Soft barriers keep out bugs and sunbeams Issue 100: Jan/Feb 2015 I’ve had it with mosquitoes and also with the sun shining in my eyes when I’m trying to sleep. Maybe it’s about my sense of privacy too...
A mast gets a new foot to stand on Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 I’ve always been in the habit of pulling my mast when I lay my boat up each fall. It adds to the annual cost, but it’s better in the long ru...
. . . but extra pounds bring peace of mind Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 Toward the end of my summer cruise I happened to anchor for the weekend in Sag Harbor, New York, just east of the breakwater in 12 f...
A cell phone signal booster brings the world aboard Issue 108: May/June 2016 Like many sailors who still work, I like to keep abreast of things back at the office every few days, even when on vacation...
Imagination, a little paint, and a few pennies go a long way Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 I was sitting on the head in my Paceship 26, Pelorus, when I realized that everything in that small space was a sh...
Trap dirt and sand before they get on the mother ship Issue 105 : Nov/Dec 2015 My sailboat, Pelorus, sits on a mooring about a third of a mile offshore. I get to her by dinghy, a plywood Phil Bolger d...
Turn any flat surface into a workbench Issue 105 : Nov/Dec 2015 What happens if you find yourself on a sailboat and need a vise for holding either wood or metal while you work on it? I have long admir...
A downhaul is a singlehander’s foredeck crew Issue 105 : Nov/Dec 2015 A friend of mine told me about an incident he witnessed in which the jib furler on a 54-foot sailboat jammed. “You haven’t laughed...
Wired to a solar panel, it knows when it’s dark Issue 106 : Jan/Feb 2016 Wouldn’t it be nice if someone sold an automatic switch for a masthead anchor light? There may be one for sale, probably online...
Thoughts about the little boat that tends the big boat Issue 108: May/June 2016 Conditions at Fire Island Inlet on the south shore of Long Island were “a bit sporty,” as they say in New England, but n...
Low-wattage lighting at low cost Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016 One of the best things that has come along for boaters (and homeowners) lately has been LEDs for lighting. They’re cooler in operation, seemin...
A self-basting engine no longer fouls the bilge Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 Most new sailboats with an inboard engine have a molded pan in the engine space to contain oil and fuel spills so they don’t ge...
Stop fuel from frothing overboard at fill time Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 I was lucky when I discovered my fuel tank was leaking. After all, it was early spring and Pelorus, my 1980 Paceship PY26, wasn’...
. . . and replaced with mixed results Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 I have lost rudders five times over the course of owning two different boats, each time for a different reason, each time requiring a diff...
A mirror warms the ambience of a harsh LED Issue 115: July/Aug 2017 After replacing with LEDs all of the old-style incandescent bulbs in the cabin lights aboard Pelorus, my AMF Paceship 26, I started ...
Now it’s on the level, it’s a straight steerer Issue 115: July/Aug 2017 Pelorus, my AMF Paceship 26, sustained a bit of damage in her brush with Hurricane Joaquin in 2015. In the spring of 2016, I reb...
Getting a grip on a tired molded-in deck surface Issue 117: Nov/Dec 2017 My 26-foot Paceship, Pelorus, was built with non-skid molded into the deck in a cross-hatch pattern rather like a gun grip. Lot...
Swageless terminals were a hands-on sailor’s choice Issue 119: March/April 2018 When I purchased Pelorus, my Paceship PY26, she had suffered damage to the bow and starboard side during Hurricane Bob i...
A voyage to a new home in North Carolina offers something fresh around every bend. Issue 139: July/Aug 2021 I’ve spent 40-plus years sailing—mostly singlehanding—New Jersey’s Raritan Bay. It’s been gr...
Delayed engine maintenance leads to a white-knuckled sail through a slice of New York history. Issue 148: Jan/Feb 2023 “Whatever you do, retorque the head at 500 hours,” I was told by the previous own...
A sailor flouts an age-old superstition and pays the price Issue 150: May/June 2023 After what seemed like a short, mild winter, I was ready to splash for the summer season. The boatyard didn’t launch...
Every sailor knows to investigate when they hear noises out of the ordinary, whether mechanical (the bilge pump running a bit too long) or natural (distant thunder to windward). It’s expected, a part ...
After I built my dinghy, an 11-foot 6-inch plywood Bolger design coincidentally called “The Cartopper,” the first problem I faced was: how do I get it to the boatyard? Obviously, on the roof of my car...
Since moving from a mooring to a slip, I’ve noticed that there is a great variety in the way people secure their boats to a dock. Some methods are seemingly bulletproof, others interesting, whimsical,...
Furniture protectors make a quick, easy fix for sharp solar panel corners. Issue 137: March/April 2021 It wasn’t long after I installed the solar panel on the stern pulpit that I discovered the proble...
It’s been said that the most useless things aboard a sailboat are an umbrella and a Naval officer. However, sometimes that’s just not completely true. Cruising in New England, I would ofte...
An automatic bilge pump for the dinghy solves that sinking feeling. Issue 129: Nov/Dec 2019 For the past couple of years, I’ve kept my dinghy at the dock, butter side up. It’s easy to stow it and use ...
An old design puts cheap wheels under a long-loved tender Issue 126: May/June 2019 When I moved from New Jersey in the spring of 2018, I sold, gave away, or abandoned a lot of my stuff, including the ...