Having capitulated, here’s how to raise the waterl...
September 25, 2026
How a world voyager improved light-air performance Issue 48 : May/Jun 2006 If you wonder how much drag and hinderance a 2-, 3-, or 4-bladed propeller puts on a sailboat, I suggest you toss a large met...
How to fix bargain boats and make a modest fortune Issue 48 : May/Jun 2006 “I know about guys like you,” the old yard worker said as we strolled the back fence. “You’re a bottom feeder. You look for o...
Eliminate heavy hardware on that flogging headsail Issue 48 : May/Jun 2006 Different skippers, different long-splices, they say. Bending on jibsheets is a task that allows for considerable variety fro...
My life with Jane Duck Issue 48 : May/Jun 2006 There has never been another boat like her, not before nor since. I remember crossing Rosario Straits, leaving Lopez Island bound for Deception Pass with...
An affordable coastal cruiser in three editions Issue 48 : May/Jun 2006 During the 1960s and ’70s, Southern California was home to the world’s largest builders of fiberglass sailboats. While Columbia,...
Hard work (plus cash) saves a classic from the scrapheap Issue 48 : May/Jun 2006 Strider’s clean white deck and the rich red paint job attracted our attention as she floated in her slip at Sugarloaf M...
Learn the only real essentials for success Issue 48 : May/Jun 2006 I recently read a prediction that it only a matter of time before anyone who is so brave and presumptuous as to command a sailboat wi...
Thrills and spills on a glorious day for planing Issue 49 : Jul/Aug 2006 I was fortunate to attend Tabor Acadamy, “The school by the Sea,” for those four tumultuous years preceding college. Rather tha...
Perhaps how NOT to do this Issue 49 : Jul/Aug 2006 The first time I saw a Mega 30 was at a boat chow. She was a new idea, a new design, and newly built . . . all untried and unproven. I wanted one. I ...
How one cruiser swapped power for ease of handling Issue 49 : Jul/Aug 2006 Our 8-hp Honda, all 98 pounds of it, is for sale. When we bought the engine back in 1995 it was intended to help our 1976 Nor...
Don’t forget — the advantage always goes to the buyer Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 IT WAS IN 1995 THAT I STARTED looking for my first big sailboat. I had previously owned a 14-foot Flying Junior and a 20-fo...
One man’s response to an emergency haulout Issue 49 : Jul/Aug 2006 When my wife and I were trapped by fog in Burgeo, Newfoundland, we met Dave and Fran Dickenson, who were trapped there as well becaus...
How to stop noise at night Issue 49 : Jul/Aug 2006 Here’s a pair of halyard chocks I made and tried out this summer. They go a long way toward silencing those Dacron alarm clocks that can interr...
A tether keeps your tools aboard Issue 49 : Jul/Aug 2006 I’ve lost quite a few items during my years of sailing to the aqueous, gravity-enhanced environment. It all began many years ago with my first ...
Simple fix for those who don’t want to be parted Issue 49 : Jul/Aug 2006 Walk the docks and you’ll see pieces of fire hose used as chafing gear for docklines. Simply slip the hose over the bitte...
A cruiser’s improvements for sitting and sleeping Issue 49 : Jul/Aug 2006 Berths need to serve different functions depending on who’s in them and whether the boat’s in port or at sea. The traditional ...
This orphaned Pearson 365 will rejoin the fleet of good old boats Issue 49 : Jul/Aug 2006 Most of the time I am looking at or looking for boats. If there were a self-help group for excessive boat owne...
Secrets of a cheese lover revealed at last Issue 49 : Jul/Aug 2006 Whether you decide on cocktail nibbles, late-night snacks, a sandwich filler, or a main course spice, cheese is one of the most versa...
Good manners in a Canadian-built coastal cruiser Issue 49 : Jul/Aug 2006 Catboats aren’t particularly known for speed, rather for simplicity and stability. There are no headsails to tack and tri...
Check out the various ways to reduce sail area Issue 49 : Jul/Aug 2006 When the wind suddenly picks up or a squall line is approaching, the ability to douse the sails or reduce sail area quickly, effi...
The kindest thing people called him was “totally bonkers” Issue 49 : Jul/Aug 2006 In the spring of 1960 I recieved a call from Jack McKenzie, with whom I then crewed on Bill Gillerlain’s Intrepid. He ...
Good Old Boat sponsors yet another good old regatta Issue 49 : Jul/Aug 2006 I’m convinced that one of the reasons why those of us with good old boats undertake often-insurmountable tasks is in anticip...
Will Lesh builds wooden sailboats by the thousand Issue 49 : Jul/Aug 2006 To say Will Lesh is mad sailboats would be a gross understatement. Since childhood, his life has revolved around sailboats. He...
A veteran cruising couple tells what is working for them Issue 49 : Jul/Aug 2006 We left in the pre-dawn mist. As the bird song heralded the break of a new day, I looked back and saw the islands of we...
Solving the problem of joining one to the other Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 In the November 2006 issue, John Danicic wrote about installing an anchor windlass. One remaining issue is the creation of a stro...
Finding the cause was the trickiest bit Issue 49 : Jul/Aug 2006 The wheel steering of my 1973 Grampian 30 had not worked well with the autopilot for several years. Holding a course when steering manua...
How to lessen the danger of cooking with propane Issue 49 : Jul/Aug 2006 We know that 90 percent of people who sail do their cooking with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) because modern propane stoves ar...
Ted Brewer compares three well-known circumnavigators Issue 49 : Jul/Aug 2006 It will be the rare reader of Good Old Boat who has not heard of Captain Joshua Slocum and his famous yacht, Spray. Howeve...
An unusual family daysailer and inshore cruiser Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 JOHANN “HANS” TANZER WAS AN Austrian, who designed, built, and raced small sailboats in Switzerland. In 1956 he emigrated to Cana...
How to avoid panic when locking through Issue 49 : Jul/Aug 2006 When we contemplate sailing, our thoughts run to images of open, uncluttered waters. In our idyllic daydream we see full, white sails ru...
