Having capitulated, here’s how to raise the waterl...
September 25, 2026
Get to know your boat’s capabilities Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 We motored out of the little anchorage in the North Channel of Lake Huron into a stiffening afternoon breeze. We were beginning to learn ou...
Almost as good as a second pair of hands Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 If your crew tends to abandon ship at the smell of an open tube of sealant, this tool might help you re-bed that deck fitting singlehan...
A really thorough job: Even the deck was removed Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 While work was stalled on my 1969 Kenner Kittiwake project boat, I learned of a newer Kittiwake being auctioned on eBay. I was ...
A one-design racer with surprising cruising capability Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 In 1975, brothers Rod and Bob Johnstone shocked the world with a one-design keelboat that gave racing sailors a satisfyin...
A philosophy for enjoyable cruising Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 I had reason to spend a lot of time in a closet not long ago. I wasn’t being punished. I was painting several rooms in the house and, since ...
You, and a boat, and a wonderful philosophy Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 The trouble with being poor is you have to learn so much. You can’t just buy a beautiful boat and sail off into the sunset. First, y...
Nautical lessons from the grocery store toothpaste aisle Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 It was February as I prepared the May/June issue you’re holding in your hands, so forgive me if my nautical ramblings w...
Faux-teak lessens annual maintenance tasks Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 While I appreciate brightwork on a sailboats’s deck, I’m not one who enjoys the annual maintenance that usually accompanies such esth...
A way to keep charts handy to the helm Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 Beth and I sail our Ericson 31 in Puget Sound and north into the Canadian Gulf Islands and the shores of Vancouver Island. Even though we...
Extra cockpit light that also stows away Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 We have a Davis Mega-Light, cockpit version, which is a seriously cool gizmo — ambient light for the cockpit in white, red, or yellow w...
A knot you can trust with your wine Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 The hackamore knot is well worth knowing. It has at least three distinct uses for which it is invaluable. The first of these is as an emerge...
Avoid paying for those expensive thumps Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 Our 30-year-old Ranger 28 has a balanced rudder and is tiller-steered. While I prefer a tiller and like the feedback it gives, it unsett...
Yes, says this seasoned seller, sometimes they are Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 As a lifelong do-it-yourselfer, I’ve generally agreed with those who say, “Selling a boat isn’t on a par with diesel-injector...
RC model Lasers are more than toy boats Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 This morning I participated in a peaceful pastime that I dearly love: sailing. Now as I write this, the wind howls outside, the temperat...
Here’s one that comes pretty close to ideal Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 Space on the deck of any cruising vessel is tight. Because we have so many things to carry and still need space left over to actuall...
Painful introduction to sailing leads to lifelong passion Issue 61: July/Aug 2008 The mist of a late summer morning was rising from the waters of Penn Lake. It mingled and swirled into the rays of the...
Salvage those little bits of horribly expensive wood Issue 61: July/Aug 2008 After fitting out a boat or just making moderate changes to its interior, few of us escape the scrap dilemma. This occurs w...
A fine racer/cruiser for a small family Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 Yamaha is a well-known name in musical instruments and motorcycles. But sailboats? Perhaps one in a hundred sailors knows that during th...
Adding staying power to your ground tackle Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 The anchor sentinel has been used by mariners for thousands of years. It is known by many other names throughout the world: the kelle...
A coastal cruiser from the shores of Lake Michigan Issue 61: July/Aug 2008 The S2 is one of a handful of small- to medium-sized sailboats built by Leon R. Slikkers, a Michigan man who has spent much m...
Examining the typical wet-exhaust system Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 After building a custom waterlift muffler with epoxy and fiberglass, one question remained: how does it compare with the commercial one...
Custom waterlift muffler calls for creative approach Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 My friend, Ken Simmons, and I ran into a common problem when we replaced the aging Atomic 4 in his 1968 Pearson Vanguard wi...
A revived cutter teaches her owners and aspiring cruisers a few lessons Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 Vespera is not your typical good old boat. But then, sailors Stan and Kathy Sroga aren’t your typical go...
An anxious skipper learns to listen to others Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 When first conceived, the notion of an overnight sail seemed exciting. Sally and I had been coastal cruising for years, but we alw...
This grating bends to the contour of any floor Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 Marine gratings have one thing in common: they are rigid and fit only in perfectly flat areas. A curve in the sole means getting ...
Advice for avoiding problems with your roller headsail Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 It was 3 A.M. The wind had reached the forecasted gale force, and somewhere in the marina I could hear the sound of a jib...
An old affair of the heart still haunts this sailor Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 A nor’easter is battering the coast of Nova Scotia, causing this old house to shudder. The sump pump valiantly struggles to ...
Ingenuity and a warm oven solve the problem Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 Replacing a smashed aluminum stem casting had us facing the prospect of having to have one custom-machined from scratch at considera...
It’s versatile, efficient, and above all, handsome Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 The schooner rig is considered to be distinctively North American. There is even a stale old story of how the name came to be...
This 1970s family cruiser offers a fair turn of speed Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 Pearson Yachts was one of the most respected builders during its long run from 1956 to 1988 or thereabouts (under ownershi...
