Steps in the process of measuring progress Issue 8...
June 26, 2026
GOB’s troubadour tests conductors with an electric baton Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 As part of a major refit of our Tartan 37, Higher Porpoise, we decided to replace all the in-mast conductors whil...
Sailing with the heirs to our pastime Issue 110: Sept/Oct 2016 This was the summer that will be remembered fondly aboard Mystic for the times we took kids sailing with us. We didn’t go far. In one cas...
Banish the hazing, crazing rays of summer Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 Under the relentless glare of UV, crisp sails turn to fragile rags, shiny paint dulls, and clear plastic windows become hazy and craze...
A young woman traces her avocation to infancy Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 I am a sailor. I always have been and I believe I always will be. Most people, when they hear the word sailor, picture the stereot...
Inexpensive pipe fittings beat the cost of custom Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 On a beautiful March weekend in the Pacific Northwest, my partner, Fiona, and I decided to go for a cruise aboard MonArk, our ...
Hard labor and a little luck restore order Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 I was staring at the rivulet of diesel forming a pool near the fuel tank. “Well, we knew it was bound to happen sooner or later,” sai...
Removing drawers leads to safer plumbing Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 We bought our Mariner 28, Day by Day, in 2014, downsizing from our Corbin 39 as a concession to our advancing years and the desire for ...
Trays organize the upper regions of deep lockers Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 Cavernous lockers are handy when you have something bulky to stash: a spare sail, a sun awning, or a folding grocery cart. But ...
Reinsulating means rebuilding Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 As is the case aboard many good old boats, the refrigerator/freezer insulation aboard Nine of Cups, our 1986 Liberty, was less than perfect. Our c...
Unwanted portlights left holes to patch Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 Over dinner one evening aboard their Allmand 31, Here & Now, our friends mentioned wanting to replace the boat’s portlights. They pl...
A classic-looking cruiser with an unorthodox interior Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 Viewed alongside the sleek cookie-cutter yachts of today, a Gozzard sailboat may look like a throwback to a past era, but ...
Simple gifts of welcome or thanks Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 While cruising, we receive help from other sailors on an almost daily basis. While a bottle of wine rarely goes unappreciated, it’s sometimes ...
Revealing storm structure through scanning strategies Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 In the first part of this two-part series (in the September 2016 issue), Mark explained the basics of Doppler weather rada...
A well-crafted cruising boat with character Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 John and Nancy Butte began their sailing adventures in a West Wight Potter 19 on blustery San Francisco Bay. Although Nancy, a retir...
Dreams fulfilled, sailors return to an unsteady terra firma Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 Odysseus, I was recently reminded, eventually got so fed up with his sea travels that he wanted to walk inland carry...
A logbook by lamplight and a flood of memories Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 I’m an old man with an old boat moored not far from my old house. My desire for new things has waned into a dying moon sliver wit...
A juice box traps both oil and cartridge Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 Changing an oil filter without making a mess is a challenge I have long faced, as have many other boat owners. Despite having relativel...
Getting a grip took a little help Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 To comply with the spirit and rule of USCG regulations, we keep the seacock on the holding tank’s overboard discharge closed and disable it by...
No more huffing and puffing when stuffing Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 As an amateur cushion-maker for multiple sailboats, I enjoyed Connie McBride’s article in the March 2016 issue, “Building Settee Cushi...
A stubborn small task is done at last Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 When we purchased our 1976 Ontario 32 sailboat a few years ago, we knew she needed a refit. Most of the tasks on our to-do list, from larg...
When water pipes reach the end of the line Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 The plastic freshwater plumbing that had been in my Down East 45 schooner, Britannia, since 1977 was a horrible spaghetti-like mess a...
A handy trailer-sailer that’s easy on the boating budget Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 Boats to review often come to me via interesting paths. In response to a request by Good Old Boat editor Karen Larson f...
. . . means coping with the occasional nightmare Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 What happens when someone who has discarded a dream, a dream clearly beyond reach, meets a dreamer? Possibilities germinate. Yo...
How it can come unhinged under stress Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 Cliff Moore has had his share of trouble with transom-hung rudders (see “Rudders I Have Loved and Lost,” January 2017). In my article “How...
. . . and replaced with mixed results Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 I have lost rudders five times over the course of owning two different boats, each time for a different reason, each time requiring a diff...
A rudder head succumbs to its mixed-metal construction Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 As the proud new owner of a 1985 Gloucester 22, I’m taking time to go over her thoroughly and return her to near-pristine...
Tired, sole-scorching teak decking gets the heave-ho Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 “You’re delirious — come out of the sun right now!” my wife, Heidi, called to me from the shade of the cockpit. For the rec...
Protect bright-finished handrails with snap-on covers Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 Teak handrails are not just functional, they add a beautiful, classic aesthetic to a sailboat, especially when the teak is...
An old sail helps the night watch rest easy Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 After we purchased a new suit of sails recently, I was determined to give our old sails a second life. I couldn’t find a recycling p...
It began with reclaiming space from in-deck storage Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 Our Down East 45 has a large aft cabin with an attached en-suite head compartment. Entry to this cabin is by way of a passag...
