Evaluation of Lewmar's new replacement screens.

My old bug screens on my ='97 Catalina 42 MKII were rotting. It was time to replace them. The new screens looked good online, but it was $240 to replace the 6 biggest port screens on my boat. Envisioning hot summer nights, I dove in.

I can say that I am glad that I did. Although costly, I feel the new ones are much better quality than the previous screens that were injection molded plastic with fiberglass screen embedded in the plastic frame. There appears to be a heavy wire frame that the new black screen is sewn around with some kind of sunlight resistant fabric covering the outside frame.

The weak point is the connection of the frame attachment system. The rigid plastic clips are attached to the screen, not the wire frame. A small button is glued onto the clip over a hole punched in the screen. I bought six and one came broken. This doesn't mean 1 in 6 are bad. I was just unlucky. I can see that that button which is snapped on and glued down can potentially break under stress. Defender quickly replaced the broken one. The button is on the outside but I experience no snagging or damage during a summers use.

They snap in with much better holding power than the old ones. They have no edges that can catch lines outside. I even rolled the tender up against one this Fall without damaging it. I never felt the old ones were firmly attached. The slight stretchiness of the screen holds the frame tightly agains the metal window frame. The clip which slides down to lock the system in place holds the system together fast. From the outside, they just make the windows look dark. So if you are waiting to buy these, I give them the thumbs up.

Review of: My Team Talks Headsets. By Cruising Solutions

If there is one topic that everyone has a story to tell about, it is anchoring. Anchoring is a spectator sport so get to your harbor early and enjoy the show.  After two decades sailing, I have seen all the stages of anchoring with your spouse. First you give hand signals that your spouse doesn't recognize though they make perfect sense to you. Then, when your crew mate gives you a confused look, you repeat the signal while miming the speech with your mouth in a slow O-V-E-R-L-Y   D-R-A-M-A-T-I-C way. Then frustration takes over, you point wildly with so much effort that you injure your rotator cuff. I call this the angry mime phase. Finally things boil down to yelling over the sound of the motor, and then one last hand signal that everyone knows. Your evening is ruined, and you have guaranteed that you won't be invited for cocktails on any of the neighboring boats.

 It's one of those things that you just suffer with when you're on a boat. The inability to communicate with the person at the helm because it's too far, they can't see you, or they can't hear you, is just a frustrating detail that we tend to live with. I have found that it really isn't necessary. My wife and I now wear Cruising Solutions My Team Talks headsets every time we pick up or drop a mooring, dock the boat, or pick up or drop our anchor. To put it in the words of one of my cruising friends, "It's like she's in my head!" There is never any confusion and you never have to raise your voice. We do find it helpful to repeat what the other person says as we do it. So if I say, "Shift into neutral." My wife repeats, "shifting into neutral."

Blue LED shows Power On

Once we became used to them, almost everything about the new headsets was better. They were significantly more expensive but there were significant differences between the two types of headsets. One thing that I really appreciate is the ability to instantly turn off my communication with my wife, so that I can talk to someone else on the dock and with the press of a button we reconnect. Warning sailors, "turning off" your wife when she is mad is a bad idea! The Marriage Savers are on full time and it is possible to yell in your wife's ear when you are calling to someone on the dock, or confuse the person on the other end when you aren't talking to them. They are smaller, lighter, more powerful, have less static interference, and stay on your head better then the Marriage Savers do. Additionally they could fit on your head inside the hood of your foul weather gear (when you may need the the most) which the Marriage Savers do not. They are rechargeable which is far better than 9V batteries as you do not need to keep an extra set of batteries around in case they die. Of course they tell you when the battery is getting low too. The volume is readily controllable whereas the marriage savers only have a high and low setting. They are totally private which is important if you don't like interruptions from other boaters. I particularly like the indicator lights. I have accidentally left my Marriage Savers on thus killing the battery only to find them dead when I need them the most.

