An elder-care product updates a good old boat Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 My 1983 Catalina 36, Tao, was a great choice at a great price, but I’ve often looked with longing at those cool open transoms on ...
A raw-water seacock that screams to be opened Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 We all know the importance of opening the engine’s raw-water seacock before starting the engine and that forgetting to open it ca...
It satisfies an aesthetic need Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 Gerry Douglas, Catalina Yachts’ designer and vice president, says that a person’s tastes in boats are established at around the age of 14 by the...
Basic steps for making reliable connections Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 If you own an older boat, an important skill to master is the proper technique for soldering electrical connections. At some point,...
. . . is an ongoing work of artists Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 Sailors may have many reasons to switch boats, but upsize and update would probably apply to most. Our boat-buying history didn’t follow an...
Make the switch from wire to rope Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 Not long ago a fellow named Sean brought his masthead sheaves to my shop. They were made from phenolic resin, known also as Micarta or Bakeli...
Fear of holes redirects energy in a refit Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 I agonized for months over what to do. I really did have a choice. I could either do nothing, which in my now-established senior year...
The long road to separation of keel from hull Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 In a previous article (“How Sailboat Rudders Evolved,” January 2015), we looked at the evolution of the rudder on sailing yachts ...
A fun factor with a bonus safety feature Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 A boarding ladder not only gives sailors an easy way to get in and out of the water, but can also be a lifesaver after an accidental f...
An inexpensive LED shows the way Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 We all know about using dollar store LED yard lights for finding our way home in an anchorage. Another handy use we’ve found aboard Thebote, o...
A non-splicer has it all sewn up Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 For all of us out there happily sailing about with Hood Seafurl LD headsail-furling systems that have a continuous-loop furling line, the day ...
Chargers that work only with a charge Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 We turn the key to try to start the engine and . . . nothing. This might not have been so bad, but our Pacific Seacraft Dana 24, Sockdola...
Imagination, a little paint, and a few pennies go a long way Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 I was sitting on the head in my Paceship 26, Pelorus, when I realized that everything in that small space was a sh...
Silent power for home comforts afloat Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 There are only two practical ways to get AC power on board when not plugged into shorepower: with a generator or with an inverter. Althou...
See, be seen, and talk about it Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 “This is sailing vessel Entr’acte WYR 3025 — at latitude 24 degrees 16 minutes north, longitude 97 degrees 14 minutes west — calling the cargo ...
Proven procedures keep the juice flowing Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 I joined the Navy right out of high school many years ago and they saw fit to teach me to be an electronics technician. Throughout my ...
A foil made with fiberglass, foam, and ingenuity Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 One of the appealing things about Nurdle, my Bristol 35.5, is that she has a centerboard. I knew this would be an ongoing main...
Separation achieved Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 In part 1 of this series about the evolution of keels (May 2015), we looked at the early use of external ballast let into the keel timbers of early British...
Nature and lack of nurture take their toll Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 We had just crossed the equator northbound on passage from the Solomon Islands to Micronesia when we saw a squall approaching from t...
A Pacific 30 — possibly the last one — sails again Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 Every marina has a few neglected boats. Their owners, enthusiastic at first but now distracted by daily life, have left thes...
A handy sailing rig for dinghies and small trailerables Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 The gunter rig was developed by Edmund Gunter in the late 1700s. It has always been popular in Europe and, during the a...
Useless spaces can earn their keep Issue 104 : Sept/Oct 2015 Our MacGregor 26D, Thebote, has a tiny sink area that is relatively useless. For a long time it held the wastebasket. Recently, at the requ...
Eye-catching reflective tape adds color Issue 104 : Sept/Oct 2015 The reflective cove stripe on our 1981 C&C Landfall 35 had faded badly. To refresh it, we used a type of pressure- sensitive adhes...
Heat the food, not the cabin and crew Issue 104 : Sept/Oct 2015 I should put this on the table right now: I am a vegetarian. When every other boater in the harbor is preparing dinner on an outside gri...
A drop-in refrigerator delivers the cold Issue 104 : Sept/Oct 2015 Whether to have an icebox or a refrigerator on a sailboat has always been a difficult choice, especially on a small boat with limited...
A stitch in time can extend the life of a sail Issue 104 : Sept/Oct 2015 The monsoon season was upon us. Each day we spoke by high-frequency radio to friends clawing their way toward Palau aboard a 50...
Find the fault with a multimeter and a flowchart Issue 104 : Sept/Oct 2015 When one of your engine instruments stops working, it’s good to be able to diagnose the problem yourself. If you know how to ...
Out with the old . . . er, not so fast! Issue 104 : Sept/Oct 2015 Why was there water in my normally dry bilge? Rain, I suspected. I checked all the hose clamps on the deck drains and the portholes, t...
A holding tank vent revamp clears the air Issue 104 : Sept/Oct 2015 I found an easy, inexpensive way to improve my boat’s holding-tank system. It cost $10, the stink is gone, and the catastrophe the o...
Welding plastic for a superior sanitation system Issue 104 : Sept/Oct 2015 Our 1978 Bristol 29.9 had been experiencing a number of “holding tank issues.” Despite new hoses, we’d been getting frequent ...
