Have your boat text you when it’s in trouble Issue...
June 24, 2026
Warm up those earbuds and chill . . . Issue 83: March/April 2012 About this time of year, the northern sailors among us get a bit weary of winter. We start attending boat shows. Even shows that don’t ...
A lot of boat in a small, stout package Issue 84 : May/Jun 2012 Starting a business venture requires nerve and dedication, and the first product must be good if the company is to succeed. George and M...
We are the yarns we spin Issue 84 : May/Jun 2012 My husband is a masterful storyteller. One of his best collections of tales records years of racing Flying Scots in a fleet in which the 19-foot Scots ...
In a sailors’ paradise, why do engines rule? Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Soon after slipping our mooring at The Baths, Virgin Gorda, with our shoddy outboard pushing just enough to weave our way out of th...
A home-store commodity fit the bill Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Turnbuckle boots last a long time, but not forever. Cracked and broken, mine were showing their age. I needed six boots 1 1/2 inches in diam...
Make them the right length for any job Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Bungees of the “loop and ball” type are very handy around sailboats. I needed some larger than those commercially available for tying up ...
C-clamps earn an A for ingenuity Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Aboard my various boats in the past I have had gimbaled and non-gimbaled galley ranges, as well as fixed countertop stoves, so I have encounter...
Impermanent illumination for impromptu parties Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Every once in a while, although the Vera May is really not a party boat, her cockpit is the venue for a small evening gathering. ...
Tragedy underscores propane’s dark side Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 A sailing friend called with stunning news: an explosion had just destroyed a boat moored in the marina where our good old boat, Sirius,...
An author prevails against life’s headwinds Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Before dawn each day, William C. Hammond makes his way to the writing studio of his rambling colonial house near downtown Minneapoli...
Under its dull, chalky finish lies a shiny boat Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Believe it or not, it is possible to bring the shine back to a good old boat. Most of the thousands of aging fiberglass boats ou...
Drawn to the irresistible rhythm of Polynesia Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 We pull into Hanavave Bay on Fatu Hiva after a long afternoon of sailing. The jagged mountains and deep valleys of the Marquesas I...
An inexpensive boat proves to be a treasure Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Many times in my life I have found more than I was looking for. That was the case with the boat my wife, Sharon, and I are now cruis...
A confirmed tinkerer adds muscle to his foredeck Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 After a difficult anchor retrieval, the first mate and I decided it was time to bring another deckhand aboard Prime Time, our 2...
Cruisers rediscover sailing on home waters in a small boat Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 It is a lovely summer day in the Gulf Islands off Canada’s west coast as our 25-footer pokes her bow out of the marin...
Big Bobber marks the spot Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 As your boat swings around in a tight or crowded anchorage, it’s helpful if you can see where your anchor is lying. An anchor buoy enables you to do t...
A nifty boat-cover support that packs to nothing Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 As I drove slowly by this boat, the thought flashed through my mind that it sure would be easy to store this winter-cover frame...
Close it with a cord and a cleat hitch Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 In situations where more-normal people ask, “How can I fix this?” we on board Eurisko tend to think, “How can I use string to fix this?” ...
A spiffy new look for regulation flotation Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 They’re bright yellow, anonymous, and everywhere. New ones are expensive but they become faded eyesores after a few years in the sun....
The answer is to baffle it Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Everyone else on the shopping bus was bleary-eyed and commiserating about how many times during the night they had gotten up to close hatches. It had...
A family of four dreams big, goes small Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 On a cold November night in 2010, my husband and I attended a liveaboard brunch at a nearby marina. There the seed of an old dream germi...
An internal transducer eliminates a through-hull Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Signals from a depth sounder will pass through a fiberglass hull that is not too thick and has no delamination problems. The ow...
A sturdy club racer and coastal cruiser Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 Humphrey Bogart’s sleek and much-loved yacht, Santana — a contraction of “Santa Ana” — was named for the katabatic winds that blow throu...
Tips for taking photos that “pop” Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 The difference between a snap-shot and a beautiful photo is in the details, not in the cost of the camera it’s taken with or the advanced proc...
Partners approach it from different directions Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 When we mess about in boats, most of us enjoy the company of others. When I sail, my preference is to meander about, exploring th...
Bet on it before you bet on luck Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Many boat projects require a reasonable amount of skill, but for the most part it’s your determination and vision that become the most importan...
Matt Rutherford’s most excellent vertical circumnavigation Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 The last three weeks were the worst — cold air, boarding seas, and stubborn winds on the nose. He was in a beat-up bo...
A little lumber and a little labor is all it took Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 The hatch on my new good old boat, a 1972 Balboa 20, was not in the best of shape. The wooden pieces that enclosed the edges o...
An innovative and popular design from the early 1980s Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Warren Luhrs founded Hunter Marine in 1972 and within a year introduced his first sailboat, the Hunter 25. For his initial...
The bottom line in mainsail trim Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Outhauls have been in use since the days of the square rigger. An outhaul is part of the running rigging, specifically a line fastened to the c...
