Steps in the process of measuring progress Issue 8...
June 26, 2026
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...
Surface mounts step in where holes are not welcome Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016 The gold standard for secure mountings on boats has always been to use through-bolts, with a backing plate if the loads just...
As it flies, it defies flailing sheets and flapping sails Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016 A masthead fly is the truest indicator of the apparent wind direction, but it’s often obscured by either the Bimini o...
A shady, rain-proof whole-boat shelter Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016 A few years ago, I spent a rainy season in Trinidad with my boat hauled out while I did a major refit. As most of the work on my old 25-...
Track down trouble using logic and the right tools Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016 Electrical wiring on a typical good old boat has a tough life. The combination of salt, water, copper wire, and electricity ...
A big makeover for a cramped water closet Issue 108: May/June 2016 When we bought our 1977 Down East 45 schooner, the forward head was a poky little place with a tiny “unstainless-steel” wash-basin an...
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...
. . . and two very different daysailers Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016 Carl Alberg established his reputation as a designer with the Pearson Triton in 1958, the same year he designed the Sea Sprite 23. He u...
Restored to order, she’s a daysailing delight Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016 “Bill, you really ought to come over to Yacht Works this morning. There’s a sleek, small boat being rigged right now and her owne...
Surface weather maps, part 1 Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016 Surface weather maps offer a wealth of information to the weather-savvy mariner. The key to unlocking the information displayed on these maps is u...
A ubiquitous trailerable cruising sailboat Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016 Catalina Yachts of Woodland Hills, California, produced the Catalina 25 from 1978 to 1990 from a design by the company’s founder and...
Two-boat-itis arouses ambivalence Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016 It is possible to have too much of a good thing. We discovered this in the summer of 2015, the year we had two boats in the water. At once. I...
An enchanting ruse brings a wife on board Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 I’ve never chosen the right boat for me. I’ve always let the right boat choose me. In the November 2015 issue of Good Old Boat, I des...
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...
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 ...
Put an anchor light on automatic Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 After receiving a citation for not having an illuminated anchor light while moored in Miami’s Biscayne Bay, I did some research on how to buil...
When the self is inseparable from The Water Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 The Water is always there. The Water forms a continuous thread through my life from my earliest memories to this moment. It has bee...
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’...
Say goodbye to sheet hang-ups on mast winches Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 Snagging the lazy (windward) genoa sheet on mast-mounted winches was my curse since the day we added a genoa to Shoal Survivor, o...
Canadian sailors broaden their boating skills on England’s canals Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 Here we were, four freshwater sailors maneuvering a 65-foot steel narrowboat in pitch darkness through a damp...
Techno wizardry informs the sailor Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 Quantum leaps in technology have enabled us to leave the dock with a thorough knowledge of our planned destinations, the routes to sail, and...
Generating electricity via the prop shaft Issue 108: May/June 2016 When we are anchored for any period of time, our solar panels and wind generator pretty much keep up with our power needs. On a passa...
First dodger, then bimini, and then the whole caboodle Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 We were motorsailing north along the rugged California coast, fighting a headwind and a strong current. Our ride became ...
Ways to dispose of expired pyrotechnics Issue 108: May/June 2016 Your flare caddy was overflowing with mostly expired flares. You bought a bigger one. Now it, too, is almost filled with expired flares...
A critical conduit fails in old age Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 Buried in the bottom of the hull, the stern tube is one of those invisible parts of a boat that rarely calls attention to itself. When it d...
A bespoke table for those who like to sit in steerage Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 Whenever I sense an opportunity to improve comfort aboard our Islander 36 or to enhance our experience while cruising, I ...
A hierarchy that puts the coolest at the bottom Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 When sailing our 1978 Hughes 26 up and down the Strait of Georgia between Vancouver Island and the mainland, we rely on ice in ...
How sailboats stand up to the wind Issue 108: May/June 2016 In a letter to Mail Buoy in the September 2015 issue of Good Old Boat, Rich Morrow of Herring Cove, Nova Scotia, called me to task for putti...
A flopper stopper makes untenable anchorages amenable Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 We were anchored in Resolution Bay on the island of Tanna, Republic of Vanuatu. Although we had arrived only that morning...
Surface weather maps, part 2 Issue 108: May/June 2016 In the March 2016 issue I introduced surface weather maps, meteorological time-keeping systems, the difference between issued and valid date and t...
