Subject: SailNet e-News / March Madness Ends Soon

From: The SailNet Team <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2007 11:12:40 -0500

Dear SailNet Member!
Spring is here so the excitement is building for those seasonal sailors anxious to get back on the water. In this week's newsletter 
we again bring you a couple of interesting articles from our friends at Good Old Boat and Practical Sailor. As usual the SailNet 
forums are full of robust and informative discussions. Take a look at the forums below on refrigeration conservation and chain 
stoppers and chain tensioners. Also check out the new and improved Sailnet Shop. Try out the new search engine for all of your 
sailing gear needs. 

Chris — SailNet Crew
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A Good Old Boat Magazine Featured Article
Low-Cost Outfitting
by Gerry McGowen

You make lists of things you want to repair or upgrade on your project boat. But when you visit your local chandlery, reality sets 
in: "How can I tell my spouse how much it will cost to fix up the boat?" 

All is not lost. There are ways to significantly cut the cost of the things you have to do or want to do. I like to call it 
low-cost outfitting, rather than cheap outfitting. Cheap outfitting means substituting something cheap or shoddy for the real 
stuff; low-cost outfitting means finding the real stuff at a bargain. What follows are the secrets of a frugal boater who has 
done this on five boats over the past 16 years." 

Read the rest of the story at:
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-maintenance-articles/30531-low-cost-outfitting.html?highlight=outfitting

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RAYMARINE MARCH MADNESS
An extra 5% OFF ALL RAYMARINE UNITS
View at http://shop.sailnet.com/marchmadness.php
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A Practical Sailor Magazine Featured Article
Details from a Delivery

"During an Atlantic delivery this spring, we got intimate with a Garmin eTrex, Hood mainsail furling, and a lot of plumbing.

At Practical Sailor we field a lot of questions about offshore sailing, the pursuit of which some take as a matter of course, 
others see as sort of a holy grail, and still others are content to regard from a distance. In any case, an offshore passage 
is a true adventure, the lessons from which tend to come in concentrated form.

At any given time, it seems that at least one of our regular contributors is offshore—along with what must be a fair proportion 
of readers, judging from e-mail addresses and hailing locales reported in letters.

It's always good to get reports from the briny world. Here's one from a contributing editor who went on delivery duty this 
spring—signing on for a 1,600-mile passage aboard a 1978 Hinckley Sou'wester 50 from the Virgin Islands to Maine."

Read the rest of the story at:
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/seamanship-articles/30534-details-delivery.html?highlight=Details+Delivery

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Hot Forum Discussions
Refrigeration 
Cruisingdad started a recent discussion on refrigeration: "Well, as this is the cruising forum, I felt it might be beneficial 
to discuss refrigeration techniques that have worked for us to keep your 12v costs at a minimum. I am not the final expert on 
this (or anything in life, for that matter), so I urge anyone with other ideas to feel free and chip in..

Refrigeration. It is one of those things that I have had old salts tell me you do not need, but I will be darned if I will 
do without. There would be a mutiny of kids, wife, and dogs (not sure who would lead it either!!). But, refrigeration has 
the distinction of being about the biggest electrical hog on a boat on a the hook. Many of the modern coastal production 
cruisers use Adler-Barbor refrigeration, as I do. Short of sticking an ice-pick through it (no laughs... it COULD happen 
to you!!), it has served us well on our many trips. The general budget for a AB system is about 50-60 ah/day. With that 
in mind, even large 12v systems will begin to get taxed before long. Thus, here are some key ways you can do your own 
Refrigeration Conservation."

Cruisingdad adds some great ideas and generates a lively discussion.

View the rest of the threads on this subject at:
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/cruising/29811-refrigeration-conservation.html
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NEW! MUSTANG SURVIVAL RESCUE STICK
A THROWABLE EMERGENCY RESCUE INFLATABLE
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 ICOM IC-M602 VHR TRANSCEIVER with COMMAND MIC II at $399.99!
View at http://shop.sailnet.com/product_info.php/products_id/35228
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Hot Forum Discussions
Chain Stopper or Chain Tensioner? 

"So we have our Lewmar windlass installed and bow roller, what do people think about a chain stopper vs. the chain tensioner? 
And can someone explain the use of both and how that work. Thanks." - 1970Columbia34 

"The stopper is a more rugged and foolproof system for insuring the chain does not go "south" with your anchor while at sea. 
Either should be used as a substitute for a nylon "snubber" while at anchor but can serve as a backup to insure no windlass damage 
if the snubber gets detached. The tensioner is more useful as a device to eliminate chain rattle on deck." - Camaraderie

"We rely on a snubber I fashioned from a 20 ft 5/8" 3-strand nylon dock line. After securing the looped end to a bow cleat, 
a galv chain hook, which slides freely along this line, is clipped to the chain - after pulling slack to the rode. 
This setup allows multiple snubber length adjustments while securing the set anchor, eliminates strain on our windlass 
and also enables me to firmly powerset the bottom tackle without damaging the gypsy or windlass mounts." - TrueBlue

"The chain stopper is designed to take the some of the load off the windlass, but if you were using an all-chain rode, 
you really should be using a nylon snubber line—as I don't think a chain stopper is capable of dealing with the loads 
generated by an anchor rode.

However, I think that 20' is a bit short on the snubber line, since it will probably require you to bring it in and then 
re-locate the chain hook if you need to let out additional scope for any reason.

The chain tensioner is quite nice for holding an anchor in the roller tightly so that it doesn't rattle, but isn't designed 
to take much of a load. As a safety measure, I would also secure the anchor to the boat using a piece of 1/4" line or so.

The real use of a chain stopper, the top item pictured in the OP, is when you have to haul up an anchor rode and anchor by hand. 
It allows you to stop, change your grip on the chain and rest a bit, without having the anchor and rode return to the bottom..." 
- Sailingdog

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-maintenance/30439-chain-stopper-chain-tensioner.html
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