Having capitulated, here’s how to raise the waterl...
September 25, 2026
Shooting stills and video for cruising articles To get photos with a difference, take your boat away from marina situations and find surroundings that are out of the ordinary. Magazines need photograp...
Shipwreck! What does that word conjure in your mind? Adventure, mystery, cold dark places, treasure, risk, betrayal, intrigue? All of it is delivered generously in this book. A cast of fourteen Atlant...
Pirate is an NYU professor’s telling of his adventures aboard Pirate, a 1974 Swan 38 he purchased in 1989, only four years after he learned to sail. The number of miles that pass beneath a yacht’s kee...
Even Older We received the following letter on March 18, from our friend Jeanne Socrates, who last year became the oldest person to have ever sailed solo, unassisted, and non-stop around the world. He...
Vintage Racing-Rigging Info Wanted Reader Hal Nash of Waldport, Oregon, wrote asking for our help. We don’t have the knowledge he seeks and we referred him to riggers we know, but offered to also put...
Ensconced in the cocoon-like security and comfort of our home, a Freedom 38 sailboat named Her Diamond, I turn my attention away from the 24-hour coronavirus news cycle and I reflect. I am saddened by...
When I was with Mark Ellis Design in the mid and late 1980s and early 1990, Mark was in the process of successfully incorporating more powerboats into his design portfolio. I expect that was the reaso...
Jimmy Buffett, the novelist. Who knew? Well, apparently a lot of people. After all, this is his third book for adult readers, including his autobiography, A Pirate Looks at Forty. But, in a way, Jimmy...
Highly Questionable I could not believe that you published this short article (“Easy Charting,” February, The Dogwatch). Taking a picture of a chart on a smartphone? Really? While I’m not sure, ...
We want to hear from you! We want your help, and we’re willing to offer you something for it. We want to hear from as many readers as possible about the products or services you’ve discovered/purchas...
On February 21, Good Old Boat lost its undisputed biggest fan. Tom Wells died peacefully and unexpectedly aboard his boat in Florida; he laid down for a nap and never woke. His public obituary is here...
My previous boat was a traditional cutter with an outboard rudder and boomkin, precluding the use of a common stern swim ladder. The wooden side ladder she came with was cumbersome and difficult to st...
Clever surgery on a standard bed mattress improves a V-berth’s sleepability. Issue 131: March/April 2020 When we bought Phantom, our Pearson 365 ketch, in 2001, my wife, Barbara, and I slept on V-bert...
Is The Tears of Dark Water a novel about sailing? It begins on the water. Daniel Parker and his 18-year-old son, Quentin, are well-weathered Americans long into a circumnavigation aboard their ...
There’s more to going offshore than buying a boat and outfitting it. It’s also an unbelievably emotional journey. It turns your world inside out. Often, books about going offshore will only broach the...
Saildrone “You knew it was coming…” is the message Good Old Boat contributing editor Allen Penticoff sent me with a link to saildrone.com. Maybe we should have, seems to be the era of the drone, from ...
Another Lesson for Lee? After reading Lee Brubacher’s story about anchoring with two anchors (“Twice Hooked,” The Dogwatch, January 2019), I think that, in addition to his conclusion about when to use...
I sail a MacGregor 26D. It does not have a chart table. We don’t even carry much in the way of charts, because using charts in the cockpit takes a lot of room and just when we need to look at de...
Self Sufficient Sailor, by Lin and Larry Pardey (Pardey Books, 2019; 332 pages) There’s no questioning or disputing the sailing (and writing) creds that made Lin and Larry Pardey household names among...
Falling, by Brion Toss (C-Star Press, 2018; 52 pages) Maybe you’ve met people doing what they’re born to do? People who early-on embraced a vocation that was perfectly aligned with their interests and...
The Good and the Best of Good Old Boat: Feedback Last month we put it to the readers to learn what parts of Good Old Boat magazine you looked forward to most, and least. We didn’t get as much feedback...
A Big Mistake We made it clear last month that we’re offering free Good Old Boat magazine subscriptions to any active-duty servicemember. We failed to make it clear that we were talking about US servi...
We’ve got some poorly lit areas aboard (as you can see above), and they’re where we most need bright light: our under-the-bridgedeck galley sink and our chart table. Early on, we’d use a flashlight to...
For me, there are few experiences as satisfying as finding a quiet, secluded anchorage where I can enjoy the freedom of a peaceful sunset and lazy morning. You’ll recognize my boat because there’s an ...
Irascible and indomitable, the British Seagull was not for the faint of heart. Issue 134: Sept/Oct 2020 Long before the Energizer Bunny, there was the British Seagull outboard motor. Conceived in the ...
A night passage in familiar waters nearly ends in disaster. Issue 132: May/June 2020 I’m not a great sailor, not even a very good one. But I enjoy moving from one place to another in that way, and I’v...
A repower in rural Alaska required precise planning and helpful hands. Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 Wide awake in my bunk, I stared at the ceiling without really seeing it. It was nearing 3 a.m., and my mi...
Freestanding rigs offer an intriguing comparison to traditional, stayed masts. Issue 134: Sept/Oct 2020 In 1985, when I joined the office of Mark Ellis Design, Mark took me sailing aboard a Nonsuch 30...
Adding an inner forestay expands sail plan options and can make for better boathandling. Issue 132: May/June 2020 When my wife, Ellen, and I began our search for an ocean-going cruising boat, high on...
Yacht designer Ted Brewer gazes back over a storied career. Issue 133: July/Aug 2020 Ted and Betty Brewer’s living room is warm and inviting. Two harpoons hang on teak-colored walls, and a model boxca...
