decidedto try to get as much buoyancyas possible without rebuildingthe entire boat. But we wereconfronted with a problem:how could we marry it to theexisting hulls?My stepfather, Alan Yardley(another multihull enthusiast)had just found a fantastic boatdesign program on the internet(www.freeship.org), and afteronly a few days of self-taughttrials, he took on the challengeto help redesign our “new”hulls. We had Mazuran transportedto my parents’ place inKerikeri on the Bay of Islands.There were endless hoursboth day and night, learning anew program anddoing the redesign.While the design wasbeing calculated, wedecided to get anaccurate weight of thecurrent boat. We useddigital scales andfound that she wasthe respectable weightof 9,500 pounds. Ontransferring the informationback to theoriginal paper plans,we found that thecenter of weight wastoo far aft of the center ofbuoyancy — one of the contributingfactors to the transombeing very low in the water.Because the weight of the boatwas reasonable, we decided tochange from our newly builtstub keels, to centerboards. Wefelt this was another benefit tomake the boat more performanceorientated, being ex-GBEand tornado sailors. We likedthe system of retractable foils(rudder and centerboards) forshallow anchorages — all for abetter night’s sleep.A new design briefSo the new hulls needed morebuoyancy farther aft, a longerwaterline, and an increasedbridge-deck clearance. This was46 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010www.oceannavigator.com

our new design brief. We liked thatthe new hulls were a much more upto-datedesign. The end result was aseries of frames that we printed outon paper at 1:1 scale, transferred ontoMDF in a female form, and cut outto shape. We then set the frames upin the shed under the wing-deck ofmy parents’ 37-foot Searunner trimaranand we had a beautiful formof a new hull shape after three days.This was a huge milestone in the waywe were starting to think about ournew home.The next step was adding threequarters of an inch of foam. This wasto match the original boat foam. Weused 220-lb foam in the bow sectionsto make a more impact-resistant shell.The rest of the foam was 176-lbs.Because the foam wouldn’t bendacross the profiles without breaking,we strip-planked the foam into themould, glassed the inner shell firstand added additional patching formore strength in higher-stressedplaces. The boat was originally constructedwith vinylester resin, so wedecided to use the same, whichended up being more economical.We were so fortunate to haveCraig’s dad, Paul Nickalls, to staywith us and help with the constructionof the hulls and some preparationof the interior for new work.This meant work could proceed fastenough to get the hulls ready forcompletion by December andattached while the weather was stillwarm. It was a great opportunity forfather and son to work on yet anotherproject together.While the hulls were being builtinside the shed, the original hulls hadto be opened up to accommodate thenew shape. As soon as the cut wasstarted, there was no turning back,we were now fully committed.Preventing hull collapseTemporary frames were cut and fittedinside the shell of the new hull tokeep the structural strength while wetransported it around, to prevent thehulls from collapsing. We faired thefoam, fiberglassed the outer skin, anddid lots of fairing and sanding for anEssential tipsfor serious sailorsDon’t miss OceanNavigator’s emailnewsletters packedwith original articlesabout marine electronics,engines &systems, rules ofthe road, offshore safety& medicine, weather and more.Sign up today.visit www.oceannavigator.comand enter your email address in theorange sign-up box.www.oceannavigator.comSEPTEMBER 2010 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 47

