Rolling pin doubles as paper-towel dispenser Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 Few onboard items are more likely to spread microbes around than that good old bug farm, the towel. Thus it came to be that we now ...
Homemade bearings make launching easier Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 Sometimes on improvement creates an opportunity another. To make it easier to launch my Com-Pac 16 when the tide is low, I installed a t...
This handy gadget just measures and measures Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 Have you ever used a deck shoe as a hammer . . . or a knife from the galley as a screwdriver? We’ve all used whatever was handy at ...
At last, a collapsible boathook that works Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 I have never seen a collapsible boathook I liked. Even if you can get the twist lock to release, it never seems to retighten securely...
Curing the clamminess under your cushions Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 My wife and I live aboard our 40-foot ketch in San Francisco Bay. The weather is relatively cool, and often foggy, for much of the yea...
Chrysler caterpillar turns into 22-foot butterfly Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 SARA WAS DANGLING FROM A BOSUN’S CHAIR HIGH ATOP THE MAST. Last night, Sara had gone to the prom. This morning, still wearing h...
Renovation proceeds despite critics and admirers Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 Ice still covered the silent white bay and snow lay knee-deep in the boatyard when we began renovating our “new” old yacht. In ...
What you need under power, sail, and at anchor Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 When it comes to lights for sailing at night, small and medium-sized sailboats have options since several light combinations are ...
Modern systems for stowing sails and reducing area Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 When the wind suddenly picks up or a squall line is approaching, the ability to furl or reef sails efficiently and safely is ...
Once again you can see the way ahead Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 If your dodger is a few years old, it may be looking pretty shabby. While the fabric is in good shape and has lots of service life left, th...
How to make sure your boat stays put Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 Not long ago I spoke with a sailor that had a 27-foot Sabre moored on a 250-pound mushroom mooring anchor as recommended by the local yacht...
Holding the water out when a port breaks at sea Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 According to the pilot charts of the central and north Pacific Ocean, the incidence of gales during late July and August on the ...
Almost as good as a second pair of hands Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 If your crew tends to abandon ship at the smell of an open tube of sealant, this tool might help you re-bed that deck fitting singlehan...
A really thorough job: Even the deck was removed Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 While work was stalled on my 1969 Kenner Kittiwake project boat, I learned of a newer Kittiwake being auctioned on eBay. I was ...
Faux-teak lessens annual maintenance tasks Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 While I appreciate brightwork on a sailboats’s deck, I’m not one who enjoys the annual maintenance that usually accompanies such esth...
A way to keep charts handy to the helm Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 Beth and I sail our Ericson 31 in Puget Sound and north into the Canadian Gulf Islands and the shores of Vancouver Island. Even though we...
Extra cockpit light that also stows away Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 We have a Davis Mega-Light, cockpit version, which is a seriously cool gizmo — ambient light for the cockpit in white, red, or yellow w...
A knot you can trust with your wine Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 The hackamore knot is well worth knowing. It has at least three distinct uses for which it is invaluable. The first of these is as an emerge...
Avoid paying for those expensive thumps Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 Our 30-year-old Ranger 28 has a balanced rudder and is tiller-steered. While I prefer a tiller and like the feedback it gives, it unsett...
Salvage those little bits of horribly expensive wood Issue 61: July/Aug 2008 After fitting out a boat or just making moderate changes to its interior, few of us escape the scrap dilemma. This occurs w...
Adding staying power to your ground tackle Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 The anchor sentinel has been used by mariners for thousands of years. It is known by many other names throughout the world: the kelle...
Examining the typical wet-exhaust system Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 After building a custom waterlift muffler with epoxy and fiberglass, one question remained: how does it compare with the commercial one...
Custom waterlift muffler calls for creative approach Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 My friend, Ken Simmons, and I ran into a common problem when we replaced the aging Atomic 4 in his 1968 Pearson Vanguard wi...
This grating bends to the contour of any floor Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 Marine gratings have one thing in common: they are rigid and fit only in perfectly flat areas. A curve in the sole means getting ...
Ingenuity and a warm oven solve the problem Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 Replacing a smashed aluminum stem casting had us facing the prospect of having to have one custom-machined from scratch at considera...
It’s versatile, efficient, and above all, handsome Issue 54 : May/Jun 2007 The schooner rig is considered to be distinctively North American. There is even a stale old story of how the name came to be...
A simple portlight maintains airflow Issue 55 : Jul/Aug 2007 I’ve built a simple portlight vent into the companionway hatches of several of my boats and wouldn’t cruise without one. They help maintain...
An easy way to check fore-and-aft trim Issue 55 : Jul/Aug 2007 I got tired of looking over the transom to check trim fore and aft. Our Ranger 28 has a reverse transom, which makes it difficult to see ...
A simple swing-up counter extension Issue 55 : Jul/Aug 2007 The U-shaped galley in our Pearson 28-2 seemed more than adequate to me, especially when compared to that of our O’Day 222 trailersailer. Ho...
