To wash, or not to wash? Aye, there’s the rub Issue 67: July/Aug 2009 Awhile ago, I took a Saturday-morning rope-splicing class at a chandlery. As we were working away, someone asked about splicing ol...
New non-skid restores good looks and safe footing Issue 67: July/Aug 2009 Anyone who owns an older boat, or is considering the purchase of one that’s in need of some renovations, has wrestled with the...
A pair of throwable anchors is a valuable aid to “ungrounding” Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 T GIF! Friday had finally arrived. Soon we’d be off, just my little beauty and I, sailing out into the serenity ...
Eliminate overheating in 12 easy steps Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 Ask any owner of an auxiliary diesel sailboat what his or her most common engine-related problem is and chances are the answer will be, ...
Lines and words that define the cruising sailboat’s hull Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 About 10 years ago, I wrote an extensive article for another yachting magazine on how to understand hull lines. I work...
Electronic vapor detectors safeguard you from invisible threats on board Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 We have all heard these or similar stories about sailors who’ve had lucky escapes when gases or vapors...
An extra hand for short-handed cruising sailors Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 Lazy-jacks provide a simple way to control a sail when you lower it. By holding the sail above the boom and preventing it from ...
A light-air sail simplifies cruising choices Issue 67: July/Aug 2009 Code Zero — the term sounds like the title of a spy thriller or a military operation, but it’s not. It’s the name of a sail designe...
A determined amateur builds a suit of sails for his ketch Issue 67: July/Aug 2009 I spent about three years, from 2003 to 2006, getting my Whitby 42 ketch, Blue Stocking, ready for extended voyaging. ...
Renovating a tender tests a range of skills Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 Picture a boat with cracked and crazed gelcoat, delamination, blisters, composite failures, peeling paint, and holes. If you had no...
Making good old hardware gleam like new Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 Bringing the luster back to old metal boat parts is a lot like doing brightwork. It can be very tedious and time-consuming. The end res...
A wood-burning cabin heater beats the chill Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 We sure do love a warm fire in the cabin when it gets chilly in the evening and early morning, so when we take our good old Pearson...
A handy extra work surface stows in a jiffy Issue 69 : Nov/Dec 2009 Our 34-foot Creekmore, Eurisko, has a fixed dinette that’s always in use. When we’re not eating at it, our sons do their schoolwork ...
Captive bolts mean freedom from worry Issue 69 : Nov/Dec 2009 Like many boats from the early 1970s, my Hallberg-Rassy Mistral 33 was originally fitted with bronze gate valves. They were mounted direct...
A bound-up bilge pump yields to friendly persuasion Issue 69 : Nov/Dec 2009 The thing about a 30-year-old boat is that some of its gear is apt to be 30 years old and, unlike that good old hull, not al...
Where there’s smoke, there’s a serious Sirius cleanup Issue 69 : Nov/Dec 2009 In early December 2007, while she was alone in her slip, a fire started aboard our J/32 that nearly cost us the boat. All ...
Electric power for the independent sailor Issue 69 : Nov/Dec 2009 Wind power is a form of solar energy — winds result from the uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun. To generate electricity, a w...
Sleeping on the job is the best reward Issue 69 : Nov/Dec 2009 After a day of sailing in the Pacific Northwest’s heavy mists, I love rocking to sleep in a warm berth as Sirena rides to anchor. But for...
The metamorphosis of a beat-up bargain boat Issue 69 : Nov/Dec 2009 Small-boat sailing on the Severn River and Chesapeake Bay was a part of my life growing up in Maryland in the 1960s and ’70s. I neve...
A boat’s bow says a lot about its behavior Issue 69 : Nov/Dec 2009 In my first column (September 2009), I established the terminology I will use. In this issue and the next, I will apply those terms t...
Getting a grip on a slippery problem Issue 70 : Jan/Feb 2010 Just as Imelda Marcos was addicted to footwear, I confess I’m addicted to tools. And not just any tools, either. I’m addicted to pliers. At...
A modern adaptation of an old tradition Issue 70 : Jan/Feb 2010 On sailing ships, an opened cask, or butt, of water was often placed near the galley scuttle. This “scuttlebutt” was where the crew coul...
Color-coded coils take stress out of docking Issue 70 : Jan/Feb 2010 When cruising, it helps to have aboard an assortment of docklines of various lengths so you can secure your boat in a variety of tr...
A special pulley silences a protesting engine belt Issue 70 : Jan/Feb 2010 My wife clapped her hands over her ears. “What is that awful noise?” she exclaimed. I knew what it was. I had just flipped th...
Get more years from an aging backing plate Issue 70 : Jan/Feb 2010 Most outboard motor-mount backing plates these days are made of plastic. For decades, however, those on most boats were a thick hunk ...
Could she be the classiest Cal 25 ever? Issue 70 : Jan/Feb 2010 I have always loved boats, the sea, and being by water. I dreamed of one day owning a classy sailing vessel that would have a luxurious,...
A venerable Triton gets a valuable upgrade Issue 70 : Jan/Feb 2010 One of the enjoyable aspects of owning a good old boat is exercising your creativity to make it it your own. My boat, a 1960 Pearson ...
How one owner designed and built a sturdy sea hood Issue 70 : Jan/Feb 2010 Magnolia, my 1970 Cheoy Lee Offshore 27, came from the builder without a sea hood, either as an oversight or a budget decisio...
A radical but simple cure for the rock-and-roll blues Issue 70 : Jan/Feb 2010 “The sails flapped and banged — about the ugliest sound a sailor can hear. Apart from nearly driving me crazy, the conditi...
Primary tools for controlling sail shape Issue 70 : Jan/Feb 2010 On a sailboat, the sheet that controls the mainsail boom can be adjusted through a block or blocks that are attached directly to the de...
