Having capitulated, here’s how to raise the waterl...
September 25, 2026
Tie ’em fore and aft Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 If you have external halyards on your boat, no doubt you’ve been awakened at night by the annoying clanging of a loose halyard rapping against the mast. T...
Clever clamps made of rubber hose Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 I like my boat to be visible in a dark anchorage, but I prefer to use cockpit and deck lighting that doesn’t use precious stored energy. Sola...
Hand-sewn cargo boosters that stow flat Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 A pair of saddlebags, or panniers as they are often called in the biking world, add capacity and convenience when we make shopping trip...
Reflections upon entering the good old years Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 Most of the time it is dark and hot inside during the summer months. It’s late July and for the past nine months I have lived in a...
Why does cleaning it require taking a bath? Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 Now that we have mapped the human genome, it’s time to tackle the real technological challenge of the 21st century — foul-proofing ...
A single digit now does a two-person job Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 It’s slightly more than 8 feet from the water to the head of the davits on the raised aft deck of my Down East 45 schooner, Britannia....
Renewal restores the psyche Issue 100: Jan/Feb 2015 This is the second of two parts. In the first part, in the November 2014 issue, Matt described the process of removing the deck skin and soggy core ...
The boat Bill Shaw designed for himself Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 When 33-year-old Don Sailors initially purchased Schurr Thing, 1976 Pearson 365 hull #38, he may have realized he was buying a proven a...
The head-to-wind drop under sail or power Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 No matter how you anchor, the basics are the same: have your ground tackle ready for instant use, choose your anchorage with care, an...
Investing in overhead pays dividends below Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 Having owned my almost-40-year-old Islander 36 for 17 years, I am always looking at ways to renew its beauty. One of the items that ...
. . . buys megayacht looks for a small outlay Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 “You owe my father $175,” Carolyn told me one day when I came home from work. “What for?” I asked. “For the wood to make the boat...
Soft barriers keep out bugs and sunbeams Issue 100: Jan/Feb 2015 I’ve had it with mosquitoes and also with the sun shining in my eyes when I’m trying to sleep. Maybe it’s about my sense of privacy too...
A portable system becomes permanent Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 Bath time on our 35-foot sloop has taken many forms in 30-some years of living aboard. The easiest and most fun was jumping overboard in th...
Where there’s no wheel, there’s still a way Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 Numerous dining tables have been designed to fit on the binnacle consoles on sailboats with wheel steering, but on a tiller-steered...
A micro-cruiser with four decades of fans Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 Wayne Egleston is a lifelong resident of Island County, Washington, and was a power-boater until 2008, when he spotted a sad-looking ...
A family’s unplanned evening swim Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 Every third week our weekend sailing routine was interrupted by . . . work. There I’ve said it. I know you’re not supposed to use such langua...
A mast gets a new foot to stand on Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 I’ve always been in the habit of pulling my mast when I lay my boat up each fall. It adds to the annual cost, but it’s better in the long ru...
The diagnosis was elusive and surprising Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 Our passage up France’s Seine river from Honfleur to Rouen was uneventful. We ran all day with Entr’acte’s engine humming along at 3,1...
Making the right connections Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 For electrical wiring aboard boats to meet recognized standards for safety and reliability, wires should be connected to equipment and other wires...
A big trailerable boat with a lifting keel Issue 100: Jan/Feb 2015 Reviewing the 1980 C&C Mega 30 owned by Good Old Boat founders Karen Larson and Jerry Powlas is something of a daunting project. ...
. . . meets two canoe-stern cousins Issue 100: Jan/Feb 2015 The Tom Hale-designed Vineyard Vixen 34 is a pretty little canoe-stern yacht much in the style of Bill Crealocks’ Pacific Seacraft 34 and Th...
. . . alongside two contemporary keel/centerboarders Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 Boats designed in the late 1960s and very early 1970s embody the later developments of the CCA Rule before the introductio...
. . . has acquired heirloom status Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 Rare is the man or woman who buys a boat and keeps it for a lifetime, handing the revered craft down to children like a family heirloom. Som...
A double-ender that looks and handles like a classic Issue 100: Jan/Feb 2015 Steve Capp had never seen, nor heard of, a Vineyard Vixen. And why would he? He and his wife, Carol, started sailing in 198...
How sailors measure accomplishments Issue 100: Jan/Feb 2015 Nearby dock neighbors and friends spent a summer with a new-to-them sailboat after being boatless a few years due to health issues. The rein...
Sea horses for different courses Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 The first time I heard it, the song brought tears to my eyes. It has had the same effect every time since. It wasn’t meant to be sad; it’s a s...
It’s a springtime rite in a boatyard Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 It begins slowly. Just a rustling of loosened winter covers and the occasional soft thump as hatches open and close. It’s not that the boa...
It’s rugged, enduring and, er, rustic Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 When I had my wooden dock built in the late 1980s, the builder asked me if I wanted expensive metal cleats or less-expensive cleats. I ch...
They are more than a buffer twixt butt and deck Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 Closed-cell-foam seat cushions are available at home centers. I found ours at Menards under their house name Guidesman (SKU 175...
An elder-care product updates a good old boat Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 My 1983 Catalina 36, Tao, was a great choice at a great price, but I’ve often looked with longing at those cool open transoms on ...
