Using an EPIRB, they initiate a costly communication but avoid an even more costly search later Issue 16 : Jan/Feb 2001 It was 3 a.m. Everything bad at sea happens at this hour. Minutes later, when we...
Protect those beeping circuits from voltage drop Issue 18: May/June 2001 One thing that we can all agree on when it comes to older boats is that they never have enough battery power for all the new el...
Issue 18: May/June 2001 This was one of the simplest projects we have undertaken, requiring an equally low skill level. We chose brass for its corrosion resistance, ease of forming, and salty good loo...
Issue 18: May/June 2001 I received an urgent call from an old friend with a Pearson Commander. The boat is his pride and joy, and he has kept it beautifully. The under-deck reinforcement of the on-dec...
Issue 18: May/June 2001 Books are difficult objects to stow in an easily accessible way aboard a boat. Low fiddles trip them up at sea, and high fiddles fight their removal. This system employs a very...
The beginnings of marine chitty chitty bang bang Issue 18: May/June 2001 Each time I am becalmed in the Sargasso Sea when single-handing my virtual ketch around the world in my best Walter Mitty style...
After an extensive refit, she may head over the horizon toward Sala-ma-sond Issue 18: May/June 2001 WERE YOU TO TAKE YOUR DINGHY down the main fairway of the Santa Cruz Harbor, in Northern California,...
A little routine inspection can help prevent that sinking feeling Issue 18: May/June 2001 The steering gear on your boat may not get a lot of attention unless the boat stops steering. Depending on the...
A long and difficult repair made while in Mexico — was it worth it? Issue 18: May/June 2001 There are a few pieces of equipment on our boat that we are never too sure about, especially in the middle o...
Issue 17 : Mar/Apr 2001 The traditional portlight is best fitted into a cabinside or hull with the hinge at the top. This guarantees maximum closing pressure at the bottom where water is most likely t...
Issue 17 : Mar/Apr 2001 Like many production sailboats, my Ericson 38 has an anchor roller but no centerline cleat (or windlass) for the anchor rode. Anchoring by leading the rode aft to one of the tw...
Issue 17 : Mar/Apr 2001 If you sail in Texas, or somewhere just as hot, you learn to live with the heat. But on those nights when the breeze dies, there’s only one thing to do: head for the marina and...
One small project at haulout time leads to another and another Issue 18: May/June 2001 We owned our Chris-Craft Capri 30 for seven years. Each year our annual haulout included a long list of improveme...
Handholds are an easy and inexpensive way to increase your security afloat Issue 17 : Mar/Apr 2001 Dodgers are not necessary — that is, if you’re a masochist or a Spartan who enjoys being hit in the f...
Confused by jib nomenclature? A look at names past and present Issue 17 : Mar/Apr 2001 They come drifting out of the past like the ghosts of old friends: Yankee. Spitfire. Mule. Drifter. Like specters...
Lessons in morality from a tiny charcoal-burning stove Issue 17 : Mar/Apr 2001 This is a sonnet, a love song if you will, of appreciation and praise for a stubby little cast-iron stove. In it I will s...
While economics favor the sloop, other rigs have much to offer Issue 17 : Mar/Apr 2001 The history of the fore-and-aft rig is a fascinating one. It is particularly interesting when you realize that tw...
Issue 19 : Jul/Aug 2001 On a small boat, especially a skinny one like ours, storage space is a precious commodity. For several years we carried a rigid swim-ladder — a wonderful bit of gear for those ...
A cockpit table you can actually use Issue 19 : Jul/Aug 2001 Many boats with pedestal steering systems have small tables mounted on their steering columns. If yours is like the table which came on our...
Issue 19 : Jul/Aug 2001 My wife, Colleen, and I cruise our Danish-built LM 27 each year from the middle of June until the end of August. Normally we explore the wilderness coast of British Columbia, w...
Take the pain out of the main, make your own lazy-jacks Issue 19 : Jul/Aug 2001 The easiest way for the shorthanded sailor to control the mainsail when reefing or stowing is a set of well-fitted lazy-...
Stanchions: Safe, salty, sturdy Issue 19 : Jul/Aug 2001 Sailor Ron Bohannon fell in love with a Phil Rhodes Chesapeake 32. As is often the case with older boats, she needed work. But he loved the line...
Issue 27: Nov/Dec 2002 CLEAR WINDOW PLASTIC IN SPRAYHOODS AND SAILS TENDS TO deteriorate much faster than the yacht acrylic or sailcloth it’s sewn onto. First it yellows, then it becomes brittle, and ...
Spoil yourselves and get a really good night’s sleep while aboard Issue 19 : Jul/Aug 2001 Have you ever wondered what you have to do to get a boat with a decent-size bed? My wife, Cheryl, and I search...
Give your fenders a smart new pair of socks Issue 27: Nov/Dec 2002 BOAT FENDERS ARE FUNCTIONAL. They are not meant to be fashionable. We remove them the instant we leave the dock, don’t we? And yet . ...
How to lift your engine with a spherical air bladder Issue 27: Nov/Dec 2002 AS I WAS GROWING UP, I SUSPECT SEVERAL COACHES SAID, OUT of earshot, “Now there’s a boy who doesn’t know what to do with a b...
Issue 27: Nov/Dec 2002 The relative merits and demerits of the two main methods of self-steering — electronic and windvane — are often debated. Both have their merits, but we seem to have forgotten th...
Issue 27: Nov/Dec 2002 IT OFTEN SURPRISED ME THAT WHILE OUR EASTWARD HO 31 HAD lots of empty space, much of it was inaccessible. The area under the galley and behind the molded-in liner, for example, ...
Coordinated universal time and the mystery of the vanishing 13 seconds Issue 19 : Jul/Aug 2001 The biggest disappointment of my early life, after the Santa Claus thing, was the discovery that “Time Se...
Swap your old plastic windows for salty new ports Issue 19 : Jul/Aug 2001 After buying our old 1965 Alberg 30, Mary and I knew that part of the renovation program would be the replacement of the old f...