undercoat finish while stillupside down. We felt this was agreat idea, to achieve as muchas possible while it was at a reasonableworking height. Eachnew hull weighed approximately529 lbs. Craig, Paul andAlan managed to man handlewe had a new crewmember,Blake, who was a healthy weeboy. We knew it was going tobe a pretty hard next fewmonths with a new baby, butwith things going to plan, wewould be able to keep to thesame working schedule.also help as a crash barrier incase there is ever a bow-on collision.With this being completelyseparate from the originalbows, it still allowed thehull to be waterproof if there isever a collision. It would actlike a bumper to a car. Whilethe bows were being formedwe added “loops” from carbonfiber. These were to provideenough strength to carry a gennekaor screecher.We decided to change thetramp tracks from stainless steelsaddles, to a bolt rope system.We decided this would be amajor improvement fromthrough-hull fittings, eliminatingany potential leaking of thefittings in the future.Top, newlybuiltlowersection completedandready to beattached.Right, the newlowers areeased intoplace on theupper sectionof the originalhulls.these hulls — rolling them onthe grass outside, and with thehelp of a temporary trolleymade of planks, maneuverthem into place.That same night we decidedto glue the hulls onto theoriginal boat; the forecast wasfor rain the next few days.After already working for 10hours, we went home and haddinner, then went back towork, set up floodlights (andcoffee), and glued until midnight.This was a relief toknow all was glued on, and wecould now leave Kerikeri andhead to Auckland to await thebirth of our second child.On our return to Kerikeri,Once wewere backworking onthe boat, wecame upwith anotherdecisionto change.We didresearch onextending waterlines andnoticed that all the new moderncatamarans had plumbbows. This would both extendthe waterline, and dependingon the construction method,would help with buoyancy inthe bows. Craig thought itwould be easier to laminatefoam leftovers which wouldTransom makeoverThe transom area was the nextarea to get a makeover. One ofthe problems we saw in theoriginal stern was the accommodationof the steps — theyseemed to disappear into thewater. This seemed to be quitea problem especially when tryingto transfer luggage to and48 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010www.oceannavigator.com

from the boat via dinghy, orjust wanting to dangle feet inthe water. The boat was a 20-year-old design, and fashionshave changed somewhat sincethen, but I knew I certainlywanted a transom that wouldbe user friendly. Our GBE definitelydid not have easy accessover the transom, and I wasoften found trying to hoistmyself while levering my feetagainst the side of the rudderboxes. This was something thatI would like to avoid if I couldin this boat. We decided that amock-up with customwoodwould give us a good indicationon her new extensions.The addition of a boardingplatform also allowed for anextension of the waterline. Thiswould help the vessel’s performance,as the curvature ofthe hull would bring the transomout of the water.Craig removed what hethought was only going to beone set of steps, but after theirremoval, he found there wasanother set underneath! Obviouslythe transom was definitelya part of the originaldesign that needed attention.With the removal of all the littlealterations we could applyour addition which wouldhopefully be the last.One of the issues we noticedwith our mock-up steps wasthe need for an additional stepin order to get into the cockpitarea. The new step shape hadto consider the extension of thedrum rudder on removal, andthe restriction of access to thestern platform. A smaller,curved step took form, andonce it was fixed into place,consideration to replace theoriginal stainless steel was discussed.Obviously the changeto a lashing backstay wasn’t inour original design brief, butafter removing the plates, wefound that there was slightcorrosion. We didn’t want tohave to replace these platesanytime soon, so we decidedon their new lashing replacement.Creating a new carbonfiber plate meant no need forstainless steel fixings. Thebackstays would be lashed tothe new plates — somethingthat always appealed to uswith our previous boats, so itwas great to apply thosechanges to Mazuran.Working on the exterior ofMazuran has been exciting, aswe have felt the need to changeoriginal ideas for more modernpractical solutions, thus possiblycreating a better performingvessel. The changes wehave made will improve buoyancyand comfort.I have trusted Craig in allthe suggestions for changes toMazuran. He has been so creativeand is