Having capitulated, here’s how to raise the waterl...
September 25, 2026
The rise and fall of a famous nautical cover girl Issue 66 : May/Jun 2009 Some consider it absurd to anthropomorphize inanimate objects, but those of us who mess about in boats know differently. After...
Advice from one of America’s best-known cruising authors Issue 66 : May/Jun 2009 When I’m way out on the water in a small boat and a storm swoops down and the yacht starts hopping around, all sorts of...
A father and son bond deeply playing pirate Issue 66 : May/Jun 2009 In 1995, my son and I towed our daysailer from Birmingham, Alabama, to Bahia Honda State Park, Florida, for a week of cruising in th...
Navigation catches up with science fiction Issue 66 : May/Jun 2009 A dream is coming true far faster than I ever would have imagined. It’s foggy, and I’m anchored in Gambier Island’s Halkett Bay on th...
A maxi trailersailer for inland and coastal waters Issue 66 : May/Jun 2009 The O’Day 26 is one of the last models in a long line that originated with George O’Day, the 1960 Olympic Gold Medal sailor a...
Pick up a mooring with grace and élan Issue 66 : May/Jun 2009 A mooring-and-buoy system consists of an anchor, a length of chain, and a mooring buoy that both holds up the chain and marks the location...
They are shipmates of a higher order Issue 66 : May/Jun 2009 Father-and-son relationships come in as many variations as there are fathers and sons. Looking back at my own father, I remember him as som...
Lessons learned by a would-be circumnavigator Issue 66 : May/Jun 2009 Choosing and equipping your voyaging boat is all about compromise. Among other considerations, you have to balance initial costs, ...
Economical recycling of throwaway mahogany Issue 66 : May/Jun 2009 My partner, Magali, and I have attempted to carry out the improvements and modifications to Sigfrid, our 34-foot 6-inch steel ketch, ...
Light and air stream belowdecks once the dam of procrastination is breached Issue 66 : May/Jun 2009 Sometimes, the simple solution to a problem is not easy to contemplate. Although Sea Trek, our Marin...
Creating stowage for volumes and tools Issue 66 : May/Jun 2009 The only thing I can compare to spending a rainy night reading while rocking at anchor in some distant, seal-haunted cove, is stretching ...
A spritely sailer with plenty of cruising room Issue 66 : May/Jun 2009 On a breezy day in October 2008, Charlie and Elaine Lawson put their 1987 Newport 28 II, Desirée, through her paces and then host...
A large family has big adventures in a small boat Issue 67: July/Aug 2009 A two-day passage into bright blue sub-tropical water inspired pleasant reflections on how the journey with our good old boat ...
An informal survey for our readers Issue 66 : May/Jun 2009 As the national and world economies started heading south, Good Old Boat magazine made some rigging changes to help us weather the storm. Mos...
Reviewing those occasional moments of chaos — and bliss Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 In a frustrating moment during a mechanical refit on Pleiades, I sat wondering, “Why do I even own a boat?” My lack of ...
Clean cuts in fiberglass cloth Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 Working with fiberglass cloth presents a number of challenges. One of them is making a straight cut across the width of the material. To draw a ...
Putting golf balls to a higher purpose Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 At haulout time in northern climates, sailors perform an annual ritual of cleaning, packing, winterizing, and covering their boats to pr...
A flexible joint accommodates different expansion rates Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 Leaks and cracks are all too common when Plexiglas is fastened to a wooden hatch frame with screws. They are largely a ...
Marina auctions offer good old bargains aplenty . . . but caveat sailor! Issue 67: July/Aug 2009 Auctions of abandoned boats are potentially an excellent source for sailors looking for smaller and ine...
Urethane finish generates the Wow! factor Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 From my perspective, nothing is more pleasing to the eye than the gleaming finish of a sailboat’s brightwork. It makes no difference ...
A hatch trick restores the view ahead Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 On some boats, the field of view from the helm is quite poor. We faced this problem on our Sisu 26. It was built in 1985 and some of the ...
Ten things you could take off the “must-have” list Issue 67: July/Aug 2009 In today’s economic climate, many of us are looking for ways to scale back our budgets without giving up our dreams. For anyo...
The equipment you hope you never have to use Issue 67: July/Aug 2009 Among the most important pieces of equipment on board our boats are some we’ve spent good money for but hope we never have to use. ...
A good old author recalls the fun of the good old days Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 Everything about sailing was very different then. The America’s Cup was challenged for and defended by syndicates of pri...
A new old compass goes in the right surroundings Issue 67: July/Aug 2009 When I purchased my good old Hallberg-Rassy Mistral 33, I knew I was in for a lot of work. All the wood above deck needed to be...
To wash, or not to wash? Aye, there’s the rub Issue 67: July/Aug 2009 Awhile ago, I took a Saturday-morning rope-splicing class at a chandlery. As we were working away, someone asked about splicing ol...
New non-skid restores good looks and safe footing Issue 67: July/Aug 2009 Anyone who owns an older boat, or is considering the purchase of one that’s in need of some renovations, has wrestled with the...
A pair of throwable anchors is a valuable aid to “ungrounding” Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 T GIF! Friday had finally arrived. Soon we’d be off, just my little beauty and I, sailing out into the serenity ...
A stout overnighter with a big cockpit for daysailing Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 In 1974, the Hutchins Company found a market niche relatively unpopulated by competitors and filled it with a trailerable...
Docking in a storm brings near-calamity Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 The deal was done. I handed the check to the yacht broker, and she was mine: a classic New England sloop, designed by a famous marine a...
