Ah, the sun-set over the warm water, the balmy breeze, the stars coming out ...... and only the sounds of buzz, buzz-slap to spoil the paradise!

Mosquitoes breed by laying their eggs in stagnant water ('fresh' not salty). The juvenile stage (or 'blood-worm' as it is known to fish-keepers) matures in the water, rining to the surface to breed and, eventually surfacing and spreading its wings in search of food ... i.e. your blood!

For outside the boat, there are a number of proprietary ointments, creams, candles and sprays with mixed effectiveness depending upon who you ask. Inside the boat, however, is another story. As long as you can keep the insects at bay then you can at least have a good night's sleep. The trouble is that, if there are mosquitoes about, then the weather is likely to warm and humid - so a night spent with battened down hatches is likely to be hot and uncomfortable.

The solution is to buy or make mosquito nets for the hatches and for the companionway. Those for the hatches can be made of a fine net material (patterned if you want to be fancy!) with elastic sewn into the edge. The elastic - no matter what type you use - will only last a few years, so be prepared to rethread them regularly.

Further ventilation can be provided by crafting a replacement wash-board offering protection from mosquitoes but allowing fresh air in the cabin. On approach to this is to cut two sheets of plywood to the same size and shape as the 'real' washboard. Their combined thickness should not be more than that of the original board. Then cut out most of the wood in the heart of the sheets, cut a slightly larger sheet of net material and glue the boards together with the net in between:

You could also create a holder for this screen when not in use (and for the washboard if, as on our boat, there isn't one provided already) with a couple of battens and wider slats fixed on a convenient flat surface (on the outside of the fridge on our Moody).    

Question: How to make a 7 berth sailing cruiser sleep 9? Answer: Add a couple of extra berths of course! Easier said than done, of course, but achievable on many saloon layouts. 

One way to create an extra berth is to convert a single berth to a double. This can often be done for the seat/berth situated alongside the saloon table. Simply cut a sheet of MDF or similar so that, when not in use, it slides underneath the berth cushions. To use the berth, slide out the sheet leaving an overlap on the existing berth (a temporary 'leg' may need to be provided for one or both extended corners). Then use the seat-back cushions or something similar to create a double-size mattress. 

So, now we have 8 instead of 7 berths. What about another one or 2? 

Pilot berths are often provided in boats designed for high-density occupation but they can be added relatively easily and designed for easy stowage when not in use. All that is needed is a sheet of strong canvas or similar material slightly wider than the berth, a wooden batten or two and a rigid pole or tube (a disused wind-surfer mast - light and strong - is ideal).

Create a tube down one edge of the canvas. Secure the other edge (using a batten and plenty of screws) to the boat. Thread the pole through the canvas tube and support at either end using brackets on bulkeads and/or legs an/or rope-work. When not in use the canvas simply falls flat against the boat side (perhaps behind seat cushions) whilst the pole can be stowed (on deck if necessary). Clearly, you should consider the weight of the proposed occupant in your choice of construction techniques and material.

Following a recent trip involving a couple of hours of motor-sailing in my fifteen-year-old Moody, we were alarmed to discover a rising level of water in the bilge. After some hectic pumping the leak was traced to a steady stream coming out of the side of the stern gland. 

The Moody has a remote greaser connected by a pipe to the stern gland via a compression fitting. The plastic pipe connecting the greaser and the gland had come adrift - the plastic pipe having melted and fallen away! 

Repairing the leak was straightforward in that all it required was to undo the compression nut, remove the old olive and remains of the pipe, trim the end of the pipe, add a new olive and tighten it up again. Easy! (Of course, Moody have made this just a bit more tricky by positioning the whole thing directly under and in a small hole cut in a main bulkhead!)

This event raised a number of questions, however. Firstly, why did the gland overheat enough to melt a plastic pipe? This could be due to a) the wrong type of grease (most sources recommend a water-resistant, stern-tube or water-pump grease), b) lack of lubrication (again, most sources recommend lubricating the stern gland every five or six hours of engine usage (for a sailing yacht) and there are endless discussions as to how many drips per minute are allowed!) or c) the stern-gland required complete overhaul. There is also the question as to why a plastic pipe would be used for this critical purpose.

Whatever the reason, there are two clear suggestions: 1) check and re-grease regularly and 2) replace the plastic pipe with a copper (or similar pipe).

A sudden storm hit us whilst sailing the Mediterranean and we had to work fast at reducing sail in rapidly deteriorating conditions.

Having pulled in the genoa with the roller reefing gear we turned our attention to the main. It took a few moments to realise that this was proving more difficult that it should be and, although under engine at full throttle, the boat was refusing to answer the helm. The reason soon became obvious. The huge foresail had been wound in but the downhaul had been left on the self-cleating winch. The violence of the wind had pulled the downhaul clear of the winch and the foresail had unfurled completely again and was flapping wildly and dragging the boat around. 

It took some time to sort it out but, at the cost of bruises and badly damaged main and foresails, we survived. This could have been avoided, however, had we not relied upon the winch cleat but also secured the down haul - and the sheets for that matter - in 'proper' cleats too.

At the slightest hint of rising winds we now always secure all our control lines properly.

For safety and security all cruising yachts should have some means of separating the battery power for starting the engine from that used to power instruments, etc. whilst sailing. That way, the engine starting battery cannot be flattened by lengthy periods under sail and is always ready in an emergency.

Most boats provide some sort of switch mechanism to do this but beware! Particularly on older boats, there can be leakage between the two circuits - often inadvertently via a battery meter, gas detector, etc. - leading to both sets of battery being discharged together. Check your circuitry carefully to ensure that there is no crossover when you select one or the other battery.

If in doubt, start the engine and run it for fifteen minutes or so for every four or five hours of sailing to top up both sets of battery.

Boats with lead-acid batteries (i.e. most of them) are often fitted with a standard, mains-powered charger in addition to being charged from the engine. These chargers are heavy - largely due to the need for a transformer - and are often crude in the way they charge the batteries (which can lead to the need for premature battery replacement).

Essentially, the best way to charge a battery is to use a 'step-charge' or 'switched mode' technique so that the amount of juice pushed into the battery varies as the battery charge level changes. This results in faster charging and less damage (due to overheating) of the battery innards. 

These chargers (often referred to as 'digital' chargers) are compact, relatively lightweight units and contain sophisticated electronics to monitor the charge and the subsequent use of the batteries. In some cases they also detect the level of demand from boat systems during charging and feed the instruments, fridge, lights, etc. directly rather than going through the batteries - thus extending the life of the batteries even further. Some units also have automatic polarity and voltage detection circuits and overload protection - useful for sailing in areas where you cannot be sure of the shore-side power supply - and some have easily fitted remote control panels so that you can see the vbattry state without shoving your head under a bunk!

Sterling Power manufacture a range of these devices. More details at: http://www.sterling-power.com

The perennial and annoying problem of misted up snorkeling masks can spoil what should be a relaxing and enthralling sport.

Traditionalists say that spitting into the mask, smearing it onto the lenses and then rinsing briefly with seawater keeps the lenses clear. Another suggestion is to smear the lenses inside and out with toothpaste and rinse off just before going into the water.

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