Recent Articles in Gear Tests
In which we put various items of nautical paraphernalia through their pacesDecathlon Oilskins / Guy Cotten Oilskins
by Jill Dickin Schinas • Published on the 16th of February 2010 in Gear Tests • No Comments
Rox modelling the Guy Cotten oilskin smock
Oilies have come a long way since I was a kid. Way back then, we wore either heavy-duty canvas smocks or stiff, plastic-coated cotton ones. I guess the plastic-coated cloth must have been the hip new thing. Next to come along were thin nylon jackets more suited to trekking in a light drizzle than to fending off buckets of seawater, but the quality of these garments rapidly improved – the nylon cloth became thicker and more waterproof, and the design became more ergonomic – until, by the 1980s, sailors could weather the storm in comfort in a tough, cosy oilskin jacket with matching chest-high trousers.
Since then the colours have become trendier, the cloth has become even more high tech, and prices have rocketed.
A set of ocean-grade oilskins can now cost as much as £900.
But are these top brand oilies really any better than the cut price ones, or are we yotties being fed a load of hype and taken for a ride? Your impecunious correspondents set out to discover the truth of this matter. (more…)
The Search for a Suitable Sailing Tender
by Jill Dickin Schinas • Published on the 2nd of February 2010 in Gear Tests • 1 Comment
One of the all time favourite pursuits of a sea-going child is messing about in a boat. But not the big boat. No, if your seafaring youngster is under the age of twelve then handling the mothership will probably hold little allure for him; he (or she) simply won’t have the strength to manage the genoa or the patience to helm for more than half an hour on the same heading. Big boat sailing is actually quite boring for little children, which is why they need to find other amusements while you are on passage. But messing around in a kiddy-sized vessel is another matter. For the smallest sprats a rowing dinghy is all that is needed, but a sea-thing of six years or over is missing out in a big way if he doesn’t have his very own sailing ship. (more…)
Coppercoat Antifouling On Test
by Jill Dickin Schinas • Published on the 10th of November 2009 in Gear Tests • 10 CommentsWell, almost a year has passed since we slipped the boat and slapped on a coat of copper antifouling. So, it’s time we let you know how things are doing down there, under the water.
To recap: Before we built Mollymawk we used to own a GRP yacht, and a year or so before we sold her she was painted with Copperbot, the original copper-impregnated epoxy antifouling. This type of antifouling is said to be less damaging to the environment than any of the metal-leaching kinds, but it was a very new thing at that time and we knew that we were taking a gamble.
Happily, the gamble paid off; that copper paint was fantastic. The boat once spent three months in a French marina renown for its fouling, and while the other yachts all acquired lush gardens and pet eco-systems on their undersides, our boat stayed absolutely and perfectly clean! (more…)
LED Anchor Lights
by Jill Dickin Schinas • Published on the 3rd of November 2009 in Gear Tests • 2 Comments
Some years ago we found ourselves drifting along under full sail on a night with no moon. We were not going far, and we had hoped to be at anchor before nightfall, but since there was no wind – and since we don’t believe in using the engine except in time of need – a two hour sprint had been transformed into an eight-hour marathon.
So there we were lazing along at scarcely half a knot, with our island destination on the bow, when suddenly from out of the darkness there appeared the dark and indistinct shape of a yacht at anchor. We had been gazing in this same direction for five hours, and yet we didn’t notice the yacht until it was about four boat-lengths away. Had we been travelling just a tad faster – at two knots, say – then we would have T-boned it.
CREWSAVER v BALTIC – Sprayhoods and Jackets compared
by Jill Dickin Schinas • Published on the 22nd of April 2009 in Gear Tests • No CommentsYou don’t have to have given very much thought to the matter of falling overboard from a yacht to have realised that a lifejacket may not save your life.
You don’t have to have crossed an ocean to have seen the spray tumbling down the face of the waves, and if you have ever swum at the beach you will surely have no difficulty in putting two and two together. Swimming at the beach is not like charging up and down the lanes in a pool; even on a relatively calm day it tends to be very much “wetter”. Swimming in the middle of the sea would obviously be wetter still. Anybody who goes overboard out there is going to have a rather lively time.
Lifejacket tests tend to be conducted on the placid waters of the municipal pool, but perhaps they ought really to take place inside a washing machine. (more…)
Testing the Crewfit Junior and Crewfit Adult Lifejackets
by Jill Dickin Schinas • Published on the 24th of October 2008 in Gear Tests • 3 CommentsWHY TEST YOUR LIFEJACKET ?
The majority of yachtsmen never, ever use their lifejackets. They may wear them on deck but most are careful enough – or lucky enough – never to fall in, and most are blasé enough – or careless enough – never to get round to trying them out in the water.
This makes no sense.
How many times have you bought something – a camera, perhaps, or a tool, or a cooking utensil – and found that it did not perform according to your expectations? It may have performed badly, or it may have performed extraordinarily well – or it may simply have done something rather different from what you expected. It is easy, if you have never used a product, to overlook certain drawbacks or to lose track of your own requirements. For instance, until I bought a camcorder I had never realised how difficult it is to get good film footage on a machine which has a side-screen but no view-finder. Clearly, knowing how a product will behave when it is used is important – particularly when the product is something on which your life may depend. (more…)
Foul Deeds
by Jill Dickin Schinas • Published on the 18th of September 2008 in Gear Tests • 2 CommentsAntifoul has always been a hot topic aboard Mollymawk. We have always been troubled by the knowledge that conventional antifouling paints are expensive, highly toxic and, to a large extent, ineffective. Eight years have passed since we last slipped the boat and slapped on a coat of something nasty. In the intervening years we have kept a listening watch, hoping to hear of some new discovery which will solve our worries. Surely, there must be something which is bad for barnacles but not so bad that the sea becomes a poisonous soup? Surely there must be something that they just can’t stick to? (more…)
Ship’s Dog Tests her Lifejacket
by Jill Dickin Schinas • Published on the 17th of September 2008 in Gear Tests • No CommentsToday the ship’s dog finally took the plunge.
All summer long she has been making a nuisance of herself, barking madly and snapping at the heels of anyone who jumps or dives from the side-deck – so we decided that it was high time she joined in the fun. (more…)
Inflatable Canoes
by Jill Dickin Schinas • Published on the 2nd of October 2007 in Gear Tests • 1 CommentSearching for a way to win back her figure and fitness, but without the expenditure of any unpleasant effort, Jill discovers canoeing. There is just one problem, and that is the matter of stowage. If you think a couple of canoes take up a lot of room in your garage, try fitting them onboard a yacht! Clearly, the answer lies in acquiring a pop-up version which, at the end of the day’s play, can be magicked away and hidden under the bed. A spot of on-line research turned up half a dozen different makes of inflatable canoe and two dozen different models, but can any of these vessels really be paddled along like the real thing? Our intrepid team of testers set out to discover the truth. (more…)
subscribe to our feed
sign up for email notifications