Issue 24 : May/June 2002 Getting back aboard most sailboats from the water without a ladder is next to impossible. Although many sailboats can have a stainless-steel, pull-down ladder on the transom, ...
Issue 24 : May/June 2002 The traditional way to check your course while belowdecks is with a telltale — an upside-down compass mounted in the skipper’s cabin (see photo of one such compass on Page 30....
Defeating the feathered menaces that alight in your rigging Issue 24 : May/June 2002 How many times have you scrubbed your deck only to notice, scant minutes later, a juicy purple Rorschach pattern vi...
A system for cruisers that steers better than any crew and doesn’t drink your beer Issue 24 : May/June 2002 The wind is blowing 30 on your quarter, and the rain is coming in sideways. The seas and you...
It ain’t brain surgery, but pampering your head will save your sanity Issue 24 : May/June 2002 A popular saying goes: “To a man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.” Perhaps this is why my ...
What you need to know about them — and how to replace them Issue 24 : May/June 2002 Few of us ever give a thought to Cutless bearings until it’s time to replace them. Then we wonder why the yard charg...
A cherished 28-foot sloop is blown ashore in a freak gale Issue 24 : May/June 2002 Weatherman Don Kent, of Boston’s WBZ-TC, called the easterly gales of May 9 and 10, 1977, a “historical storm.”...
Issue 25 : Jul/Aug 2002 At our dock we have three shore cables: the 35-amp AC power cable, the telephone cable, and the cable-TV. To keep the shore-end plugs of these cables out of the weather when th...
Issue 25 : Jul/Aug 2002 There is nothing more irritating than the thwack of a hard dinghy against your transom. Cursing, you stomp up on deck, give the painter a few extra feet of slack, and thrust th...
Issue 25 : Jul/Aug 2002 We’ve known for a long time that dark colored plastic water jugs far outlast clear or white ones. Seems the color gives UV protection. We noted colored dacron sails seem to out...
Issue 25 : Jul/Aug 2002 Having had my wind-whipped luffing sheets, halyards, and numerous other lines foul on cleats, I came up with a solution to this dilemma: a foulproof wooden cleat. A groove cut ...
Issue 25 : Jul/Aug 2002 One of the most vivid recollections of my childhood is of a boat launching at a local public ramp. A young man and his attractive girlfriend arrived in his new convertible with...
Mold? Rust? Wasps nests? Plastic goo? Your deck vents have surprises in store for you Issue 25 : Jul/Aug 2002 Have you ever looked under your vacuum-type deck vent? You could be in for a shock. My boa...
Tackling a makeover with more enthusiasm and elbow grease than money Issue 25 : Jul/Aug 2002 Affordable boats are out there — neglected or little-used boats that a little elbow grease can transform in...
Here’s the five-year plan that rescued a $1,200 boat Issue 25 : Jul/Aug 2002 Not so long ago I did not have a cruising boat, but I wanted one badly. My wife understood and said, “Take the $2,500 we’ve...
Hard work converts a classic Hinckley from total wreck to total delight Issue 25 : Jul/Aug 2002 For sailors, one of the worst nightmares is to be driven into the breakers of a lee shore. At 2:35 a.m. ...
A designer names his preferences for mast and rigging strength Issue 25 : Jul/Aug 2002 Recently I was consulted about a new mast for an older 40- foot cutter, as the owner was planning a world cruise....
How to build a low-tech, customized electrical panel Issue 25 : Jul/Aug 2002 On our boats we all have electrical panels of one sort or another. On the low-tech end, some of us have minimal panels with...
Issue 26 : Sept/Oct 2002 Being able to get the sail cover on quickly means we don’t have to resent the time it takes to protect our sails. Just as important, if a halyard starts slapping the mast just...
Issue 26 : Sept/Oct 2002 Every sailor is instructed, encouraged, and eventually submits to reading Adlard Coles’s Heavy Weather Sailing. Sometimes we find extreme circumstances at sea. Besides, it’s a...
Issue 26 : Sept/Oct 2002 When cruising, we keep in touch with family and friends with email, using our Pocketmail Composer. We bought our Pocketmail device and signed up for the mobile email service i...
Issue 26 : Sept/Oct 2002 In a fit of enthusiasm, I decided to paint Time Out’s ancient and slippery deck with non-skid paint. It was a difficult decision, but it was made for me when I darned near end...
Issue 26 : Sept/Oct 2002 When the weather worsens while we’re at anchors, we all like to think we have a “guardian angel” looking after us. Well, a few experienced cruising skippers do. Why not ...
It may be quick and dirty, but it’s also cheap and handy Issue 26 : Sept/Oct 2002 Many years ago, when the sailing sickness first hit me, one of the first things I did was to buy a nice new copy of Ch...
Installing an outboard motor well on a 28-foot cruiser Issue 27: Nov/Dec 2002 WHEN OUR BOATS WERE HAULED for routine maintenance at a Trinidad boatyard recently, my friend, Theo, asked me for suggesti...
Plywood-and-epoxy kits add up to easier boatbuilding Issue 26 : Sept/Oct 2002 People have been building small wooden boats for eons in a process often shrouded in mystery. Steam boxes and molds for la...
Tips on how to extract the old one and install the new one Issue 27: Nov/Dec 2002 IN THE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER ISSUE OF Good Old Boat, we discussed the decisions to be made when the inevitable day comes t...
Turning an old daysailer/weekender into a self-sufficient modern cruiser Issue 26 : Sept/Oct 2002 For years I dreamed of seeing the world from the deck of a sailboat. My mind was filled with images of...
What type of rudder’s on your boat? Advantages and disadvantages of each Issue 26 : Sept/Oct 2002 The main purpose of the rudder is to steer the boat, of course, but far too many sailors do not realiz...
Step-by-step instructions for making your own hard dodger Issue 27: Nov/Dec 2002 IN MY DREAMS I OWN A SLEEK high-performance sloop that goes to weather like a rocket. This dreamboat has a sexy little ...
