Issue 18: May/June 2001 Books are difficult objects to stow in an easily accessible way aboard a boat. Low fiddles trip them up at sea, and high fiddles fight their removal. This system employs a very...
Issue 17 : Mar/Apr 2001 The traditional portlight is best fitted into a cabinside or hull with the hinge at the top. This guarantees maximum closing pressure at the bottom where water is most likely t...
Adding years of life to a tired 30-foot wooden ketch Issue 28 : Jan/Feb 2003 I first fell in love with Renee Tighe in Townsville, North Queensland, when American circumnavigator Earl Koepke brought he...
Issue 32 : Sept/Oct 2003 When you’re using throw-away brushes to apply resin to small fiberglass jobs or saturating timber with rot-proofing epoxy, things can get pretty messy. By cloaking your ...
Experienced sailors build a comfortable, shallow-draft 50-footer Issue 34: Jan/Feb 2004 IN THE 1960S I WAS ANCHORED OFF the Gold Coast of Queensland in Australia aboard my home-built plywood ketch. Sh...
Issue 33 : Nov/Dec 2003 Whether your halyards are of braided or laid rope, as long as they are external, new ones can be reeved without sending a person aloft. Two things are needed: a nearly windless...
Be prepared for the worst and hope it never happens Issue 36 : May/Jun 2004 Oof the many steering systems available to the small ship, none is easier to make, simpler to use, or more sensitive to the ...
Try these simple temporary repairs in emergencies Issue 37 : Jul/Aug 2004 In an era when electronic development is leaving most of us behind, there are still ways to make small repairs and additions t...
Here’s a quick fix for a serious anchor winch failure Issue 40 : Jan/Feb 2005 The typical foot-operated anchor winch switch lives just a membrane away from a very hostile environment. This membrane is...
A better way to keep the crew on board Issue 47 : Mar/Apr 2006 Commercial vessels have a lot to teach their recreational cousins, yet many of their lessons go unheeded. A prime example is cabintop han...
Prevent your roller-furling sail from unfurling Issue 50 : Sept/Oct 2006 Considering the number of roller furlers in use around the world today, the accidental unfurling of a sail on a moored or berth...
Keep your sanding disks flat Issue 50 : Sept/Oct 2006 Ashore or afloat, the loose stowing of the typical sanding disks of any size usually results in their curling like leaves. At best, this is a nuis...
Salvage those little bits of horribly expensive wood Issue 61: July/Aug 2008 After fitting out a boat or just making moderate changes to its interior, few of us escape the scrap dilemma. This occurs w...
Being kind to your outboard engine Issue 57 : Nov/Dec 2007 Low-powered yacht tender outboards are often overworked and under-serviced. They rarely, if ever, enjoy a thorough freshwater flush. This can...
The logic behind the old-time card markings Issue 67: July/Aug 2009 Boxing the compass was once a very important element of the seaman’s art. Before the colorful and geometric compass rose gave way to...
Dedicated downwind headsails offer better control Issue 73 : Jul/Aug 2010 The twin-headsail rig, once commonly seen on boats running in the trade winds, has become a dinosaur in today’s fleet of rolle...
A safe and reliable installation takes thought Issue 82 : Jan/Feb 2012 Davits provide the ultimate system for launching, retrieving, and stowing a tender while offering a few bonuses beyond their desi...
An internal transducer eliminates a through-hull Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Signals from a depth sounder will pass through a fiberglass hull that is not too thick and has no delamination problems. The ow...
Compound errors add up to a bump in the night Issue 91 : Jul/Aug 2013 Accidents are supposed to be nasty moments that come out of nowhere. Yet in 1983, when I had more than 20 years’ sea time under my...
Fatigue, false steps, and a child adrift Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016 After four days of the most uncomfortable seas in our entire world circumnavigation, we arrived at the island of Great Inagua, Bahamas...
Shielding a sensitive device from onboard vibrations Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 Vibration from an engine, or from the twanging of tight rigging in a high wind, could very well affect the performance of ...
Spaces between deck beams beg to be filled Issue 110 : Sept/Oct 2016 On vessels with well-defined deck beams, the spaces between the beams can be ideal sites for hinge-down storage lockers. And when s...