When I received the headsets in the mail I was excited and put them together quickly and tried to pair them. They connected but I received a little bit of static and I was definitely having trouble with one headset. I called Cruising Solutions and they recommended a factory reset and that did the job. We have become very accustomed to using them, but there are a few things that it took me a while to get used to. This is a good time to note that you need to buy at least two. Given that upto 4 headsets can be paired for private communiaton, they are sold by the piece, not the pair. This is a major factor for some crews, who may want to connect more headsets, not just 2, in order to keep the entire crew in the loop.

Boom Mic Length

I have fount that the boom microphone seems a little short. It fits my wife but, it only reaches the corner of my mouth so it's very important to have the microphone facing toward your mouth and curved so that is right in front of the corner of your mouth otherwise it may be hard for your companion to hear you. Given time, I have learned to appreciate the compact nature of the headsets. The Marriage Savers were great, but it is possible for people to not even notice that you are wearing the My Team Talks headsets as they are much smaller and less obtrusive. You don't look like you're directing traffic on the deck of a aircraft carrier (though that is far preferable to not communicating.)


I occasionally wear glasses and the My Team Talks headset mounts over and behind your ears. They are much more stable than the Marriage Savers and will remain on your head in all positions, but they do tend to interfere a little with my wireframe glasses. The foam ear covers of the Marriage Savers worked a little better for this but the 

Put Glasses On After Headset

Marriage Savers are heavier and tend to slide around on your head, particularly when you bend over. The My Team Talks headsets fit both my wife and I very well. I think that they adjust more readily to different size heads. You have to put the glasses on after placing your headset on to get the best fit.

The My Team Talks headsets came without a charging transformer. You get a USB cord, and they will plug into any Apple or Android USB charger that excepts USB cords but I expected to receive a wall outlet inverter with the set. I had no trouble finding extra transformers around the house from old cell phones but that may be an issue with other people. I purchased a couple of inexpensive converters that fit into 12 V lighter sockets on the boat that have USB ports in them for $5.99 each.

Because of the complexity of the Bluetooth headset, it took me longer to learn how to use them. The Marriage Savers are simply "on and off" where as the Bluetooth headsets are capable of many different functions and therefore you need to spend some time with the manual and learn how to turn them on and off and connect to the other person. Not a big deal, but if you are a "manual skipper" like I am, you will find yourself going back to read the directions. I couldn't begin to discuss all the other things these do like connect to your cell phone, or let you listen to music wirelessly. That is beyond the scope of the ariticle.

The last issue is a minor one. I really liked the storage bag that the Marriage Savers came in. The My Team Talks headsets do not come in a storage bag, they only come in a cardboard box. So you need to find a place to store them which can be a hassle on a boat. I sold my old Marriage Savers inexpensively to a friend but kept the storage bag for the new headsets.

As always I try to be honest when writing these evaluations. I list the good the bad and I can say that these are a good product and that I'm glad I have them. Though the price seemed expensive, now that I have used them, they are worth it. I beleive that they will be one of those things I can't imagine living without like a windlass or self tailing winches. Currently we spend about 2 months living aboard each year, but my wife and I intend to live on our boat year round and the quality of these headsets fits our needs better than the Marriage Savers did.  Full disclosure, I received a small discount when purchasing the "My Team Talks" given that I would try them out and evaluate them. I have used them for a few weeks and have put my impressions in this blog post. 

Captain Doug Purdy

Review: The New Port Henry Marina on Lake Champlain

The marina itself was raised a couple feet with gravel.

Seldom has a marina undergone such a extreme makeover as Port Henry has. I once kept a 23' sail boat out of there when it was owned by the Velez family back in the late 80's. Many things have changed since those days.  The marina location was used as the site for the construction of the bridge at Crown Point. Once New York and Vermont were done using the location it was turned over to the owner who has been installing a first rate marina.


The most important part of a marina isn't its equipment or its location. The most important part is the service and staff. I found Dave the manager to be knowledgeable and accomodating. He has big plans for the marina and is well on his way to implementing them.  The other people working there were very polite and helpful as well.

