Two ways to protect your investment Issue 63 : Nov/Dec 2008 Varnish is typically not used up all at once. The more that is used, the quicker a skin forms on top of what remains in the can. When the ca...
Protect your inflatable from the elements Issue 63 : Nov/Dec 2008 Inflatable dinghies, sport boats, and roll-ups are the most common types of cruising boat tenders in use today. Their popularity is re...
Replace your depth sounder and get a GPS for free Issue 63 : Nov/Dec 2008 Sometimes sailing can seem like it was intended for those few folks with high standards and even higher budgets. Since that so...
New through-hulls require diligence, forethought, and technique Issue 63 : Nov/Dec 2008 It’s not unusual for sailboats to need a new hole in the hull as a consequence of interior modifications, such a...
Complying with regulations Issue 63 : Nov/Dec 2008 It seems that recreational vessels anchored without anchor lights are more the rule than the exception. However, the International Regulations for Av...
Practical and economical professional advice Issue 64 : Jan/Feb 2009 Having spent 35 years in the fire service, with more than half of that time as a Medical First Responder, when it came time to outf...
The Compleat (sailing) Angler Issue 64 : Jan/Feb 2009 For more than 25 years, I’ve been doing practical research on the best method for fishing from a sailboat. The result of my accumulated research c...
How to get the most out of your halyard Issue 64 : Jan/Feb 2009 The method of attaching a halyard or outhaul to a sail sometimes limits the distance to which a sail can be stretched. With double-braid...
Nav table, galley counter, and spray shield Issue 64 : Jan/Feb 2009 Just above the starboard quarter berth and just under the sidedeck, we have a slide-out shelf. This shelf is adjacent to the compani...
Stowing oars and more in a plastic tender’s slick interior Issue 64 : Jan/Feb 2009 Back in the days of wooden dinghies, or at least wooden seats in plastic dinghies, a person always had a place to las...
Pearson Ariel hull #1 sets sail again Issue 64 : Jan/Feb 2009 A few years ago, when my wife, Ann, and I were searching for a boat, we happened upon a beauty. We were in Oxford, Maryland, for the weeke...
Rescue your nose from those shipboard odors Issue 64 : Jan/Feb 2009 It’s that first waft of air that rushes up after a long winter — a heady mix of diesel, mildew, deodorizing chemicals, and stale bre...
Miss Marley offered “learning opportunities” aplenty Issue 64 : Jan/Feb 2009 I bought my Cape Dory 30, Miss Marley, without a survey — not something I would recommend to anyone, but something I was wi...
One sailor’s method of maintaining an iron keel Issue 64 : Jan/Feb 2009 A few years back, my friend Roland purchased a used 31-foot sailboat with a fin keel made of cast iron. After his first sailing ...
Experience the joyful Zen of boat restoration Issue 64 : Jan/Feb 2009 It’s a good idea to begin a major fiberglass boat restoration project by starting each morning in front of the mirror repeating, “...
Up to 50,000 of these stalwart gasoline engines were built between 1948 and 1980 Issue 64 : Jan/Feb 2009 In 1948, the Universal Motor Company of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, introduced a new engine model that ...
An automatic bailer for deck puddles Issue 65 : Mar/Apr 2009 This is not an original idea. We copied it from fellow sailor and Good Old Boat publisher Michael Facius. After all, we figured, if it work...
Use an upside-down blade to cut without tears Issue 65 : Mar/Apr 2009 For anyone fitting out a boat’s interior, the jigsaw is a very versatile tool. Unless you are familiar with a few simple technique...
A remote-control searchlight on a sailboat is a bright idea Issue 65 : Mar/Apr 2009 While preparing my Caliber 28 for a recent solo sail up the East Coast, I was in search of an affordable searchlight...
An uplifting way to cure pesky deck leaks Issue 65 : Mar/Apr 2009 All the water that comes aboard our boat, whether from sea or sky, is supposed to drain off through scuppers in the sidedecks. Unfortu...
A “bag of tricks” has the power to connect you, anywhere Issue 65 : Mar/Apr 2009 Cruising is full of surprises, but one you don’t need, and can easily avoid, is arriving in a strange marina to find th...
A better way to mount deck hardware Issue 67: July/Aug 2009 No doubt the builders who installed the original deck hardware on your boat took the easy way, and later owners who added further hardware p...
Food-safe epoxy makes potable possible Issue 65 : Mar/Apr 2009 At the end of a two-year search for a fixer-upper cruising boat, I acquired a Pearson Vanguard, hull #142 built in 1964. I found her in a...
Creating a bug-free zone down below Issue 67: July/Aug 2009 When you’re anchored in a marshy cove, it’s important to keep the bugs from invading the confined space belowdecks. Even if they aren’t the ...
To avoid engine troubles, fit the right propeller Issue 65 : Mar/Apr 2009 The shark meandered toward my right foot. It was so close I could see brown spots on its nose. Loaded with tools and dive gear...
Once stranded and condemned, she’s now her salvor’s Ruby Deux Issue 67: July/Aug 2009 In the tradition of all good seafaring stories, this one began on a night dark as pitch. The wind built from the s...
Four fateful words that spelled six years of work Issue 65 : Mar/Apr 2009 Something must have blinded me to the first words in the Findings and Recommendations section of our boat’s pre-purchase surve...
Two good old boaters take the A-frame to the tabernacle Issue 65 : Mar/Apr 2009 Over the past several years, our cruises on Whippoorwill, our Cape Dory 27, have taken us to several places where we hav...
Fixing the mast step without pulling the mast Issue 65 : Mar/Apr 2009 No matter how you looked at it, we had a serious problem. Our boat’s mast step was compromised and would have to be repaired. In D...
A new way to get a grip on deck clutter Issue 66 : May/Jun 2009 “OK, Sam, slap the cuffs on her.” This line from an old B-rated cops-and-robbers movie could have a new life as good advice on how to ke...
