Under its dull, chalky finish lies a shiny boat Is...
June 17, 2026
Under its dull, chalky finish lies a shiny boat Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Believe it or not, it is possible to bring the shine back to a good old boat. Most of the thousands of aging fiberglass boats ou...
Drawn to the irresistible rhythm of Polynesia Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 We pull into Hanavave Bay on Fatu Hiva after a long afternoon of sailing. The jagged mountains and deep valleys of the Marquesas I...
An inexpensive boat proves to be a treasure Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Many times in my life I have found more than I was looking for. That was the case with the boat my wife, Sharon, and I are now cruis...
A confirmed tinkerer adds muscle to his foredeck Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 After a difficult anchor retrieval, the first mate and I decided it was time to bring another deckhand aboard Prime Time, our 2...
Cruisers rediscover sailing on home waters in a small boat Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 It is a lovely summer day in the Gulf Islands off Canada’s west coast as our 25-footer pokes her bow out of the marin...
Big Bobber marks the spot Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 As your boat swings around in a tight or crowded anchorage, it’s helpful if you can see where your anchor is lying. An anchor buoy enables you to do t...
A nifty boat-cover support that packs to nothing Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 As I drove slowly by this boat, the thought flashed through my mind that it sure would be easy to store this winter-cover frame...
Close it with a cord and a cleat hitch Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 In situations where more-normal people ask, “How can I fix this?” we on board Eurisko tend to think, “How can I use string to fix this?” ...
A spiffy new look for regulation flotation Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 They’re bright yellow, anonymous, and everywhere. New ones are expensive but they become faded eyesores after a few years in the sun....
The answer is to baffle it Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Everyone else on the shopping bus was bleary-eyed and commiserating about how many times during the night they had gotten up to close hatches. It had...
A family of four dreams big, goes small Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 On a cold November night in 2010, my husband and I attended a liveaboard brunch at a nearby marina. There the seed of an old dream germi...
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...
A sturdy club racer and coastal cruiser Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 Humphrey Bogart’s sleek and much-loved yacht, Santana — a contraction of “Santa Ana” — was named for the katabatic winds that blow throu...
Tips for taking photos that “pop” Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 The difference between a snap-shot and a beautiful photo is in the details, not in the cost of the camera it’s taken with or the advanced proc...
Partners approach it from different directions Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 When we mess about in boats, most of us enjoy the company of others. When I sail, my preference is to meander about, exploring th...
Bet on it before you bet on luck Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Many boat projects require a reasonable amount of skill, but for the most part it’s your determination and vision that become the most importan...
Matt Rutherford’s most excellent vertical circumnavigation Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 The last three weeks were the worst — cold air, boarding seas, and stubborn winds on the nose. He was in a beat-up bo...
A little lumber and a little labor is all it took Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 The hatch on my new good old boat, a 1972 Balboa 20, was not in the best of shape. The wooden pieces that enclosed the edges o...
An innovative and popular design from the early 1980s Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Warren Luhrs founded Hunter Marine in 1972 and within a year introduced his first sailboat, the Hunter 25. For his initial...
The bottom line in mainsail trim Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Outhauls have been in use since the days of the square rigger. An outhaul is part of the running rigging, specifically a line fastened to the c...
Why American sailors stuck with a movable appendage Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 First, let me say it’s a humbling experience to take over the design comparisons in Good Old Boat from someone with the brea...
Good Old Boat welcomes aboard a new contributing editor Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 If you own a C&C yacht, Rob Mazza probably had a hand in its construction, design, or engineering. If you own a boat...
. . . and CCA centerboard contemporaries Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 First built in 1960, and rigged as either a yawl or a sloop, the Mercer 44 goes back to the dawn of fiberglass boat-building. That made...
Years of devotion and labor lifted Spirit Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Coincidence, destiny, serendipity — call it what you will, chance must play a strong hand in matching aging boats with their rightful ...
A passel of pocket cruisers put on a show Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 The C&C Mega 30 project boat in our backyard doesn’t fit the true definition of a pocket cruiser, but she will be trailerable once...
Or store those moments for memories? Issue 87 : Nov/Dec 2012 What does it mean, to “live in the moment?” It sounds laudable. It implies a mind focused on the business at hand and not easily distracted...
Nail polish helps an anode stay attached Issue 87 : Nov/Dec 2012 Without trying to revisit political skirmishes involving lipstick and pigs, what good old boat wouldn’t benefit from a little nail poli...
A Stimson shed is the ideal cover-up for a project boat Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 Just about everyone who has ever owned an old boat for any length of time has had to face a frightening word: refit. Thi...
Unsuspected chafe could have sunk him Issue 87 : Nov/Dec 2012 Sailors are well aware of the danger of chafe to sails, halyards, mooring lines, anchor rode, and various and sundry other pieces of equip...
Artful modifications relieve trailersailor angst Issue 87 : Nov/Dec 2012 Several years before retirement, my wife, Johanna, and I purchased Someday Lady, a trailerable 1995 Catalina 25. It’s the water...
