Old-world wisdom helps restore white vinyl Issue 81 : Nov/Dec 2011 An article of mine entitled “Simply Clean” appeared in the May 2004 issue of Good Old Boat. It detailed recipes for more than two doz...
A convenient container for small canisters Issue 81 : Nov/Dec 2011 If you have an anchor locker with a drain, here’s an easy way to store those 1-pound propane tanks used for barbecue grills. Buy a le...
A clever little box cuts projects down to size Issue 81 : Nov/Dec 2011 Many sailors do their repair projects or build additions for their boats in home workshops equipped with all the tools required f...
Peace of mind for pocket change Issue 81 : Nov/Dec 2011 The battery-operated wireless burglar alarms widely available now for doors and windows can provide an easy and inexpensive way to protect the c...
A work-around keeps the boat in service Issue 83: March/April 2012 The diesel tank on my 1968 Seafarer was in need of repair. I had to cut it open to clean it and also had to replace the fuel lines. I...
A woodworker sometimes has to extemporize Issue 83: March/April 2012 We have all wished at times that we had three hands. When tackling boat projects, however, it seems that what we need more of isn’t...
Old hatch + new lens = brighter cabin Issue 81 : Nov/Dec 2011 Most sailboats have a hatch over the V-berth. The hatch is either solid or it has a lens to admit light. Over time, a hatch lens will beco...
A new faceplate accommodates new gadgets Issue 82 : Jan/Feb 2012 After more than 25 years sailing, I decided it was time to get an autopilot for Unicorn, our Catalina 30. When it came to installing th...
How a piece of flotsam became an asset Issue 82 : Jan/Feb 2012 One side effect of continually making improvements and upgrades to Sigfrid, our 34-foot 6-inch steel ketch, is that my partner, Magali, a...
They let you see what you seek Issue 84 : May/Jun 2012 Sailors waste a lot of time looking for things. Here’s something that, once you make it, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without. Let’s say yo...
Raid the hardware store, not your wallet Issue 84 : May/Jun 2012 When I went shopping for a telescoping whisker pole, I came away with sticker shock. Like a lot of other small cruising sailboats, my 2...
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 ...
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...
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....
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...
Artful modifications relieve trailersailor angst Issue 87 : Nov/Dec 2012 Several years before retirement, my wife, Johanna, and I purchased Someday Lady, a trailerable 1995 Catalina 25. It’s the water...
It’s a versatile and invaluable tool Issue 87 : Nov/Dec 2012 The hand-bearing compass, or sighting compass, is a portable compass used to take a bearing or azimuth. This type of compass has been in us...
Simplifying the water supply led to galley efficiencies Issue 88 : Jan/Feb 2013 Our 1976 Tanzer 26 served us very well for several years as a cruising boat on Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, but on such a ...
Parts boxes no longer slip, slide, or spill Issue 89 : Mar/Apr 2013 Over the years, I’ve tried all types of containers for storing my tools, fasteners, spare parts, and so on. I finally settled on cle...
Getting a horseshoe buoy to accept a boat’s name Issue 89 : Mar/Apr 2013 It was time to replace the ratty, decades-old yellow (now almost white) throwable horseshoe buoy on Wind-Borne, my 1985 Hunter ...
Decorative work occupies a quiet sea passage Issue 89 : Mar/Apr 2013 On a passage from French Polynesia to the Cook Islands a couple of years ago, nothing major had broken, the weather was benign, and...
Take the helm while taking in the view Issue 89 : Mar/Apr 2013 My Catalina 28 has elevated catbird seats in the aft corners of the cockpit that are wonderful places to sit when we’re under sail. I oft...
Tame slippery laces with push-button ease Issue 91 : Jul/Aug 2013 They say necessity is the mother of invention. If that’s so, then Spinnaker, my cocker spaniel puppy, is the father. I’d been getting ...
You can’t take all of them with you . . . Issue 91 : Jul/Aug 2013 One of the things I knew I’d miss most, once we cast off the docklines and went cruising on the 31-foot Cape George cutter I’d built f...
Big-box carabiners are the ultimate clip-ons Issue 92 : Sept/Oct 2013 I’ve tried a number of arrangements for connecting the fenders to Wind-Borne, my 1985 Hunter 28.5, but none have been all that sat...
New life for a good old boat’s wheels Issue 98: Sept/Oct 2014 Three times we went to look at the Catalina 22. Under the grime and moss she seemed to be in overall good shape, if just a little neglecte...
An old-time rope trick saves the docklines Issue 93 : Nov/Dec 2013 Not until our family spent our third winter aboard while cruising on Ganymede — our home-finished Cape George 31 cutter — did we have...
Adapting a boathook to do double duty Issue 93 : Nov/Dec 2013 To make my own whisker pole, I developed an alternative approach to that described by Clarence Jones (“An Inexpensive Whisker Pole,” May 2...