constantly thinkingof better solutions. Theexterior has taken longer thananticipated, but we are buildinga better boat, and are makingsure everything is “justright,” so there is much attentionto detail. This is the waythat Craig builds boats. I amvery excited that the boat isprogressing into more thanwhat I ever expected. ■Karen Taylor and CraigNickalls are New Zealand multihullenthusiasts who plan tocruise aboard Mazuran.The completedhulls are deeperand providemore buoyancythan the originalhulls. Taylorand Nickallsalso changedthe hulls byadding plumbbows.www.oceannavigator.comSEPTEMBER 2010 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 49

VOYAGING TIPSMinor gelcoat repairsOops! You scratched thegelcoat on your boat.It’s actually easy to repair,but if a boatyard makes therepair, it can be expensive.Doing it yourself is not difficultif you take it step-bystep.Here are the steps to aclean repair:What you’ll needTo make a repair you’ll need agelcoat repair kit available fromClear Cote, Evercoat, or any ofthe other brands.Rubber gloves to protectyour hands.A towel for wiping down. Iprefer disposable paper towels.stick.A spatula and a mixingA color kit from Evercoat, ifthe gelcoat is colored.Solvent. Many boatbuildersuse acetone, but it dries too fastand can leave residue on thejob. It is better to use a slowerdrying solvent.A mixing tray or cup.1. First remove any loosematerial. Often gelcoataround the damaged area iscracked and should beremoved. If you have a smallarea of damage, use a Dremeltool with a V-shaped grindingbit. If you have a largearea to repair use a grinder.2. When the area is freeof loose material, wipe itdown with solvent to removeany grease or oil.3. If you are not sure ofyour ability to make a mess,mask off the area withmasking tape and plastic,leaving only the damagedarea showing.4. Mix the first batch ofgelcoat. Stir it well. You don’tneed a lot of gelcoat mixture.You can always more gelcoat,but removing too much mixtureafter it has dried can bea lot of hard work. If theexisting gelcoat is coloredadd a drop of coloring agentand see how well it matches.Adjust the coloring agentuntil you have approximatelythe right color.5. Wipe the job with solventto ensure it is still cleanand oil free.6. Apply the new gelcoat.I prefer to use a disposableCraft stick as a stirrer and asa spatula for tiny jobs. If youBY ROGER MARSHALLClean thebreak byremovingloose pieces,wipe downwith solventand thenapply theliquid gelcoat.Let dry andsand withfinishingsandpaper.With somepractice, smalljobs shouldbe noproblem forthe averagevoyager.www.oceannavigator.comSEPTEMBER 2010 OCEAN NAVIGATOR 51

VOYAGING TIPShave to cover a larger area use aflexible plastic spatula. If the holeis deep, apply the gelcoat in layersuntil you have built up the gelcoatlayer. This also gives you thechance to adjust the colors. You’llfind that the new mixture is slightlydarker when wet than dry.7. Wait until the gelcoat hasdried and hardened, at least 24hours, then sand with fine sandpaper.You will probably need to addanother layer of gelcoat.8. When the gelcoat is dry,sand with at least 400-grit sandpaper,600-grit is better. For afinal layer, touch up the job witha brush.9. With the job’s done, sand itwith 600-grit and burnish withrubbing compound until theSafetyUse rubber gloves to protect yourhands when using fiberglass orsolvents.Use safety glass if you planon grinding.Use a dust mask or respiratorif you do any grinding of fiberglassor gelcoat.fumes.Do not breathe the solventrepair matches the nearby area.If you have a large shallow areato cover, you may want to brushthe gelcoat on in layers until youhave built up the right thickness.Gelcoat is only 10 to 20 micronsthick, so you won’t need a lot ofmaterial to repair it.If the damage has gonethrough into the underlyingfiberglass laminate, your problemis slightly larger and you willneed to grind the damaged areaback before adding additionallayers of fiberglass.■Roger Marshall’s latest book isFiberglass Boat Repairs Illustrated.Since 1985 Ocean Navigator has been theresource that offshore voyagers swear by.Now you can access those years of expertiseany time you like. With its searchablearchive containing over 2,000 serious navigationand seamanship articles, Ocean NavigatorOnline is the perfect companion to your OceanNavigator subscription.STORM SURVIVAL DROGUEandWEB SAFETY LINESAvailable only fromHathaway, Reiser & Raymond, Inc.184 Selleck Street (203) 324-9581Stamford, CT 06902www.galerider.comBest of all, it’s now FREE to allOcean Navigator print subscribers.Register today.www.Ocean Navigator.com/register52 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010 www.oceannavigator.com

