Waiting for the tide
Finishing the Golden Globe falls into the category of ‘extraordinary’, but even those who had to withdraw from the race did an amazing job to even get themselves across the startline. Find out a bit more about what it takes to get all the way around, non-stop, solo ahead of the rest on page 32.
And there are some other extraordinary performances in this issue. Emrhys Barrell has been testing 12V lithium batteries – 60Ah-120Ah capacity – and describes their performance thus: “We went into the test sceptical about some of the claims for lithium batteries, but ended up quite amazed. In simple terms, all the batteries on test delivered within 3-4Ah of their claimed maximum outputs at 25A and 100A, with some even achieving this at 150A. This flies in the face of a lifetime we have spent with batteries, where the output falls away rapidly with increasing discharge current.”
And finally, turn to page 26 for our feature on a Nigel Irensdesigned 14ft dinghy. The Western Skiff was designed to be a kit built boat, but for various reasons only a few boats got built... until now.
If you fancy building yourself a 14ft epoxy ply sailing/rowing boat from scratch, simply read the article then go to pbo.co.uk and download the files (after making a donation to the Ed Burnett memorial fund), or order a pre-cut kit from Jordan Boats.
We’ll be constructing one too, from the pre-cut kit, starting next month – so if you’re up for the challenge, there’s no time to waste!