Putting golf balls to a higher purpose Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 At haulout time in northern climates, sailors perform an annual ritual of cleaning, packing, winterizing, and covering their boats to pr...
A flexible joint accommodates different expansion rates Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 Leaks and cracks are all too common when Plexiglas is fastened to a wooden hatch frame with screws. They are largely a ...
Urethane finish generates the Wow! factor Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 From my perspective, nothing is more pleasing to the eye than the gleaming finish of a sailboat’s brightwork. It makes no difference ...
A hatch trick restores the view ahead Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 On some boats, the field of view from the helm is quite poor. We faced this problem on our Sisu 26. It was built in 1985 and some of the ...
A new old compass goes in the right surroundings Issue 67: July/Aug 2009 When I purchased my good old Hallberg-Rassy Mistral 33, I knew I was in for a lot of work. All the wood above deck needed to be...
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 ...
