Make holding-tank chemistry work in your favor Issue 115: July/Aug 2017 You’ve polished the gelcoat, cleaned the seat covers, and put out matching towels, and yet when guests visit the head, their rea...
Replacing them with shelves created more storage space Issue 117: Nov/Dec 2017 When our youngest son, David, his wife, Hannah, and their toddler, Ashleigh, began the transition to being liveaboards tw...
It keeps the air fresh in a closed-up boat Issue 118: Jan/Feb 2018 When cleaning our good old Island Packet 31 shortly after purchasing her, I noticed a little white mold on some of the wooden interio...
A camp stove makes the grade for a lakes-cruising family Issue 118: Jan/Feb 2018 For the first 49 seasons after our 1965 Alberg 35 was built, a simple two-burner propane camp stove had sufficed in the...
Finding hidden corners and using them for storage Issue 119: March/April 2018 Fitting out our 2003 Tartan 3700, Sapphire, for a cruise from Lake Ontario to the Bahamas, I realized that we needed more ...
Where the climate insists, a built-in system pays dividends Issue 119: March/April 2018 Summers on the Chesapeake are hot and humid, so we thought we were in high clover when our new-to-us boat came w...
Storm windows on hatches and ports help keep the cabin cozy Issue 120: May/June 2018 How many northern sailors miss the glory days of sailing? I’m talking about the fall when, in many parts of the con...
One boat’s discard is another’s chill deal Issue 122: Sept/Oct 2018 One day at the dock, my slip neighbor James asked me if I had a need for a refrigeration unit on my 1965 Alberg 35. “I had to replac...
Getting tasty water from your boat’s tap isn’t a pipe dream if you follow some basic steps. Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 Stagnant, skunky, tank-sourced drinking water is one of the less romantic aspects of...
Buckets, sawdust, and a clever seat make a functional dry marine toilet. Issue 132: May/June 2020 When our son, John, moved aboard his Baba 30, the marine head was inoperable and unrepairable. He saw ...
Trading a dipstick for a digital meter takes the guesswork out of water use. Issue 139: July/Aug 2021 Our family’s Alberg 35 has a pair of freshwater tanks that total about 50 gallons. Unfortunately, ...
Completing their boat’s much-needed refit was almost like building her twice. Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 How many people can say that they built the same boat twice? My wife, Ellen, and I can safely rai...
A little sewing, some clever woodwork, and voilà, a better quarter berth. Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 Nurdle, my 1979 Bristol 35.5, has a quarter berth, a common feature on boats of this size and vintage...
Great modifications make all the difference on three good old boats. Issue 141: Nov/Dec 2021 Spend any meaningful amount of time aboard a boat, and its shortcomings quickly become apparent. That wet l...
Try these tricks to stay toasty warm while cold-weather cruising. Issue 141: Nov/Dec 2021 Summer sailing can be lovely, but there are downsides; the season is short in much of the country, the waters ...
Careful use of KiwiGrip provides a solution to some slippery problems. Issue 142: Jan/Feb 2022 Having lived aboard Cetus, our Fantasia 35, for nearly 30 years, my wife, Heidi, and I are well aware of ...
Precise patterns and plywood replace a complex, cracked floor. Issue 144: May/June 2022 Our 1980 Fantasia 35, Cetus, is a centercockpit design, and below deck on the port side beneath the cockpit is a...
A dinghy foot pump comes to the rescue to clear a clogged saildrive water intake. Issue 144: May/June 2022 It was another spectacular summer day, and once again my wife, Carey, and I escaped life asho...
A new headliner provides a big makeover for a 44-year-old racer/cruiser. Issue 146: Sept/Oct 2022 When Doug Peterson designed the Peterson 34 based off his innovative one-tonner Ganbare, he reportedly...
An old, leaky hatch gets a makeover to stop the drips and add some special teak. Issue 146: Sept/Oct 2022 The original forward hatch on Calypso, the 1976 Bristol Channel Cutter that my husband, Jeremy...
When the toilet pump handle broke, ideas began to flow. Issue 145: July/Aug 2022 My father once offered me a sage piece of advice: Never get run over by the same trolley car twice. So, when the handle...
An extra shower compartment is repurposed into a four-tier storage space. Issue 146: Sept/Oct 2022 One of the things we love most about our Moody 44 is her four cabins. It’s a fantastic layout for a f...
Why sweat and contort yourself if you don’t have to? Issue 149: March/April 2023 “Every part of the hull should be easy to access!” I’ll forever remember those words from one of my offshore training c...
Crafting a traditional interior look and feel with a little ingenuity Issue 150: May/June 2023 Calypso is the 1976 Bristol Channel Cutter we’ve owned since 1992. As you might expect, we’ve put her thr...
Replacing a boat’s halogen lights with LED ones is a satisfying, power-saving upgrade at a minimal cost Issue 150: May/June 2023 During long Quebec winters, while my small sailboat is covered on the h...
DIY rope hooks to keep your coils organized Issue 150: May/June 2023 Hooks are designed to snag. But that is the polar opposite of what I need in a rope locker. Installed in a sail locker, for example...
A DIY teak box built onto a compression post enables movie-watching in style Issue 150: May/June 2023 When we bought Avocet in 2018, we knew we were in for a world of projects. From doing a total exte...
An unpleasant surprise necessitates the replacement of a sole and stringer Issue 151: July/Aug 2023 I have a long list of projects on my boat that I want to complete. But replacing the cabin sole was ...
