PAGE 8 • WINTER 2005 THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SAILING ASSOCIATION
FEATURED SAILBOAT
stainless centerboard swing bolt is easily removed to
continued from page 6
make servicing the centerboard user friendly.
become lodged with mud. The rudder system is an
At the retail level, the American 14.6 is offered as a
advanced design, and the blade can be raised or lowered
package: boat, sails and trailer. For training programs, it
from inside the cockpit by pulling a lanyard on the side of
is offered as a basic boat package without the trailer. In
the tiller. The rudder system is also equipped with a
addition, the A-14.6 is available with a series of options
bungee arrangement that puts spring-like tension on the
for training programs where heavy use is expected. These
rudder blade to allow it to kick up in the event of ground
modifications include stainless steel rudder head plates;
contact and to be pulled back down into position after
bolts through the gunnel rubrail, in addition to the normal
crossing. The blade is all fiberglass and the rudder head
rivets; side stay U-bolt bars under the gunnel on each
and tiller are aluminum with stainless steel pintails. Sheet
side to spread the load; a back-plated steemhead for the
lines are colored: red for the main and blue for the jib.
forestay; and back-plated lifting rings on the transom.
Construction of the American 14.6 is all hand-laid
With nearly 2,000 American 14.6s having been
fiberglass with “Coremat” stiffener material between the
produced and in use in over 100 training programs, the
fiberglass layers, and the first layer of glass is installed
A-14.6 is proving itself as a popular trainer. The
using Vinyl Lester Resin to protect the hull from
construction of the boat is such that numerous years of
fiberglass blisters. All hardware is backed by metal plate
life can be expected. Notable programs using the boats
that is encased into the fiberglass, and stainless steel
for a number of years are the Annapolis Sailing School,
fasteners are used. The area under the seat and forward
Broward County Community Program in South Florida,
area under the mast contain closed-cell foam flotation.
Monmouth County, NJ, and The American Small Craft
Access to the centerboard is convenient with tow-covered
Association in New York City. Competitively priced in the
ports, one on each side of the centerboard trunk. The
$4,500 range, this boat is one to consider.
SAFETY AT SEA
it has saved the day, if not saved lives.
continued from page 4
A little about us
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is composed of
You will note that we do not tell you to give a copy to your
uniformed volunteers who assist the Coast Guard in all of
local law enforcement or Coast Guard, as they do not have
its varied missions, except for military and direct law
the resources to track this type of information, but your
enforcement. These men and women can be found on the
friends and destinations do, because they are expecting you.
nation’s waterways, in the air, in classrooms and on the
dock, performing Maritime Domain Awareness patrols,
The people to whom you give your Float Plan, must be
safety patrols, vessel safety checks and public education.
instructed to wait so many hours (discuss what a reasonable
time would be with each person) before they contact the
Coast Guard or local law enforcement in the event that you
don’t arrive, or don’t make contact with them.
In short, the Float Plan will provide most of the information
WHERE AM I?
that will be needed by the Coast Guard or local law
enforcement to start a SAR mission. Without a float plan,
a SAR mission is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Where do I get a Float Plan?
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary has made that as
easy as click and print. We developed Float Plan Central
at http://floatplan.uscgaux.info/. There you will find a
Float Plan in PDF format that allows you to fill in your
information online, so that it’s easy to read. All you need
to do then is to print up the correct number of copies.
Float Plan Central also provides additional information to
the boating public, including a Boating Emergency Guide,
and a section called Tales of the Plan, which features real
life stories of people who have used Float Plans, and how ANSWER ON THE ASA WEBSITE AT WWW.ASA.COM
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