Fishing Docks

The site has been raised with gravel from the old marina so that it can operate at over 100 feet of water level. It is well protected by the two breakwaters that were installed by the state. The breakwaters separate the fishing boats which leave early in the morning and the cruising boats which tend to sleep in. It is a neat concept that will ensure quieter mornings for both parties. It might be a little rough on a mooring in a northerly breeze but the docks are well protected.

One of the large power distribution boxes.

breakwater

There is a 25 Ton travel lift and plenty of water under the lift to get boats out. The travel lift is used to place the boats on the cradles and or jackstands.  This will handle very large boats. Once I got a look at the lift and the space, I decided to move my boat there for the winter. There will be power and water available for people to work on their boats in the spring on the hard.

The docks were brand new and really nice. I especially like the height of the docks. I didn't need a ladder to get down to the dock from the deck of my boat.  The new docks have brand new power poles and several large service panels are spread out. There seems to be plenty of infrastructure available for the place to expand. When you build from the ground up you can put in good equipment and these docs were as good as any I had been on around the lake. The lighted power poles were also very nice.

There is a brand new pumpout on the work dock. You enter the northerly section of the marina and the pumpout dock is on the end of the first dock on your right. Water and electricity were easy to reach and I had no trouble getting my 42' boat into the first set of docks.

The bathrooms were just being finished as I visited. They were brand new and were very clean. On the other end of the building there were two drains being plumbed in for laundry. I can't think of very many marinas with laundry in them on this lake.

The good and the bad. Many of the marinas on the New York shore of Lake Champlain have to deal with sound from trains as they travel north toward Montreal.  We heard 4 trains go through in the 24 hours we were there. Most of them were tankers cars with oil. I believe one was at night. Both marinas in the Port Henry area have train tracks near them. There is a state boat launch just south of the marina and there is a lot of traffic but it won't upset the marina patrons as it is far enough away. There is a dollar store and an ice cream stand a few hundred feet away and up the hill in town you will find a real grocery store which is the only one I can think of on the lake other than in Burlington. The town is very quiet and although it has seen better days during the mining era of days gone by, it seemed to still be a quiet Adirondack town. There are a places to eat in town and even a small little trailer that serves breakfast at the state boat launch. There are also several vacant buildings in town. This marina might bring in more people during the summer which the local economy could use. The mining museum in town is worth a visit if you are staying for long enough for a good walk.

Prices are reasonable. You can check out their website at http://porthenrymarina.com/

This blog was written on 8/10/14 and is my personal opinion about my visit.

My Anchoring Routine.

There are probably as many opinions about anchoring as there are sailors. I have read countless articles and tests which try to simulate anchoring by pulling on an anchor with a tug boat or truck winch. I can only offer what I have learned over the last 20 years with the caveat that any person you ask will likely tell you that the anchor that they own is the best one.

An anchors holding power is based on two things. One, its ability to dig into various bottoms, and two, the surface area that is in contact with that bottom thus transferring the load over a greater area. One anchor is likely to not be optimal in all bottoms and all conditions. I now carry 3 anchors on board. I have a 22lb danforth buried in the aft locker, a Fortress-FX23 as a second anchor, and a Rocna 25 (55lbs) that I use as my primary anchor on my 42' sloop.

Please remember that my explanations here are based primarily on my opinion and experiences and that I am not writing for any anchor company.  Also, I make no guarantees that I know everything or that this article is the sum total of what you need to know to anchor well. Read, read, read some more, talk with experienced cruisers, and experiment yourself.  Above all don't skimp on the equipment and over time you will be able to sleep better at night.

