My previous boat was a traditional cutter with an outboard rudder and boomkin, precluding the use of a common stern swim ladder. The wooden side ladder she came with was cumbersome and difficult to st...
Clever surgery on a standard bed mattress improves a V-berth’s sleepability. Issue 131: March/April 2020 When we bought Phantom, our Pearson 365 ketch, in 2001, my wife, Barbara, and I slept on V-bert...
We’ve got some poorly lit areas aboard (as you can see above), and they’re where we most need bright light: our under-the-bridgedeck galley sink and our chart table. Early on, we’d use a flashlight to...
Irascible and indomitable, the British Seagull was not for the faint of heart. Issue 134: Sept/Oct 2020 Long before the Energizer Bunny, there was the British Seagull outboard motor. Conceived in the ...
A repower in rural Alaska required precise planning and helpful hands. Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 Wide awake in my bunk, I stared at the ceiling without really seeing it. It was nearing 3 a.m., and my mi...
Adding an inner forestay expands sail plan options and can make for better boathandling. Issue 132: May/June 2020 When my wife, Ellen, and I began our search for an ocean-going cruising boat, high on...
Knowing battery basics and technologies empowers battery choices. Issue 131: March/April 2020 Aboard any boat with an electrical system there exists a need to store electricity. Enter the batte...
Replacing a traditional marine head with a composting system is clean and green. Issue 132: May/June 2020 I love my new-to-me 1999 Beneteau 311, but the boat came with a very pronounced smell in the h...
Need to replace a prop? Pull the lower unit on an outboard without pulling the engine? How about installing an external strainer without pulling the boat? Working on most anything below the trampoline...
Replacing a fabric interior hull covering with oak-on-cedar strips transforms a V-berth. Issue 129: Nov/Dec 2019 Manufacturers of many good old boats of the ’70s and ’80s were looking for time and cos...
When our keel started weeping and our bilge started filling, a keel bolt repair came next. Issue 129: Nov/Dec 2019 Losing a bolt-on keel is a relatively uncommon occurrence, but it’s also about the mo...
Suffering’s for singing the blues, not sailing. Here’s how to stay pain-free on the water. Issue 129: Nov/Dec 2019 When I was in my 20s, a long breezy day on my beach cat invariably resulted in a grim...
Install a day tank to ensure a clean fuel supply at the ready. Issue 129: Nov/Dec 2019 Few things give me the willies more than the thought of navigating an inlet, cut, or tricky channel when we’re ru...
A refit turns a Great Lakes daysailer into a Caribbean cruiser Issue 128: Sept/ Oct 2019 When my wife, Sheila, and I bought Her Diamond, our 1991 Freedom 38, she was the ideal daysailer and vacation b...
A diver’s insight can reveal the hull story Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 As I eat oatmeal and berries for breakfast, I make the day’s schedule. The oatmeal will be the last food I have until late afternoo...
An old galley gets a new view Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 “Take a look at all these small cracks in the window, it looks like frost.” “I don’t think the Sea of Cortez gets frost, Hon,” was my wife’s dist...
There’s more than one way to fasten the two biggest boat parts Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 It is the nature of boats that they be built as two primary pieces — hull and deck. Over the decades, boatbuilde...
Better than new after half a century Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 There are few experiences I enjoy more than dropping the hook in an empty anchorage, early or late in the Lake Superior sailing season, wh...
The go-slow art of sailboat repair Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 I don’t go to boatyards, not unless I’m in Florida, working on my friend Brian’s boat. There the ground is shell and coral, palm trees line ...
Safety and comfort increase with a companionway fix Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 Sailboat designers have good knees. I know this because I’ve owned three sailboats with companionway step heights twice as ...
When my wife and I bought our 1983 Endeavour 33, we renamed her Gemini. They say it’s bad luck to rename a boat. They might be right. Bringing her to her new home in Oyster Bay, New York, we slammed i...
Why build more than you need? Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 We wanted two things to enhance our sailing lives aboard our Catalina 34: protection from the sun and rain while at the helm and a solar panel to...
Delaminated fiberglass may conjure up images of free-falling straight through to the bilge but it need not frighten the most resourceful among us. The word “delamination” causes instant vi...
A small project that brings satisfaction and pride. An acquaintance raised the question concerning those little wedges that hold the mast in column on many boats. On a recent sail in blustery conditio...
Vang/preventer: a fast, effective safety device I was guilty of contempt. Never a good thing, in this case it turned out to be a serious error. I had held a thunderstorm cell in contempt all morning. ...
Beefing up a retired racer with aluminum My mate, Karlene, and I looked long and hard for a sailboat suitable for world cruising that we could afford. I’ve become convinced that boat speed is an...
Epoxy, fiberglass, and a little cunning fix an old problem Tillers in some boats are known to break with regularity. If you’ve ever taken part in a drill of this nature, I don’t need to ex...
You’ve found your dreamboat, had it surveyed, and signed up for a long and happy relationship. The broker said it holds 20 gallons of fuel and 40 gallons of water. He didn’t say where the ...
Bent stanchions and delaminated decks When we were unloading our boat following a recent week-long cruise, I noticed the midship stanchion on the port side was slightly bent toward the stern. It was a...
Your job requires a sealant. You don’t have to be a chemist to choose the right one. In my experience, there are always two things trying to get into your boat that you don’t want there: w...
