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 ...
Could she be the classiest Cal 25 ever? Issue 70 : Jan/Feb 2010 I have always loved boats, the sea, and being by water. I dreamed of one day owning a classy sailing vessel that would have a luxurious,...
A venerable Triton gets a valuable upgrade Issue 70 : Jan/Feb 2010 One of the enjoyable aspects of owning a good old boat is exercising your creativity to make it it your own. My boat, a 1960 Pearson ...
How one owner designed and built a sturdy sea hood Issue 70 : Jan/Feb 2010 Magnolia, my 1970 Cheoy Lee Offshore 27, came from the builder without a sea hood, either as an oversight or a budget decisio...
A radical but simple cure for the rock-and-roll blues Issue 70 : Jan/Feb 2010 “The sails flapped and banged — about the ugliest sound a sailor can hear. Apart from nearly driving me crazy, the conditi...
Primary tools for controlling sail shape Issue 70 : Jan/Feb 2010 On a sailboat, the sheet that controls the mainsail boom can be adjusted through a block or blocks that are attached directly to the de...
Trimming your sails to the wind gradient Issue 70 : Jan/Feb 2010 You can have a very happy life and never understand sail twist. You can even be a reasonably good sail trimmer without understanding al...
A hide-all that doubles as a handy holder Issue 70 : Jan/Feb 2010 The previous owner of our 1973 Albin Ballad had installed an array of brand-new electronic instruments ranging from a fishfinder to a ...
A boat’s back end speaks volumes about its character Issue 70 : Jan/Feb 2010 In the previous issue (November 2009), I discussed how the shape of a sailboat’s bow affects performance and handling. Now ...
Turn, turn, turn on the lights Issue 71 : Mar/Apr 2010 Do you remember the Green Lantern, the DC Comics superhero of the 1950s? This article isn’t about him; it’s about my multi-function, crank-powere...
Security without using pliers or rigging tape Issue 71 : Mar/Apr 2010 I was in a fabric store buying sticky-back Velcro tape for use on insect screens when I saw a Velcro product named One-Wrap. This ...
Make your own handy-billy Issue 71 : Mar/Apr 2010 Most good old boats have all the mechanical muscle a person could want in the form of powerful winches. Boats at the smaller end of the scale, however...
Biodiesel fuel is the chief suspect Issue 71 : Mar/Apr 2010 After a six-year trial, discussed at some length in the July 2005 issue of Good Old Boat, I have decided to suspend using biodiesel blends i...
Valuable tips for upgrading deck hardware Issue 71 : Mar/Apr 2010 I have not spent a lot of time crawling around the hidden spaces of high-end luxury yachts, but the vast majority of the fiberglass pr...
Protecting cored laminates from failure around fittings Issue 71 : Mar/Apr 2010 Though most older fiberglass boats have hulls of solid laminate, their decks normally are built of two thin skins of fib...
Rolling and tipping their way to glory Issue 71 : Mar/Apr 2010 Next time you’re down at the marina, take a close look at the hulls of your neighbors’ boats. You don’t have to look very far to see rub ...
Gearing up to build a catamaran at home Issue 71 : Mar/Apr 2010 In the last issue, Dave Martin wrote about the chain of decisions that led to his building a catamaran in his garage. In this, the secon...
A novel construction method for amateurs Issue 71 : Mar/Apr 2010 Few parts of a boat are more vital than the rudder. If you lose the use of your rudder, you have no easy means of steering . . . always...
Plastic glazing materials have clearly different properties Issue 71 : Mar/Apr 2010 For decades, most recreational boats have been built with hatches, windscreens, and ports made of rigid transparent ...
Basic insights into how they work Issue 71 : Mar/Apr 2010 Much complicated mathematics lies behind the deceptively simple appearance of a boat’s propeller, but it can be described and specified with a...
How they shape up to perform their many roles Issue 71 : Mar/Apr 2010 When people discuss yacht design you often hear the phrase, “Well, it’s all a compromise.” That sounds defeatist to me. But if the...
Unruly wires get herded onto a bus Issue 72 : May/Jun 2010 Recently, a failed torque damper required the removal of our good old boat’s good old engine. I made arrangements with the yard boss to have ...
One project serves dual roles in the dinghy Issue 72 : May/Jun 2010 There are times when boaters face minor problems that appear unrelated but can be resolved together. After I purchased a used Avon d...
Crucial dials and controls go under cover Issue 72 : May/Jun 2010 Scrambling around my boat’s cockpit, or watching someone else (especially kids) doing the same, has usually left me wondering when, no...
Converting light fixtures to use LEDs Issue 72 : May/Jun 2010 All the lighting on my sailboat now uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which consume only about one-tenth of the battery power the old inc...
