. . . 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...
Imagination, a little paint, and a few pennies go a long way Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 I was sitting on the head in my Paceship 26, Pelorus, when I realized that everything in that small space was a sh...
Useless spaces can earn their keep Issue 104 : Sept/Oct 2015 Our MacGregor 26D, Thebote, has a tiny sink area that is relatively useless. For a long time it held the wastebasket. Recently, at the requ...
Heat the food, not the cabin and crew Issue 104 : Sept/Oct 2015 I should put this on the table right now: I am a vegetarian. When every other boater in the harbor is preparing dinner on an outside gri...
A drop-in refrigerator delivers the cold Issue 104 : Sept/Oct 2015 Whether to have an icebox or a refrigerator on a sailboat has always been a difficult choice, especially on a small boat with limited...
Let there be light, even in the cold and wet Issue 105 : Nov/Dec 2015 Before we left home for a year-long land-and-sea cruise around the continent, during which time we would live aboard our 25-foot C...
A salad bowl was the dressing it needed Issue 106 : Jan/Feb 2016 When we purchased Sundew, our Watkins 27, she needed love in many areas, (see “Sundew Returns to Bloom,” May 2013). What she did have, ...
Easy on the eye, exacting in the making Issue 106 : Jan/Feb 2016 While constructing a forward stateroom for a customer, my husband, Dave, was given mostly free rein to design and build what he thought...
Keeping leafy greens fresh without a fridge Issue 108: May/ June 2016 When my partner, Robin, wants to get my attention, he’ll come home with a big beautiful bouquet of freshly cut collard greens. If ...
Ice-cooled air for a cool night’s sleep Issue 108: May/June 2016 Some nights in mid-summer it’s just too hot to sleep on the boat. Even with the companionway and all the ports and hatches open, ...
Installing air conditioning was a cool move Issue 108: May/June 2016 My Down East 45 schooner, Britannia, had neither air conditioning nor heating when I bought her one December in Fort Lauderdale. In...
Reflection and absorption create quiet on board Issue 106 : Jan/Feb 2016 The iron wind is a fixture aboard most of today’s sailboats. On a typical sailboat the inboard engine lives directly beneath th...
A clever trick to keep old dogs working Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016 On my 1983 Hunter 30, the nine opening ports in three different sizes — all manufactured by Gray Enterprises — were getting shabbier ea...
Replacing tired or truant screens in old opening ports Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016 Your boat may be fortunate enough to have been built with quality cast-aluminum or, even better, cast-bronze opening por...
Surface mounts step in where holes are not welcome Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016 The gold standard for secure mountings on boats has always been to use through-bolts, with a backing plate if the loads just...
A big makeover for a cramped water closet Issue 108: May/June 2016 When we bought our 1977 Down East 45 schooner, the forward head was a poky little place with a tiny “unstainless-steel” wash-basin an...
A bespoke table for those who like to sit in steerage Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 Whenever I sense an opportunity to improve comfort aboard our Islander 36 or to enhance our experience while cruising, I ...
Spaces between deck beams beg to be filled Issue 110 : Sept/Oct 2016 On vessels with well-defined deck beams, the spaces between the beams can be ideal sites for hinge-down storage lockers. And when s...
Instant desk space: a liveaboard writer’s muse Issue 110 : Sept/Oct 2016 Living on a 34-foot cruising boat requires being flexible, comfortable with small spaces, and doing a lot with a little. Being ...
Removing drawers leads to safer plumbing Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 We bought our Mariner 28, Day by Day, in 2014, downsizing from our Corbin 39 as a concession to our advancing years and the desire for ...
Trays organize the upper regions of deep lockers Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 Cavernous lockers are handy when you have something bulky to stash: a spare sail, a sun awning, or a folding grocery cart. But ...
Reinsulating means rebuilding Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 As is the case aboard many good old boats, the refrigerator/freezer insulation aboard Nine of Cups, our 1986 Liberty, was less than perfect. Our c...
An old sail helps the night watch rest easy Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 After we purchased a new suit of sails recently, I was determined to give our old sails a second life. I couldn’t find a recycling p...
It began with reclaiming space from in-deck storage Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 Our Down East 45 has a large aft cabin with an attached en-suite head compartment. Entry to this cabin is by way of a passag...
Protection for fiberglass countertops Issue 113: March/April 2017 Molded fiberglass galley countertops are fairly common on older boats. When taken care of, they look good and are easy to keep clean. ...
Looking up is no longer embarrassing Issue 114: May/June 2017 One of the inescapable downsides of owning a good old boat is, it’s old! Much on board a boat that’s pushing 40, like my Down East 45 scho...
A mirror warms the ambience of a harsh LED Issue 115: July/Aug 2017 After replacing with LEDs all of the old-style incandescent bulbs in the cabin lights aboard Pelorus, my AMF Paceship 26, I started ...
A home for electronics hides clutter from view Issue 115: July/Aug 2017 After purchasing my Spirit 28 sailboat, Wastin’ Time, in 2009, I began looking for a suitable space inside where I could build a...
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...
