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 ...
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 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...
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...
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 ...
A raw-water seacock that screams to be opened Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 We all know the importance of opening the engine’s raw-water seacock before starting the engine and that forgetting to open it ca...
It satisfies an aesthetic need Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 Gerry Douglas, Catalina Yachts’ designer and vice president, says that a person’s tastes in boats are established at around the age of 14 by the...
Basic steps for making reliable connections Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 If you own an older boat, an important skill to master is the proper technique for soldering electrical connections. At some point,...
. . . is an ongoing work of artists Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 Sailors may have many reasons to switch boats, but upsize and update would probably apply to most. Our boat-buying history didn’t follow an...
Make the switch from wire to rope Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 Not long ago a fellow named Sean brought his masthead sheaves to my shop. They were made from phenolic resin, known also as Micarta or Bakeli...
Fear of holes redirects energy in a refit Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 I agonized for months over what to do. I really did have a choice. I could either do nothing, which in my now-established senior year...
The long road to separation of keel from hull Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 In a previous article (“How Sailboat Rudders Evolved,” January 2015), we looked at the evolution of the rudder on sailing yachts ...
A fun factor with a bonus safety feature Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 A boarding ladder not only gives sailors an easy way to get in and out of the water, but can also be a lifesaver after an accidental f...
An inexpensive LED shows the way Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 We all know about using dollar store LED yard lights for finding our way home in an anchorage. Another handy use we’ve found aboard Thebote, o...
A non-splicer has it all sewn up Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 For all of us out there happily sailing about with Hood Seafurl LD headsail-furling systems that have a continuous-loop furling line, the day ...
Chargers that work only with a charge Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 We turn the key to try to start the engine and . . . nothing. This might not have been so bad, but our Pacific Seacraft Dana 24, Sockdola...
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...
Silent power for home comforts afloat Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 There are only two practical ways to get AC power on board when not plugged into shorepower: with a generator or with an inverter. Althou...
See, be seen, and talk about it Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 “This is sailing vessel Entr’acte WYR 3025 — at latitude 24 degrees 16 minutes north, longitude 97 degrees 14 minutes west — calling the cargo ...
Proven procedures keep the juice flowing Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 I joined the Navy right out of high school many years ago and they saw fit to teach me to be an electronics technician. Throughout my ...
A foil made with fiberglass, foam, and ingenuity Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 One of the appealing things about Nurdle, my Bristol 35.5, is that she has a centerboard. I knew this would be an ongoing main...
Separation achieved Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 In part 1 of this series about the evolution of keels (May 2015), we looked at the early use of external ballast let into the keel timbers of early British...
Nature and lack of nurture take their toll Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 We had just crossed the equator northbound on passage from the Solomon Islands to Micronesia when we saw a squall approaching from t...
