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 ...
Eight-track audio tape makes for perfect telltales. Issue 132: May/June 2020 When I first began sailing my own boats, I tied yarn to the shrouds to use as telltales. This common, quick-and-easy method...
Need emergency running lights? Try soda caps, PVC, and a little ingenuity. Issue 132: May/June 2020 On a recent sail approaching our anchorage at dusk, I switched on the running lights and saw the sta...
Issue 133: July/Aug 2020 In the introduction to their book Sensible Cruising: The Thoreau Approach, Don Casey and Lew Hackler suggest that, “The applicability of the philosophy of Thoreau to the activ...
This refit of a proven, 1970s-era racer maximized performance for speed, safety, and fun. Issue 136: Jan/Feb 2021 Three months after selling my Cal 2-29, Loophole, I found myself pining for another bo...
A bracket fabricated from Coosa board keeps an outboard tiller out of mischief. Issue 136: Jan/Feb 2021 The outboard tiller had been bothering me for a while. The friction lock on the engine side—the ...
Fabricating a spray hood changes the companionway game. Issue 139: July/Aug 2021 Our 1965 Alberg 35 has been a wonderful boat to us, but there are a few places where she could stand to be a little mor...
Worry about a bobstay failure inspires a rigging and anchor locker redesign. Issue 139: July/Aug 2021 Over the years, I’ve come to know my 1978 Allied Seawind II pretty well. Yet, that part of my boat...
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, ...
If you’re tired of bogus bungees, try this custom-built alternative. Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 The average bungee has a one- to two-year life expectancy when enduring stressors such as UV and chafe tha...
Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 Buffing can help or hinder. Doing a good job buffing vinyl windows requires considerable effort and patience, and it is quite possible to make things worse. I recommend not tr...
Properly maintaining dodger and enclosure windows is a lot trickier than it looks. Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 Perhaps the most fragile and vexing part of any boat’s exterior is the clear vinyl material ...
Nobody likes a leaky hatch. Here’s how to re-bed one. Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 My husband, Robin, and I met fellow cruiser Adva Reshef in a boatyard, and we became fast friends making repairs to...
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...
Here’s how to give your old ropes a new life. Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 Every sailor has gazed longingly upon the rack of shiny new ropes at the local chandlery, admiring the smooth finishes and ...
A new pair of pedestals and cockpit winches improves trimming ergonomics. Issue 141: Nov/Dec 2021 When I purchased my 1965 Alberg 35, Tomfoolery, a little over two decades ago, she came with a tiller....
Extensions make older-style cockpit coamings far more comfy to lean against. Issue 141: Nov/Dec 2021 Kicking back and relaxing in the cockpit of one’s sailboat, especially if it is well-designed, cons...
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...
Adding a second engine switch in the cockpit made singlehanding safer and easier. Issue 141: Nov/Dec 2021 Reading Robb Lovell’s review of the Beneteau First 345 (September/ October 2019), I realized f...
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 ...
A clever design for storable mast supports makes for easy traveling between lakes. Issue 142: Jan/Feb 2022 I have the great fortune to live next to an inland lake that is fully navigable, which means ...
Installing a new motor in a dead solar vent was far more satisfying than the alternative. Issue 142: Jan/Feb 2022 Shortly after buying my 1975 Tanzer 26 in 2011, I installed two 4-inch Nicro solar ven...
From a spare parts drawer and a galley, you can make a quick and easy anchor light. Issue 142: Jan/Feb 2022 A functioning anchor light is a basic piece of vital equipment on board. And while you might...
A dreamy cruise is interrupted when the head calls it quits. Issue 142: Jan/Feb 2022 A number of years ago, my family and I sailed Dreamer, the first of two Islander Bahama 30s we’ve owned, from the V...
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 ...
Issue 143: March/April 2022 What to do with rotted wood on a boat? Whether it’s a supporting internal structure or a wood-cored fiberglass sandwich exposed to the elements, either may be remedied with...
An externally mounted sensor takes the guesswork out of the holding tank status. Issue 143: March/April 2022 In 2014, I rebuilt the holding tank in our 1978 Bristol 29.9 using 3/8-inch polypropylene w...
