Safety

Choosing and Using the Right Anchor -- 12/05/06

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12/05/2006 -- Note: Heads-Up! Does not endorse this article and it's contents, please use at your own risk.

Tips for choosing and using the right Anchor.

Myths and Facts:

Myth: The heavier the anchor, the better...

Fact: Modern designs and state-of-the-art engineering have made anchors not only better, but lighter, too! In several real world tests, including one conducted by the U.S. Navy, the best holding anchors were actually among the lightest! Anchor design has more effect on holding power than weight.

Myth: Steel is the strongest material for anchors...

Fact: Not anymore! Many materials are now stronger than steel. For example, high-tensile aluminum-magnesium alloy is well suited for anchors and is, pound-for-pound, more than twice as strong as steel.

Myth: All anchors perform the same way...

Fact: Not so! Different designs and different materials make anchors perform very differently. When you consider the value of the boat an anchor is protecting, (your boat!) an anchor is no place to economize. It pays to get the best performing anchor you can.

Myth: Anchors that look alike, are alike...

Fact: Looks can be deceiving. Technical designs, manufacturing processes and metal alloys go through...

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Submitted by: Andrei Loskoutov/

Climate Change Already Has a Chilling Effect on Where Americans Can Build Homes -- 12/04/06

12/04/2006 -- A Dream Blown Away

By Joel Garreau
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 2, 2006

A place near the water has been an American dream for a very long time. Fifty-four percent of Americans live within 50 miles of a coast.

This is the year, however, in which the big boys in global finance got religion about climate change. As a result, this American dream -- as far north as the Washington area, and even New York and New England -- is under attack.

Follow the money. Insurance doesn't sound like a world-changer. It seems so banal and prosaic, like reliable electricity or clean water.

Yet without it -- you want a place to live? You cannot get a mortgage without insurance.

You want a job? A commercial enterprise cannot run without insurance.

Never want a drink of water / Til the well runs dry. / Never miss a real good thing / Til he says good-bye.

Turns out you don't have to wait for the waves to lap around your ankles. The climate is changing, Lord knows exactly how fast. But the money is moving pretty quickly.

Call 2006 the...

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Submitted by: Cathy Stahr McBride/OR Sea Grant Extension