My 35lb Delta anchor has failed to dig in for me on some bottoms, primarily really hard bottoms and really soft bottoms. It has been a good anchor for this lake and I have used it on the last two boats for about 15 years.  A couple weeks ago, my boat swung in a sudden wind shift and the Delta did not reset and I had to ride to the boat at top speed in my tender to rescue it before it drifted onto the rocks. This was not necessarily the fault of the anchor. I could have anchored farther from shore in an area that was more exposed but had more room for the anchor to reset and possibly better bottom conditions. It is hard to say what the cause was.

I began researching new anchors rather than waiting for my cruising lifestyle to require me to get a bigger hook. My anchor was also just big enough for my boat, and was not over sized which often helps them hold more due to the increased weight and the surface area that bigger hooks provide.

I came down to two choices, one was the Rocna 25 (55lbs) which was significantly heavier than my current anchor and the other was an outsider called the Mantus which has some very interesting videos which demonstrate its superior setting ability according to the manufacturer. The Rocna was recommended by many liveaboards who own the same boat as me and I ended up choosing it because of those recommendations.  The Mantus is untested by most consumer groups so far and also recommended a 65lb anchor which had a longer shank that was likely to make it hard to fit on my bow. I haven't used it so I have no opinion on it.

The big test was when a storm front went through and I experienced winds in the 40s. The Rocna held. A boat with a Bruce did not, and one with a Delta did not while another with a Delta held just fine.  The bottom was very deep mud. I loaned my Fortress, which doesn't have any chain, to a 37' boat whose Delta had failed to hold while trying to originally set it and the Fortress didn't budge despite the boat putting the rail in the water as it sailed back and forth in the storm.  I believe soft mud needs surface area like Danforth designs have so I expected the Fortress to hold well. There were other circumstances that made this an unscientific test. One of the Deltas had limited chain, and the Bruce was on a limited scope when compared to me, so you see that how you set the anchor and the entire system is part of the equation more so than just buying a good hook and everything will be anchoring heaven.

My opinions:

1. Use chain if you can with a nylon snubber to reduce the shock loads. Chain forms a cantenary  which causes the pull on the anchor to be horizontal to the bottom or even downward. The more the better. I will switch from 80' to 300' of all chain rode before leaving Lake Champlain with its ideal bottom conditions. However, once the wind blows hard, the chain straightens out and does little good.

2. More scope is better when hanging on the hook or setting it. A 5 to 1 scope (including the distance from the bow to the bottom) is what is usually recommended as a minimum. Up to 10 to one or above in a storm, and less may work in a very protected area.  For years I had 50' of chain with 200' of nylon on a Delta and did just fine. I could lift the 5/16" chain and the light anchor that was on my 30' sailboat without a winch. I could set on a long rode and pull up to the chain in a tight anchorage if it was protected. Bigger is better so if you can go up one size and still handle the tackle, consider it.

3. Set the anchor. Not with your hands and back Danforth owners! Tie it to the boat and back down with lots of power while you rest your hand on the line. I use 2000 rpms and I know I have exerted as much force as most wind conditions will so I can rest more easily. It doesn't hurt to leave it in reverse for a couple minutes at those higher rpms to let the anchor settle in.  If the line jumps or moves and fails to stop your backward momentum then it isn't digging in and you will have to try again in a different spot. Take a bearing on nearby shoreline to determine where you left the hook. I mark the spot I dropped the  hook on the GPS for an estimate of how much line I have out and to tell if I have drifted.

4. Waves are probably worse than wind. The sudden shock loads that a boat can apply to its ground tackle when it is sideways to the wind in wavy conditions are considerable. Look for protection in an anchorage with enough room to reset if the wind switches unexpectedly.

5. Have a plan for what to do if there is a sudden problem. I have buoyed an anchor as someone dragged toward me in the middle of the night and left it in order to anchor on my secondary. I have bugged out at 3AM in a sudden wind shift with 30+ knot winds and rain in seas that quickly built to 4' or more.  Have your boat ready to leave when you go to bed. I pull up the outboard on the dinghy but leave it tied on well. I put the ladder away and make sure the boat is ship shape before sleeping. I have clothing ready to put on when I go to bed. I use a GPS with an anchor alarm that tells me if the boat has swung or dragged. If it swings, I restart the engine and reset it.

