It gets a new look and loses its fishhooks Issue 127: July/Aug 2019 We were in the middle of a race and Sam was up front, jibing the spinnaker pole over to the other side of the boat. “Ouch! Dammit!” ...
Rebuilding an Atomic 4 on a mooring far from home Issue 127: July/Aug 2019 Although I lived in Michigan, I bought my 1967 Morgan 34 with a trip south in mind. I thought she would be a good boat for th...
Where cast aluminum failed, mild steel became the material of choice Issue 127: July/Aug 2019 The cast-aluminum steering quadrant on Rhythm had been in use for approximately 15 years. When I removed a...
E10 gasoline is now a fact of life, but its devils don’t have to be Issue 127: July/Aug 2019 Why is ethanol problematic for marine engines but not for cars? The only noticeable difference for the fami...
When they were new, the four Rayovac 6-volt golf-cart (GC2) batteries on Phantom, our Pearson 365 ketch, had plenty of electrical capacity to provide all the power we needed to go three or more days b...
A garden-variety geotextile is a perfect protective sock Issue 126: May/June 2019 Having spent a substantial sum for a new foam-luff cruising genoa to fit the CDI furler on our Catalina 22, Bright Eye...
Losing the steering is not necessarily the end of steering Issue 126: May/June 2019 Loss of steering is possibly the most common reason boats sailing long offshore passages are abandoned. The inabilit...
Given new feet, they’ll last a few more years Issue 126: May/June 2019 By owning five boat stands for more than 20 years, I have saved the annual rental cost of $25 per stand when my Grampian 30 is ha...
How to (and not to) install hardware to cored laminates Issue 126: May/June 2019 Installing hardware on boats, a seemingly straightforward procedure, is fraught with pitfalls: failure to reinforce the...
They put a check on electronic noise from RFI and EMI Issue 126: May/June 2019 Have you ever tried to listen to someone transmitting on their VHF whose voice was almost drowned out by an annoying buzz...
An old design puts cheap wheels under a long-loved tender Issue 126: May/June 2019 When I moved from New Jersey in the spring of 2018, I sold, gave away, or abandoned a lot of my stuff, including the ...
A couple of days’ work extends into an odyssey Issue 126: May/June 2019 Way in the back of the long-term storage lot where old boats go to die, I looked at my Catalina 34, Ukiyo, and thought of an ins...
Add-ons made a luggage cart multi-purpose Issue 126: May/June 2019 A handcart is handy to have aboard a boat. We wanted one that could adapt to carrying a variety of items, support a considerable payl...
A fresh-air solution for a boat that lacks a locker Issue 125: March/April 2019 In the 1970s and ’80s, a lot of production sailboats were equipped with alcohol-fueled galley stoves. Accordingly, there...
Simple or sophisticated, each type has its merits Issue 125: March/April 2019 When we bought our 45-foot Liberty cutter, Nine of Cups, in 2000, she needed a number of upgrades to convert her from a co...
A simple system will keep a frugal sailor’s battery topped off Issue 125: March/April 2019 When I first mentioned adding solar power to our Corsair F 24 trimaran, my boating partners choked. They envi...
They tame stranded wire and make connections secure Issue 125: March/April 2019 A ferrule slips easily over a stranded wire and ensures that the connection is as secure as it can be in devices that ar...
Prototyping bug-proofing possibilities for opening portlights My friend’s Westsail 32 has 10 opening portlights. That’s a lot of ventilation. Without screens, it’s also a lot of entrances for bugs. Th...
New lip seals cure a dripping engine-cooling pump Issue 125: March/April 2019 The raw-water pump is an integral part of the cooling system of any marine diesel engine. If it should fail, the engine wi...
Tips for sailing with a top-down furling spinnaker Issue 125: March/April 2019 In Part 1 of this article, in the January 2019 issue, Hugh introduced flying-sail furlers and described how he installed ...
Give slime and scum the brush-off on the cheap Doesn’t every sailor yearn for another tenth of a knot? Especially when racing? I do. Lucky are those who trailer their boats and can clean them at any t...
New sailors outfit an old boat for a future of adventures. My husband, David, and I have always loved the outdoors and water. We have been avid sea-kayakers and snorkelers. We have owned powerboats, b...
A top-down furler takes the terror out of setting a spinnaker. Issue 124: Jan/Feb 2019 Downwind sailing with only a jib or genoa can leave a sailor wanting more. I wanted to fly a spinnaker on Hagar, ...
Insulate and decorate cold stainless steel with French spiral hitching. Issue 124: Jan/Feb 2019 When a stainless steel steering wheel gets wet or, worse yet, wet and cold, it becomes difficult to grip...
Banish mildew on your boat with a simple chemical brew As near as I can tell, boating consists of one part blue lagoons and white sails and two parts painting the bottom, fixing engines, and scrubbing...
Siting solar panels led to an all-around renewal Issue 124: Jan/Feb 2019 After deciding to add rigid solar panels aboard Alembic, our 1981 Whitby 42 center-cockpit the 12-foot spans into two 6-foot sp...
A dehumidifier keeps a cabin dry and free from mold Issue 124: Jan/Feb 2019 My friend Don Smith and I live and keep our boats in Alaska. To control moisture aboard, and its negative side effects, mild...
An electrical update for the 21st century preserves the 1960s aesthetics. Dog-eared and dated, the 12-volt DC switch panel on our 1961 Alden Challenger, Christmas, was original. I had planned to repla...
Over the years, I’ve often used a sun shower to heat water for onboard showers. If conditions are right, they can get to be too hot to use. But more often, a cooling breeze saps the heat generat...
