Having capitulated, here’s how to raise the waterl...
September 25, 2026
This one really won’t jam in a block Issue 60 : May/Jun 2008 Having been a racing sailor for many years, i know firsthand the extra pounding a boat takes while you’re out there rounding the buoys. Ove...
Braided tail improves hold on rode Issue 60 : May/Jun 2008 A simple running (or rolling) hitch, used to attach a snubber to an anchor rode, may have difficulty in maintaining a good grip on the rode, ...
Survivor describes losing his yacht at sea Issue 61: July/Aug 2008 It was a long time ago. One might imagine it would haunt, cling with the chill of a sea mist on a night watch, but it does not. We su...
Cure “old boat smell” with aromatic wood Issue 60 : May/Jun 2008 Each old boat has a comforting, mildly intoxicating, and unique smell: an indescribable combination of wood, salt air, and perhaps a bi...
A cruiser goes racing and finds common joy Issue 60 : May/Jun 2008 After three years of living aboard and circumnavigating the world, Evans and I sold our Shannon 37, Silk. I cleaned out the last of t...
Moviemaking for fun, family, and (perhaps) profit Issue 60 : May/Jun 2008 Have you ever watched a movie and commented, “I could have done better,” or “I would have done it this way?” Now it’s your tur...
When weather lets you goof off without a guilty conscience Issue 61: July/Aug 2008 Some days dawn gray, wet, and windy and promise only scud, thump, and splash. But if you are safely anchored and gene...
Desert soldier buys Internet boat 7,000 miles away Issue 60 : May/Jun 2008 In the military you rarely do anything without first conducting a risk assessment that consists of a matrix listing possible ...
Be cautious about adding new components Issue 60 : May/Jun 2008 A boat’s electrical system gets attention pretty early in a restoration or refit. Most of us who are fixing up older sailboats figure we...
The man who built the Sea Sprite and Southern Cross cruisers Issue 60 : May/Jun 2008 Anyone who sPends time looking at old sailboats soon figures out that boats with Clarke Ryder’s name on them are he...
Singing the praises of a hard, non-inflatable dinghy Issue 60 : May/Jun 2008 Over the last 20 years i have worn out two inflatable dinghies. As the kids grew, we put lots of happy miles on both of the...
A beamy, shoal-draft cruiser ideal for Florida and the Bahamas Issue 60 : May/Jun 2008 Island PacKet yachts may Very well be the only boatbuilder owned and managed by a graduate naval architect who bu...
Experiencing the value and beauty of simplicity Issue 60 : May/Jun 2008 In the early 1960s i tooK a JoB in California. My wife, Dori, and I bought a house in Belmont, a small town in the hills overloo...
One man’s solution: Drag it backward Issue 60 : May/Jun 2008 The perfect dinghy would be light, stable, unsinkable, indestructible, readily convertible to a life raft, and able to carry a large burden...
Custom-made davits for less than $200 Issue 60 : May/Jun 2008 A dinghy is a darned nuisance! well, Perhaps not when the beach beckons, your neighbors in the anchorage have the cocktail pennant flying,...
Mate narrow Grade 43 chain with heavy-duty shackles Issue 60 : May/Jun 2008 Eleven years ago, as we were completing our first cruising boat in our backyard, our thoughts turned to the ground tackle th...
One sailor’s solution Issue 60 : May/Jun 2008 I was in the cabin of Mas Tiempo, my Islander 30, when I noticed something different in the symmetry of the shroud chainplates. These chainplates are atta...
How to check your rudder stops Issue 60 : May/Jun 2008 This excerpt is from the revised and expanded third edition of Lin and Larry Pardey’s Storm Tactics Handbook. The book has 10 new chapters and ha...
New alerts help prevent loss of life Issue 60 : May/Jun 2008 Every year the electronics aBoard the offshore sailboat become more exotic. Among the latest trends in marine safety are man-overboard (MOB...
Comparing three popular centerboard cruiser/racers Issue 60 : May/Jun 2008 These three yachts were designed as cruiser/racers under the influence of the Cruising Club of America rule. The Olin Stephen...
After 35 years, this boat project still isn’t complete Issue 60 : May/Jun 2008 In April 1972, a year aFter he was married, Ed Stanton, of Franklinville, New Jersey, ordered the bare hull of a Se...
How one cruiser learned to slow down and relax Issue 62 : Sept/Oct 2008 Skills gained through hands-on accomplishments can help demystify problems and bolster our self-confidence to tackle more demand...
Nobody, but nobody, enjoys messing about in cars Issue 62 : Sept/Oct 2008 Why is it that we treat our sailboats like, well, like sailboats? We give them names. We think of them as having personalities...
How to halt the flight of wet bath towels Issue 62 : Sept/Oct 2008 As experience has taught many of us, a head is not the best environment for a wet towel. Because we live aboard, our family of five i...
One last job for the old one Issue 62 : Sept/Oct 2008 Through the course of normal use, halyards gradually wear as they routinely pass over the sheaves at the top of the mast, around turning blocks, a...
Making a clean sweep of the dirtbuster business Issue 62 : Sept/Oct 2008 My favorite weapon for attacking dirt on our boat deck is a broom. We have one of those expensive, expanding boat-brush systems...
Be careful where you use these similar alloys Issue 61: July/Aug 2008 In comparing bronze and brass, it is helpful to define two key terms before pointing out the differences, attributes, and deficien...
Sealants and adhesives give way to heated chisel Issue 62 : Sept/Oct 2008 Have you ever had problems removing parts installed with polysulfide, polyurethane, silicone, or other marine sealants or adhe...
Indulging that strong urge to stamp it with your own character Issue 61: July/Aug 2008 Just after high school, I bought a good old car. The first thing I did was to wrap the sun visors and glove box d...
Know how much water you have — at a glance Issue 62 : Sept/Oct 2008 Water tanks are located in the nether regions of the boat and are covered by bunks, liner pans, access hatches, and all the stuff th...
