T&T: paravanes

[Margery Griffith]

Did I miss something? I have to question: why is John installing paravanes on
his boat? What KIND of a boat and how BIG is it, and WHERE do you intend to
USE it, John? Taking a boat across the 'pond'...well, OK...but to do the
LOOP...forget the vanes!

My first trawler, a Nordhavn 40, had paravanes when
I purchased it. I had a professional captain who took me out in the shipping
channel in the Chesapeake to pracitce deploying and retrieving the vanes...in
GOOD weather. With the same captain, we did deploy them once, again in the
Chesapeake shipping channel during rather nasty seas. They helped SOME but not
as much as we  hoped. They also took off a good knot of speed. They were also
nasty to deploy/retrieve in bad weather. Anywhere else on the LOOP forget them
as the water is way to shallow everywhere to consider using them!

The fourth
owner of First Forty removed the vanes and installed stabilizers. The now
fifth owner never even SAW the vanes. I found them a good 'conversation piece'
to say the least but otherwise a real PITA! They took up all of the top deck
for one thing, so it was useless for lounging. They can be very dangerous as
well!

IMHO, Marge Griffith