Issue 19 : Jul/Aug 2001 On a small boat, especially a skinny one like ours, storage space is a precious commodity. For several years we carried a rigid swim-ladder — a wonderful bit of gear for those ...
Issue 27: Nov/Dec 2002 CLEAR WINDOW PLASTIC IN SPRAYHOODS AND SAILS TENDS TO deteriorate much faster than the yacht acrylic or sailcloth it’s sewn onto. First it yellows, then it becomes brittle, and ...
Issue 27: Nov/Dec 2002 IF THERE’S ONE THING EVERY BOAT should have on board, it’s a pot of Vaseline (“goo” as it’s known on Siandra!) This age-old concoction has hundreds of applications that would be...
Issue 20 : Sept/Oct 2001 A keyhole saw is invaluable when you need to fit a barometer or speaker into a bulkhead, cut a dolphin-shaped vent in a locker-door, or for any holes you have to cut when — fo...
Exploring the world cheaply in an old wooden boat Issue 20 : Sept/Oct 2001 Losing your heart to an old wooden boat is careless, but falling for her owner as well can only be described as rash. It was ...
Issue 21 : Nov/Dec 2001 At a friendly seaside town in Wales — the last place you’d expect to have problems — one of our oars disappeared from the dinghy while we were enjoying a walk ashore. It was a ...
Issue 21 : Nov/Dec 2001 We bought a pair of gleaming gunmetal oarlocks for our dinghy and were immediately presented with a brain-teaser. Our old oarlocks were rough galvanized affairs with plastic ho...
A useful way to remove frozen hose Issue 23 : Mar/Apr 2002 Disconnecting a plastic hose from the through-hull fitting it has shrunken onto over the years is enough to make anyone hot under the collar....
An easier way to thread a new line through your mast Issue 23 : Mar/Apr 2002 Threading a new electrical cable or halyard down the inside of a mast is tricky — especially if you have internal halyards ...
Issue 25 : Jul/Aug 2002 There is nothing more irritating than the thwack of a hard dinghy against your transom. Cursing, you stomp up on deck, give the painter a few extra feet of slack, and thrust th...
Down below, the weight wars are raging Issue 31 : Jul/Aug 2003 Aboard our cruising home, Siandra, battlelines are drawn. It starts innocently enough. Jamie announces his intention to buy one of those ...
Issue 32 : Sept/Oct 2003 Unscrewing a slotted deck-filler cap with a screwdriver can be hard work, especially if the cap has corroded in place. Small screwdrivers tend to turn within the slot, and eve...
Living in a work zone tests patience Issue 44: Sept/Oct 2005 WELL, WE’RE AT IT AGAIN: beefing up our hard-working 1950s racer in the hope she’ll sail onward for another hundred years. The job this tim...
How to enlarge an existing hole Issue 36 : May/Jun 2004 How do you enlarge an existing hole — whether for a through-hull fitting, a finger hole in a drawer, or plumbing to go through a bulkhead — with...