6. I personally do not use two anchors at a time as they always end up twisted which can make picking them up in an emergency a mess. I do carry more than one type and like the light weight aluminum Fortress anchor as I can deploy it over the bow with a mostly rope rode by hand. An anchor design is a trade-off, there are good ones, but no perfect ones.

7. I only use an anchor float in rocky conditions where I fear not being able to get the anchor out. By the way, I break the anchor out with my boat on the shortest scope possible, not my back. I digress, anchor floats can get hooked on your prop in a wind shift. Someone else can get hooked on them, and they limit the number of boats that can fit in an anchorage.  Under some conditions it is difficult to tell where a boat's anchor is; if this is the case, hail the boat anchoring near you and inform them of it if they do not have it marked. I have a new product I use that can be disconnected and has not rope, only an elastomeric rubber band. The elastather works well. I added a snap hook to it to let it down to the bottom before bed so it doesn't hook your boat if you spin.

8. I consider rafting to be primarily for calm conditions in protected waters where I can swing on one hook, or tie to shore with several hooks out.

9. If you are having trouble with communications get some two way anchoring headsets.

10. The first person with the anchor down has the rights. They can tell you to move if they feel you are too close and if you anchor with too much scope or bump into them at night, it is your fault. Additionally  you can not anchor on a 15 to 1 scope when everyone around you  has a 5 to one chain rode. If you don't like how the rest of the fleet is anchored, move to a new location away from them.

11. If  you come in late, do not motor up to the front of the fleet and anchor where the real estate has already been taken. Try an alarm clock and get up and leave earlier if you want the best spot.

12. Be respectful. Once the hook is down, neither you nor your music should be heard on the other boats in the anchorage. Go below if you are loud. Just like your car in high school, no one is impressed with your stereo as much as you are!

Read and learn!    There are many good books. It only took a simple google search to find this link. I have not read this particular book.

Nothing in this article represents my acceptance of liability for your anchoring. These are my opinions and are  not intended to train you to anchor or tell you the best way to anchor.

Captain Purdy?

OUPV stands for Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vehicle. I recently went through the certification process to get my OUPV and Masters License.  The Masters License allows you to operate bigger boats with more than 6 passengers on-board. My goal was to gain skills and open up possibilities for a different career after I retire.

How can you ever know enough?  After 23 years of sailing I have learned that although beneficial, there are limits to how much you can learn about sailing from books. Much of the wisdom of old sailors comes from years of experience. Their caution and skill come from facing challenges and sometimes from making errors or watching others who make errors. The old saying that there are only two kinds of sailors, those who have been aground and those that will sums up the experience issue. So was it worth it to seek the training to become a Coast Guard captain?  It depends on your plans. I think when the chips are down, you need all the experience you can muster.

I took a fast track OUPV class from Nav-Ed. The course was designed so that there were only 4 classes, the last of which included the various tests. I think this kind of class is perfect for the busy boater who already has a lot of experience. If you are not good at studying on your own, or do not have the time to read a lot each day, you may be better off in a class with more seat time. I read Chapman's cover to cover during the course and practiced test questions and used apps on my phone to study the rules and light patterns. It was exhausting and several people failed the difficult rules of the road test.  Peter, our teacher, works with his students to help them get ready and then lets them retake the test again.

The process of getting the license is time consuming and requires a great deal of grit. A physical, first aid certification, a background check, getting a TWIC ID card, and completing a drug test are some of the time consuming hoops you must jump through. I would have been lost without Nav-Ed to guide me through the process. Given the importance of the job, I can understand the thoroughness of the Coast Guard.

I did learn many things which I only new of vaguely though many of them may not come up during the course of sailing the East Coast and the Caribbean.  If you are interested in being a professional captain, or just want to maximize your knowledge the OUPV and or Master license may be for you.