Yachting back issues from May 1996:
The taming of the spinnaker: what actually happens whey you pull those 'strings.'
May 01, 1996; ... LAST MONTH I WROTE THERE ARE only four things sailors can do to affect spinnaker shape: 1) Raise and lower the pole to change the depth, particularly at the top of the sail; 2) raise and lower the pole to change where the depth or draft falls; 3) trim the pole back and forth to change the ...
You called me a what?(lack of courtesy in yachting)(Column)
May 01, 1996; ... I OFTEN CROSS WAKES WITH YACHTSMEN (examples provided below) who remind me of a prophetic passage I uncovered in an account of a cruise down the `ditch' (Intracoastal Waterway if you prefer) circa 1946: "We have learned to expect little or no consideration from other automobile drivers on ...
The ultimate shortcut: tips for transiting the Panama Canal, the shortest distance between the Atlantic and the Pacific.
May 01, 1996; ... LIKE THE PAGES OF A GIANT TOME OF A PACIFIC adventure story, the Miraflores lock gates began to swing open. Our Panama Canal adviser shouted, "Let go," and the lock warps splashed into the water. Suddenly, the bow took a punch from an eddy caused by water entering the chamber and surged ...
Winning ground at the windward mark.(sailboat racing)
May 01, 1996; ... JUST AS THE LEEWARD MARK IS AN important rounding, the windward mark is another critical juncture in a race where you have the opportunity to make great gains by your planning, positioning and execution.At the end of the windward leg, especially the first beat of the race, there is ...
Uncompromised positioning: the White House signals an end to GPS selective availability.(Global Positioning System)
May 01, 1996; ... AS PART OF A REVIEW OF NATIONAL SPACE AND technology policy, the Clinton Administration plans, by Executive Order this spring, to direct the Department of Defense to turn off the "selective availability" of Global Positioning Satellite signals. SA has kept commercial GPS receivers from being ...
Squeezing personal watercraft: more states are finding ways to restrict their use.
May 01, 1996; ... THEY ARE ONE OF THE GREAT COMMERCIAL SUCCESS stories of this decade. Personal watercraft sales are growing by more than 30 percent a year. And they've not only provided a nice profit for manufacturers and dealers but they've brought a new generation of boaters to the water.But ...
Predator 78.(motorboat design)
May 01, 1996; ... SUNSEEKER'S PREDATOR 78 IS AN ASTON MARTIN DB7 Volante convertible for the sea. Like the Aston, which combines graceful lines, proper burled walnut trim in a leather cockpit, better than 150 mph speed and price-spawned exclusivity (about $135,000 a copy), the Predator is English, has ...
Sweden 370.(sailboat)(Evaluation)
May 01, 1996; ... FOG, LIGHT AIR, REFRIGERATOR cold: No amount of GoreTex, nylon, polyester or wool could keep my flesh from feeling like shrimp cocktail as we flogged about the Severn River in search of breeze. We finally found some light stuff that made the Sweden 370 go, but by then I was shaking and ...
Formula 41 PC.(motorboat)(Evaluation)
May 01, 1996; ... THE NAMES THUNDERBIRD AND Formula recall to my mind the image of the race-bred 233 Formula with Don Aronow at the wheel. With this image, torn from an advertisement in YACHTING, I persuaded my father to buy a new 233 in 1969. For the past 20 years Thunderbird has been under the watchful eyes ...
Absolute power.(new marine diesel engine technology)
May 01, 1996; ... No sound awakens the motorhead/yachtsman's passions quite like the rumble of powerful diesels. If you're one, you know the feeling. When the starter motors stir these monsters to life, a throbbing restlessness massages the soles of your feet and punches the pit of your stomach. All that ...
The best of both worlds.(Tiara 4100 Open motorboat)(Evaluation)(Cover Story)
May 01, 1996; ... Can a great cruising boat also be a great fishing boat? Tiara Yachts believes so and, to prove the point, offered us the new 4100 Open for a weekend. It's the latest example of a breed of design that is intended to accommodate a variety of missions--a tough goal because yacht design always ...
Outside passage: yacht charter adventure on Vancouver Island's Barkley Sound.(includes information on Pacific Rim National Park Reserve)
May 01, 1996; ... We were within sight of bashing breakers off Cape Beale Lighthouse. A chill wriggled up my back as we approached the site of the 1930 wreck of the Thiepval. The coastal patrol boat sank after she struck an uncharted rock near the mouth of Barkley Sound, our cruising ground for the next week ...
The king of Hinckleys.(Hinckley Sou'wester 70 motoryacht)(Evaluation)
May 01, 1996; ... Even in a harbor full of Hinckley Bermuda 40s, Sou'wester 42s and the occasional Pilot 35, Avatar, a custom Hinckley Sou'wester 70, stands out like a DaVinci in a high-school art show. No wonder. Her designer, Bruce King, is an artist of the first order. Although his style shows elements ...
Paper chase: the Feds struggle to formulate a coherent yacht titling and documentation system.
May 01, 1996; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]Capping months of shopping, you have finally found a beautiful five-year-old cockpit motoryacht. You've made the down payment and arranged to finance the balance of the purchase price. Just to be careful, you hired a vessel documentation service to check prior ...
Deck hatches: let the sun shine in. (Boat Owner's Buyers Guide)(Buyers Guide)
May 01, 1996; ... YACHTSMEN, CONVICTS AND HOUSE PLANTS ALL have one thing in common: they crave fresh air and plenty of daylight. However, if you've misplaced a key or slip of paper belowdecks in your personal liner lately, and you needed a strong flashlight to find it, chances are you can name one yachtsman ...