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Collins, CO 80527P: 800-248-6277 / F: 800-321-6277www.geomart.comConnecticutRex Marine Center144 Water Street, South Norwalk, CT 06854(203) 831-5234 / (203) 866-2518store@rexmarine.comwww.rexmarine.comRetail PartnersMaineHamilton Marine100 Fore St, Portland, ME 04101(207) 774-1772 / 800-548-6352www.hamiltonmarine.comHamilton Marine20 Park Drive Rockland, ME 04841(207) 594-8181www.hamiltonmarine.comHamilton Marine155 E Main St, Seaport, ME 04974800-639-2715 / 800-548-6352www.hamiltonmarine.comLanding Boat Supply106 Lafayette St.Yarmouth, ME 04096(207) 846-3777 / (207) 846-4791www.landingboatsupply.comlandingboat@aol.comPortland Yacht Services58 Fore Street Portland, ME 04107(207) 774-1067 / (207) 774-7035www.portlandyacht.comJoanna@portlandyacht.comMarylandFawcett Boat Supplies110 Compromise St.Annapolis, MD 21401(410) 267-8681 / (410) 268-6528www.fawcettboat.cominfo@fawcettboat.comMassachusettsLynn Marine Supply65 Front St.,Tucker’s WharfMarblehead, MA 01945P: (781) 631-1305www.lynnmarinesupply.comjnorgaard@lynnmarine.comNorth CarolinaMarine Electronics of the Outer Banks4711 Croaton Highway, Nags Head, NC 27959P: (252) 441-1360 / F: 252-441-7322rocketman@beachlink.comPennsylvaniaPilot House Tupper Barrett1600 South Columbus, Philadelphia, PA 19148(215) 336-6414 / (215) 336-6415

NAV PROBLEMOcean classroomaboard Harvey GamageBY DAVID BERSONAbi Campbelltakes a sunsight aboardthe OceanClassroomschoonerHarvey Gamage.Courtesy Ocean ClassroomSince being launched in1973 the 131-footschooner Harvey Gamage hasput more than 100,000 milesunder her keel. In that time thestout schooner, named for thebuilder of the same name, hassurvived everything the sea hasthrown in her way, whileupholding exacting standardsof seamanship and professionalism.There are many a captaintoday who began as a deckhand aboard Gamage. The shiphas served as both elementaryand finishing school to a generationof sailors.From the beginning HarveyGamage, under the guidance ofEben Whitcomb, kept theflame of celestial navigationburning brightly. On longocean passages, from the EastCoast to Bermuda, and thenon to the Caribbean, Capt.Whitcomb patiently unraveledthe mysteries of the celestial triangleto passengers and crewalike. In the mid 1990s whenWhitcomb sold the vessel tothe Ocean ClassroomFoundation (www.oceanclassroom.org) the navigationprogram became a part of amuch larger educational componentof studying for asemester at sea.The Ocean ClassroomFoundation states in its mis-sion statement that it uses “thepower of the sea to help studentsattain academic excellence,personal growth, and toencourage stewardship of theocean world.” As well as theHarvey Gamage, OceanClassroom also operates theschooner Spirit of Massachusettsand the staysail schoonerWestward.Programs aboard these vesselsare designed for both highschool and college students andare fully accredited in subjectsas diverse as marine science,maritime history, maritime literature,creative writing, mathematicsand navigation. Forthose fortunate enough tosecure a berth aboard for theseprograms, the semester at seacan provide a window into theworld far beyond anything theywould have ordinarily experiencedhad they stayed at home.A recent program had 13students joining Gamage in St.Thomas in February. Fromthere, under the leadership ofCapt. Christopher Flansburg,eight professional crew andthree educators, the studentssailed the British VirginIslands, then to Nevis,Guadeloupe and Bequia. Theyhelped to build a house inHonduras and sailed fromBelize through to Florida. Theylearned to appreciate Matoukin Trinidad, identified phytoplanktonrecovered fromplankton trawls, discoveredJack London and read Conradaloud. They also learned andpracticed