Having capitulated, here’s how to raise the waterl...
September 25, 2026
A blend of functionality and traditional yacht design Issue 45 : Nov/Dec 2005 Nearly three decades ago, in a warehouse near the Miami, Florida, airport, Nicholas Hake began his boatbuilding business. ...
Learning to bloom where you’re planted Issue 44: Sept/Oct 2005 IT WAS MID-JUNE IN DULUTH/SUPERIOR on the Minnesota/Wisconsin border. We had a cockpit awning up . . . but not because of the sun. It rai...
It’s the simplest, most reliable instrument on your boat Issue 45 : Nov/Dec 2005 There are many types of compasses that help the mariner determine direction: the electronic flux-gate compass, an elect...
Memories of pure delight in the restless Tasman Sea Issue 45 : Nov/Dec 2005 The Navy, by custom rather than training, imbues seamen with a dread of the midwatch. That hated watch starts at midnight, a...
Going cruising? Here’s how to read the weather maps Issue 45 : Nov/Dec 2005 Ode to the Weatherman And in the dying embers, These are my main regrets: When I’m right, no one remembers; When I’m wrong, ...
Solving a cruiser’s chronic head-bashing problem Issue 45 : Nov/Dec 2005 I awoke one morning a couple of years ago and felt my usual backache, so I lifted myself to change position and wham! bashed my...
You don’t need a fortune to live a rich cruising life Issue 45 : Nov/Dec 2005 A question frequently asked of cruisers is, “What do you do for money?” This inquiry has always amused Jaja and me. It’s a...
How a gutsy sailor founded a well-known magazine Issue 45 : Nov/Dec 2005 “The safe enjoyment of cruising under sail.” That phrase, which concluded the first editorial in the first issue of Cruising Wo...
How a good old canoe fooled generations of sailors Issue 45 : Nov/Dec 2005 Ever dreamed of crossing an ocean? Most of us have. And, if you’ve done your homework, you’ll have read about some storm-surv...
A thorough discussion of the many causes of metal corrosion Issue 45 : Nov/Dec 2005 Part 1 of this series in the September 2005 issue took a long look at marine corrosion theory, the galvanic series, ...
Here’s how to repair a hole in your boat’s hull Issue 45 : Nov/Dec 2005 A few years ago, a fellow boater abandoned his boat on Lake Michigan as it was sinking in 450 feet of water. Several days later,...
A pedigreed and still-successful racer/cruiser from the 1970s Issue 45 : Nov/Dec 2005 Douglass & McLeod, Inc. of Grand River, Ohio, was the partnership formed by Gordon (Sandy) Douglass and Raymon...
It’s a classic beauty, but plenty tough Issue 45 : Nov/Dec 2005 I didn’t feel it fair to compare the Cape Dory 25 to today’s fin-keel/spade-rudder offerings, so I included the venerable Fo...
Like its distinguished owner, this boat makes stirring melodies Issue 45 : Nov/Dec 2005 What does a Cape Dory 25 have in common with a cello? For starters, they are both simple, strong, classic, beaut...
Boaters need free VHF weather forecasts at sea Issue 45 : Nov/Dec 2005 Now and then our fearless political leaders have a really bad idea. The federal luxury tax on boats, which went into effect in 19...
When a pond and a river were heaven on earth Issue 46 : Jan/Feb 2006 I grew up on an old farm in Connecticut. A hundred yards behind the house was what we called “the cow pasture” — a boggy area beyon...
Wintertime on the Great Prairie Issue 46 : Jan/Feb 2006 Parade rest! The voice shouted at me from long ago and far away. Haulout on the northern prairie is a melancholy time. There was a light frost o...
Out with liquid soap, in with GPS Issue 46 : Jan/Feb 2006 With prices becoming more reasonable, I broke down and purchased a handheld GPS. I chose a Garmin GPSMap 76. Handhelds eat batteries, so I pur...
Detecting that faulty bilge-pump switch Issue 46 : Jan/Feb 2006 If you have never had a bilge level switch fail, sooner or later it’s bound to happen. For a few bucks you can buy a stand-alone, batter...
Upholstering for those who hate to sew Issue 46 : Jan/Feb 2006 My husband, Chris, and I have been sailing in the Pacific Northwest for 15 years on a variety of sailboats. We look for older sailboats t...
How to move your stranded boat by human power Issue 46 : Jan/Feb 2006 My edition of the Oxford English Dictionary lists the origin of the word “kedge” as “uncertain” but goes on to describe it as “a v...
Emergency kit saves boat after sailor drills hole in hull Issue 46 : Jan/Feb 2006 A fellow sailor told me he was installing a new water-tank fill pipe and almost sank his boat. He said he was tired of...
An Alaskan summer idyll Issue 46 : Jan/Feb 2006 What are your favorite sailing memories? Do you flip through last summer’s mental photo album searching for a scene to replay that’ll get you through a ...
Marine surveyor Tim Lackey makes a name for himself Issue 46 : Jan/Feb 2006 How puffed up would you feel if almost 3,000 people a month admired your handiwork? Tim Lackey’s boat projects get at least ...
Converting an awkward quarter berth into a handy cockpit locker Issue 46 : Jan/Feb 2006 Our Bristol 29.9, Quintessence, was built in 1978 when most builders’ brochures made much of how many people a b...
An unconventional catboat with the advantages of small size Issue 46 : Jan/Feb 2006 Allow me to interject an opinion in search of a premise: it is easier to travel from the cockpit to the bow on a 25-...
It’s for the hardy and it starts at 50 degrees north Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 LATELY I’VE HAD REASON TO CONTEMPLATE THE CHARMS AND challenges of high-latitude sailing. Since we’ve just completed the pro...
Keep your batteries topped up with a slow but steady charge Issue 46 : Jan/Feb 2006 On a bright, sunny day, with the sun directly overhead, the sun supplies about 1,000 watts of energy per square mete...
The boat sleeps under snow now, but tropical sunsets will follow Issue 46 : Jan/Feb 2006 It’s a cold New England winter morning. I’m up early to get a few sights of Jupiter before the morning twilight...
The hardest part is waiting out the winter Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO, THE WEATHER improved enough here in the mid-Atlantic for me to rush out to my boat, a 1986 Hunter 28.5, scuff up ...
