Steps in the process of measuring progress Issue 8...
June 26, 2026
A cruise leads to a harrowing experience and an important lesson for newbie sailors. Issue 155: March/April 2024 It all started when I found an available mooring just a few yards’ walk from our beach ...
A solution for smaller boats and sensitive waters Issue 155: March/April 2024 Let’s be honest — toilets aboard small boats are tricky and can be icky. My first cruisable boat, a Stiletto 27, had a che...
A clever solution for raising a mast on a small boat Issue 155: March/April 2024 I have a renovated/repurposed 17-foot Thistle trailer-sailer named Transmogrifier for daysailing and beach cruising (se...
When the right boat proves elusive, a sailor tackles a major overhaul. Issue 155: March/April 2025 My search for the ideal beach cruiser started several years ago, when I decided to compete in the Eve...
The little boat that could Issue 155: March/April 2024 In an era of increasingly bigger boats, sometimes it’s the smaller vessels that steal the show — like our beloved Fatty Knees 8 dinghy. Despite i...
Turning the interior of a bargain trailer-sailer into a comfortable pocket cruiser Issue 155: March/April 2024 When hunting for an old fiberglass sailboat to adopt in the spring of 2022, I found many ...
A classic plastic gets a modern electric galley. Issue 155: March/April 2024 As I write this, I am about a day’s sail from American Samoa, bound for Fiji. Triteia, my 1965 Alberg 30, is running wing a...
A Montgomery 12 becomes a family project that perpetuates the love of sailing. Issue 155: March/April 2024 Restoring a 1974 Montgomery 12 sailing dinghy with my identical twin boys, Jackson and Connor...
Tips and tricks from a window replacement on a couple’s first sailboat Issue 155: March/April 2024 Window replacements rarely fall under the category of “simple,” and this job on my newly acquired 197...
From pocket cruisers to beloved classics, dying boats need to be saved. Issue 155: March/April 2024 Last spring, the yard where I store my sloop for the winter cleared out a small trove of derelict sa...
Bringing an old boat back to life provides relief in trying times. Issue 155: March/April 2024 My husband lifted the shabby dinghy off the bed of the truck, slid the decrepit 8-foot hull onto a rollin...
A Sleek Racer/Cruiser From the Mid-’80s Issue 155: March/April 2024 Jan Bednarski was introduced to the world of water sports by his father near the prairie city of Edmonton, Alberta. Over the y...
The family business that sparked a DIY sail- and canvas-making revolution. Issue 147: Nov/Dec 2022 When I call Matt Grant, vice president of Sailrite, to interview him for this article, I’m surprised ...
A stout double-ender for cruising I’ve heard that New England sailors have seawater running through their veins and after meeting Margaret Pesaturo, I would say it’s true. Her grandparents were boatbu...
A series of bad decisions leads to a potentially fatal situation Issue 154: Jan/Feb 2024 Squalls were building rapidly as Jo Beth rumbled along under engine power, some 10 miles southeast of the entra...
When my wife Susan and I bought our Contessa 32, Hunter Star, in LaPaz, Mexico, I asked the owner if the boat came with a dinghy. He hemmed and hawed a bit, and finally said there was an old fiberglas...
Graveyard of the Pacific: Shipwreck and Survival on America’s Deadliest Waterway by Randall Sullivan There are many North American inlets out there that at times can be difficult, even dangerous. I on...
Installing a cabin heater for cool cruising adventures in a warm boat Issue 154: Jan/Feb 2024 Honcho, our 1998 Beneteau 36s7, needed cabin heat. Even though we had given up cruising in the coldest mon...
Hitting a Tanker in the Dark Issue 153: Nov/Dec 2023 Sailing through the night is a phenomenal experience. I have had some of my best and worst moments in the inky black of night — ghosting, coasting,...
The Deepest Map: The High-Stakes Race to Chart the World’s Oceans by Laura Trethewey Sailors don’t use “maps” for navigating, we use charts. So why review a book called The Deepest Map? The short answ...
On an ill-fated voyage home, a young family learns lessons in seamanship and community spirit Issue 153: Nov/Dec 2023 All sailors start somewhere. As a teenager, I was infatuated with stories in Natio...
The backroom brothers who made masts and hardware for the famous Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 When you break a mast or need a new spreader base or just want to have a fresh coat of paint applied to an...
A DIY soda machine satisfies a couple’s bubbly water obsession Issue 153: Nov/Dec 2023 We had just pulled into Ketchikan, Alaska, and we were desperate people. It wasn’t the days on end of rainy weath...
For those familiar with the writing and sailing accomplishments of Webb Chiles and his many voyages in small boats, a new short film about him is worth watching. The film follows the arch of Chiles...
Readers who enjoyed Bert Vermeer’s review of the Vancouver 27 in the September/October 2023 issue of Good Old Boat will get a kick out of best-selling author Donald Hamilton’s Cruises with Kathleen: M...
The challenges and rewards of 48 days sailing the Florida Keys Issue 152: Sept/Oct 2023 It took hours to rig, pack, and launch the boat. We suffered in the heat and humidity, sweating through our too-...
An easy and satisfying project to keep all your hoses organized. A friend of mine has a very large motor yacht and the degree of “comforts of home” and the associated complexity of plumbing in the eng...
A Head-Turning Shoal-Draft Cruiser. Issue 135: Nov/Dec 2020 Lake Mendota, just north of Madison, Wisconsin, is my home water; it’s also where the late, great Buddy Melges sailed. Wide and deep, it’s a...
A desert native goes cruising and takes a leap into unfamiliar territory Issue 151: July/Aug 2023 The story starts in Kanab, Utah, where we bought a sailboat. Nobody thinks of sailboats when they thin...
This is not a sailing story. As a matter of fact, there are only three scenes that occur aboard sailing ships — all epic, which makes it a worthwhile read for sailors. From start to finish, Hold Fast ...