celestial navigation.Using the boat’s own celestialnavigation manual, Capt.Flansburg would explain theconcepts of declination and thecelestial triangle to the studentsand they would go off to taketheir sights. The response tolearning celestial navigationdrew a collective “It’s cool,”response from the youngstersand left one with the feelingthat there is a whole new generationof star finders who willkeep the traditions alive.On passage north on May12, 2010, 16-year-old AbiCampbell took a noon sight.She shot the lower limb of thesun at 1658 GMT. The heightof eye was 10 feet and theindex error was 5.6 feet off.Her Hs was 72° 59.7’ and theDR at the time of the sight was34° 54’ N by 75° 13’ W.Find the latitude at LAN.For a complete solution,visit www.OceanNavigator.com.AnswersA: Latitude is 34° 56.1’ N56 OCEAN NAVIGATOR SEPTEMBER 2010 www.oceannavigator.com

P R E V I O U S L Y O W N E D Y A C H T SN O R D H A V N 7 6 ( ' 0 5 )N O R D H A V N 5 6 ( ' 0 9 )Here is a rare opportunity to own a turn-key, loaded with gear, Nordhavn 76 for afantastic price! With over seven pages of like new equipment and custom features,and a non stop range of over 3,000 miles, “Inside Passage III” is readyto travel the world’s oceans. This low hours, 2005 model, has just completed asuccessful 3,500 mile trip to Alaska in the summer of ‘08. Located in Seattle.Asking $3,695,000For details contact Larry Gieselman at 949-496-4933“Ata Marie” is hull #2 of the Nordhavn Motorsailer series. The original buyer orderedher with the standard teak interior and added relatively few factory options to keepher simple and elegant. She was commissioned in 2009. Ata Marie (which includesthe standard forward sailing cockpit) is essentially a brand new boat that was loanedout for an extended shake down. She has enjoyed nearly a full year of cruisingnow…which means she has been put through her paces, so she is raring to go.Located in Dana Point, CAAsking $ 1,569,398For details contact Eric Leishman at 949-496-4933N O R D H A V N 5 7 ( ' 0 5 ) “ S e n j e r o ”N O R D H A V N 5 0 ( ' 0 2 ) “ C o n t i n u o u s ”N O R D H A V N 5 7 ( ' 9 9 ) “ B a g a n ”Asking: $1,395,000 Location: Dana Point, CAFor details contact Jeff Merrill 949-355-4950Asking: $875,000 Location: Puerto RicoFor details contact Gerry Edwards at 949-496-4933Asking: $950,000 Location: Dana Point, CAFor details contact Larry Gieselman at 949-496-4933N O R D H A V N 6 2 ( ' 0 8 ) “ W i n d F l i g h t ” N O R D H A V N 4 7 ( ' 0 6 ) “ S u a S p o n t e ”N O R D H A V N 4 6 ( ' 9 0 ) “ S a l v a t i o n I I ”Asking: $1,990,00 Location: Vancouver, BCFor details contact Don Kohlmann at 206-223-3624Nordhavn 76 (‘09) $4,500,000Nordhavn 62 (‘07) $1,650,000Nordhavn 62 (‘04) £995,000 ex taxNordhavn 62 (‘02) $1,500,000Nordhavn 62 (‘01) $1,795,000Nordhavn 62 (‘99) AU $1,650,000Nordhavn 62 (‘93) $899,000Nordhavn 57 (‘04)PendingNordhavn 57 (‘04)AU $1,650,000 GST& Duty paidNordhavn 57 (‘98) $995,000Nordhavn 55 (‘08) $1,775,000Nordhavn 55 (‘07) $1,595,000 ex taxNordhavn 50 (‘04)PendingAsking: $995,000 Location: Dana Point, CA Asking: $395,000 Location: Seattle, WAFor details contact Paul Hutton 949-547-0607For details contact Don Kohlmann at 206-223-3624or Jeff Merrill at 949-355-4950A D D I T I O N A L L I S T I N G SNordhavn 46 (‘03) $695,000Nordhavn 46 (‘03) $599,000Nordhavn 46 (‘00) $549,000Nordhavn 46 (‘99) $539,000Nordhavn 43 (‘07) $950,000Nordhavn 43 (‘05) AU $825,000Nordhavn 43 (‘05) $799,000Nordhavn 43 (‘05) $799,000Nordhavn 43 (‘05) 785,000Nordhavn 43 (‘04) $785,000Nordhavn 43 (‘04) $715,000Nordhavn 40 (‘05) $569,000Nordhavn 40 (‘05) $525,000Nordhavn 35 (‘02) $389,000Nordhavn 35 (‘01) $349,000Alden 51 (‘95) $499,000Cranchi 48 (‘03) $449,000Tollycraft 48 (‘79) $249,000Bayliner 47 (‘00) $299,000Yellowfin 36 (‘10) $225,000Grand Banks 36 (‘90) $179,000Van de Stadt 60 (‘88) AU $680,000Mason 44 (‘89) $215,000SCM Cutter 42 (‘04) $249,000Moody 37 (‘89) $98,500Nordhavn 50 (‘99) $695,000 Nordhavn 40 (‘05)PendingNordhavn 47 (‘04) NZ $1,595,000 Nordhavn 35 (‘04) $459,000As a division of P.A.E., the developer and builder of Nordhavn trawlers, we are intimately familiar with each vessel on the market.We also have listings of other quality power and sail