Recent content by sailswim

Cross cut Vectran seems to be popular for in-mast furling mainsails in the UK. I had a conversation with one prominent South coast sailmaker who has a system of full length and shorter battens which sounds like a brilliant system for keeping shape and when furling should stop the sail from...

Vyv Cox replaced a Vectran genoa with a Hydranet tri-radial - if he comes along he he might tell us the main differences he has noticed.

My understanding is that Hydranet, whether it is the type made for crosscut sails, or the type made for radial sails, is superior in a number of ways to Vectron, but maybe not always better value, depending on the boat and the buyer. Vectron lasts very well but is a heavier, thicker cloth than...

Thanks for the advice about UV-resistant thread. Any particular reason Vyv why you are opting for Hydranet tri-radial instead of Vektron. I know from other forum posts that you were very pleased with the Vektron sails since original purchase over 20 years ago?

I've been reading a few oldish threads, as I'm about to decide between Vectron and HydraNet (both from Dimension Polyant). There is a quite a price difference between them at the moment, for my 44 footer (about £2000 difference for the mainsail) Do any of you previous posters in this thread...

The boat in question was built in 2009 and had this job done 2 years ago. It is based in Portugal and afloat presumably most of the year. I am used to older boats in colder climates, and lifting out for 6 months in the off season. So my question is not about the merits or methods of doing...

Thanks Guys. Coming from a 1978 Rival the Jeanneau 42.2 doesn't look very dated to me and I would have no qualms about setting off in a quality 20-year old boat. The budget would go a lot further too.

good points, thanks. Early days in terms of making plans. The places we get to may be more determined by how long we want to stop and explore along the way. A winter transatlantic crossing and a return via the Azores would also be very satisfying and achievable in the academic year (the kids...

We are a family of 4, looking for a 3-cabin cruiser for a gap-year liveaboard adventure starting in 2021. Destinations to include Carribbean, perhaps Panama / Galapagos, Vancouver. I'd love to hear from those with more knowledge of the above boats. I have sailed a Rival34 for a number of years -...

thanks for that useful advice, we will practise!

john_morris_uk - I was hoping someone like you might be lurking. Is "blind nav" by a candidate at the discretion of the YM examiner? Would you take a dim view of a candidate without an impellor log and a Walker log as backup to GPS? For those familiar with Walker logs, is the streaming &...

thank you. If it is normal for a candidate to be sent below to navigate without GPS, pretending that the boat is in fog, with only the depthsounder, compass & log allowed, then I think I'd probably refit the impeller & get a working display for it. Or get some practice in with the Walker log ...

For an RYA YM assessment do I need to be concerned about the following...? I removed the log impeller from the hull in my boat last year and glassed over the hole, as the head unit / display stopped working. In my ship's log I usually record SOG and distance to waypoint from the GPS...

Thanks again, great advice & I will keep an eye on the bearing, replaced last year

thanks for the advice RichardS, VicS and Tranona. They are zinc anodes. The suggestion that the shaft was not shortened when the flexible coupling was installed is very plausible indeed & the recommendation to shorten the shaft now and fit a hull anode makes sense. It looks like the shaft could...