An inexpensive cure for a crowded cockpit Issue 155: March/April 2024 We are seasonal sailors on the Great Lakes, and summer is a time for having fun with our family and friends. We love having guests...
A solution for smaller boats and sensitive waters Issue 155: March/April 2024 Let’s be honest — toilets aboard small boats are tricky and can be icky. My first cruisable boat, a Stiletto 27, had a che...
A clever solution for raising a mast on a small boat Issue 155: March/April 2024 I have a renovated/repurposed 17-foot Thistle trailer-sailer named Transmogrifier for daysailing and beach cruising (se...
When the right boat proves elusive, a sailor tackles a major overhaul. Issue 155: March/April 2025 My search for the ideal beach cruiser started several years ago, when I decided to compete in the Eve...
Turning the interior of a bargain trailer-sailer into a comfortable pocket cruiser Issue 155: March/April 2024 When hunting for an old fiberglass sailboat to adopt in the spring of 2022, I found many ...
A classic plastic gets a modern electric galley. Issue 155: March/April 2024 As I write this, I am about a day’s sail from American Samoa, bound for Fiji. Triteia, my 1965 Alberg 30, is running wing a...
A Montgomery 12 becomes a family project that perpetuates the love of sailing. Issue 155: March/April 2024 Restoring a 1974 Montgomery 12 sailing dinghy with my identical twin boys, Jackson and Connor...
Tips and tricks from a window replacement on a couple’s first sailboat Issue 155: March/April 2024 Window replacements rarely fall under the category of “simple,” and this job on my newly acquired 197...
Bringing an old boat back to life provides relief in trying times. Issue 155: March/April 2024 My husband lifted the shabby dinghy off the bed of the truck, slid the decrepit 8-foot hull onto a rollin...
Installing a cabin heater for cool cruising adventures in a warm boat Issue 154: Jan/Feb 2024 Honcho, our 1998 Beneteau 36s7, needed cabin heat. Even though we had given up cruising in the coldest mon...
On an ill-fated voyage home, a young family learns lessons in seamanship and community spirit Issue 153: Nov/Dec 2023 All sailors start somewhere. As a teenager, I was infatuated with stories in Natio...
A DIY soda machine satisfies a couple’s bubbly water obsession Issue 153: Nov/Dec 2023 We had just pulled into Ketchikan, Alaska, and we were desperate people. It wasn’t the days on end of rainy weath...
When the pandemic scuttles her study abroad plans, a college student undertakes an extensive boat refit. Issue 150: May/June 2023 You might think that after growing up on old boats, I would have opted...
“So, yeah, I think we should use Bondo.” Jeremy looked up from where he was inspecting the bulkhead. I stared at him. “Bondo? Like the stuff Danny DeVito’s character in Matilda used when he wanted to ...
When an enticing “free boat” presents an opportunity, a couple does their due diligence en route to a tough decision. My wife and I recently contemplated taking on a “free boat”...
What started as a joke between sailing partners became a transformational DIY bow thruster project Issue 149: March/April 2023 David Jolly and I are partners on Kindred Spirit, a 1985 Bayfield 32C tha...
The ins and outs of replacing your stainless lifelines with synthetic. Issue 148: Jan/Feb 2023 Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene, abbreviated UHMWPE and best known by the trade names Dyneema an...
How a mast overhaul marked the passing of an icon and a new chapter for a storied rigging loft. The 60-odd-foot aluminum tube, balanced horizontally on a custom two-wheeled cart, bounced and bent alar...
Building a Jordan Series Drogue is an exercise in patience, but well worth the effort. Issue 147: Nov/Dec 2022 As my partner, Tim, and I prepared to sail from Montreal, Canada, down the St. Law...
Simple to make, mast loops keep halyard ends tidy and secure. Issue 146: Sept/Oct 2022 I’ve been looking around at all the improvements you’ve made on Sahula during the past five years,” David said as...
After a winterlong refit, a 51-year-old daysailer looks sharp and sails like a dream. Issue 146: Sept/Oct 2022 My partner, Nancy, and I are in our mid-70s and have enjoyed ocruising in New England abo...
Loosing tools in our tool bags, boxes or buckets is a common occurrence for many sailors. Where did that wrench go? Have you seen the small adjustable wrench? Well, one of readers has a clever solutio...
If one Bristol Channel Cutter fulfilled their sailing dreams, two could only be better. Issue 145: July/Aug 2022 “This poor, poor boat,” I thought, looking at the forlorn Bristol Channel Cutter tied t...
Stuffing boxes are an essential part of any boat (if you don’t have a sail drive). Positioned between the stern tube and the prop shaft, the stuffing box’s job is to stop water ingress while under pow...
As I have gotten older, I have found that I am having more difficulty cranking my genoa winches to properly trim my boat’s headsails. The challenge is greatest in the position where I have the least s...
Sailing with a diesel auxiliary, as well as engineless, led one couple to make a third choice: fully renewable electric propulsion. Issue 143: March/April 2022 As far as I can tell, my fiancée, Alison...
A sailing buddy asked for my help solving a problem on the hard dodger aboard his Taswell 45. Over the years, a series of small cracks had appeared in the top surface that was composed of some kind of...
There comes a time on a sailboat when something you’ve installed meets the end of its useful life. Maybe it’s a piece of gear that just can’t be repaired again. Or perhaps it’s an old sail so blown ou...
Replacing leaky toerails with beautiful bulwarks was an intensive but rewarding job. Issue 142: Jan/Feb 2022 Despite her many attributes, our 1979 Cheoy Lee 41, Avocet, for a time was living up to the...
After I built my dinghy, an 11-foot 6-inch plywood Bolger design coincidentally called “The Cartopper,” the first problem I faced was: how do I get it to the boatyard? Obviously, on the roof of my car...