vessels. Please call our office nearest you. www.nordhavn.comNordhavn Yachts NE • 222 Narragansett Blvd. • Portsmouth, RI 02871 • Tel: (401) 293-0910 • Fax: (401) 293-0914 • nesales@nordhavn.comNordhavn Yachts SE • 600 NW Dixie Hwy • Stuart, FL 34994 • Tel: (772) 223-6331 • Fax: (772) 223-3631 • sesales@nordhavn.comNordhavn Yachts NW • 2601 W. Marina Place, Suite S • Seattle, WA 98199 • Tel: (206) 223-3624 • Fax: (206) 223-3628 • nwsales@nordhavn.comNordhavn Yachts SW • 24703 Dana Drive • Dana Point, CA 92629 • Tel: (949) 496-4933 • Fax: (949) 496-1905 • swsales@nordhavn.comNordhavn Europe Ltd. • 10-12 Firefly Road, Hamble Point Marina • Hamble, Southampton SO31 4NB • UK • Tel: +44 (0) 2380 456342 • Fax: +44 (0) 2380 457741 • europesales@nordhavn.comNordhavn Australasia Ltd. • Level 30, AMP Place 10 Eagle St. • Brisbane Qld. 4000 • AUS • Tel: +61 (0)1300 783 010 • Fax: 61.7.3102 6253 • peter@nordhavn.com.auFor more brokerage listings, visit www.nordhavn.comN-ON-Sept10

Please visit nordhavn.com for a list of fall boat shows featuring Nordhavns on display.NORDHAVN ASKS:How does the boat you are consideringmeasure up to the challenges of cruising?You might associate Nordhavn with crossing oceans, but no matter where yourcruising grounds, the key to good boating is having a proper boat. Before youpurchase your next vessel, consider whether it meets these 11 crucial pointsand ask yourself, is this boat...1 SeaworthyNordhavn hulls are heavy displacementwith internal lead ballasting to providesuperb stability in any sea condition.2 PurposefulNordhavn’s unrivaled track record for themost successful worldwide cruising showsour boats are designed to do their jobs anddo them well.3 Ruggedly ConstructedNeed convincing that a solid fiberglass hullis best? The Nordhavn 57 Bagan was forcedinto a role of Arctic ice breaker while transitingthe Northwest Passage and sufferedonly some chipped bottom paint.4 Preeminently EquippedWe use only the most reliable, top-of-theline equipment. Frustration over cheap,undependable components do not make forenjoyable boating.5 InnovativeOur engineers continually strive for ways toadvance our designs. Pioneering architecturalconcepts such as engine room maintenancestrakes and our reliability enhancinggravity-fed fuel systems can’t be foundon any other brand’s yachts.6 SafeIs there any more important feature?Nordhavn has a five-person engineeringdepartment dedicated to the safety of its vesselsand a two-man operation devoted to writingthe most comprehensive (and highly soughtafter) operator’s manuals. Plus, no ownerleaves the dock without being thoroughlytrained on running the boat and its systems.7 ComfortableNordhavns are built to be the most seakindly,stable, quiet, water tight, clean and comfortablevessels afloat. And they are.8 ManageableThe majority of owners are also operators.Most 76 owners run their boats withoutcaptains. Design, equipment and superbengineering allow average enthusiasts tocruise their vessels worldwide with completeconfidence. There are even 86 owners whorun solo.9 Investment-WorthyA timeless, rugged, proven design can beenjoyed today and for generations to come.10 ResalableProven Nordhavns have among the highestvalues on the brokerage market. Simplystated, the best boats are worth the most.And Nordhavn’s seven factory-direct officesthe world over are best at getting you topdollar for your boat.11 ReputableIt’s easy to say you’re the best, but only historycan back you up. A rich, boat-buildinghistory spanning over 30 years has earnedus dozens of repeat customers. More than500 boats built safely and not one singledefault. Dig deep into the heart and soulof a boat and the company who buildsit. It’s only then do you really know whatyou’re getting yourself into.For a more comprehensive interpretation ofthis ad, visit nordhavn.com.Background Photo:We are just coastal cruisers, do we really need a seaworthyboat? This shot of a Nordhavn 62 less than 10miles off the coast of Ft. Lauderdale shows thatconditions can change, even on a nice sunny day.40II 43 47 52 55 56MS 60 62 63 64 68 72 75EYF 76 86 120Pacific Asian Enterprises • 34179 Golden Lantern, Suite 101 • Dana Point, CA 92629949.496.4848 Fax 949.240.2398 www.nordhavn.com