Unsuspected chafe could have sunk him Issue 87 : Nov/Dec 2012 Sailors are well aware of the danger of chafe to sails, halyards, mooring lines, anchor rode, and various and sundry other pieces of equip...
A little elevation keeps the toilet base dry Issue 88 : Jan/Feb 2013 I have seen quite a few marine toilet installations where the presence of even a little amount of salt water has caused green stain...
Adding a tee adds versatility Issue 90: May/June 2013 My Columbia 10.7 was suffering from hardening of the arteries. More specifically, it was hardening of the seacock. The Groco SV Series seacocks we...
A vented loop keeps the boat afloat Issue 91 : Jul/Aug 2013 Having heard horror stories of boats sinking due to a marine toilet overflowing, I have resolved to never let that happen on our 1979 Ericso...
A big makeover for the smallest room Issue 100: Jan/Feb 2015 It’s said that creative people can look at a pile of garbage and see opportunities. If this is true, I must possess some pretty creative ge...
A portable system becomes permanent Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 Bath time on our 35-foot sloop has taken many forms in 30-some years of living aboard. The easiest and most fun was jumping overboard in th...
Out with the old . . . er, not so fast! Issue 104 : Sept/Oct 2015 Why was there water in my normally dry bilge? Rain, I suspected. I checked all the hose clamps on the deck drains and the portholes, t...
A holding tank vent revamp clears the air Issue 104 : Sept/Oct 2015 I found an easy, inexpensive way to improve my boat’s holding-tank system. It cost $10, the stink is gone, and the catastrophe the o...
Welding plastic for a superior sanitation system Issue 104 : Sept/Oct 2015 Our 1978 Bristol 29.9 had been experiencing a number of “holding tank issues.” Despite new hoses, we’d been getting frequent ...
If it ain’t broke, it just needs cleaning and painting Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 The inspiration to rebuild, rather than replace, the non-functioning Whale Gusher 10 bilge pump on our Ericson 31 had two...
It opens and closes with a throttle lever Issue 110 : Sept/Oct 2016 I’m one of those sailors who likes to keep seacocks closed when they’re not in use. My problem was that the inlet valve for the head...
Removing drawers leads to safer plumbing Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 We bought our Mariner 28, Day by Day, in 2014, downsizing from our Corbin 39 as a concession to our advancing years and the desire for ...
When water pipes reach the end of the line Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 The plastic freshwater plumbing that had been in my Down East 45 schooner, Britannia, since 1977 was a horrible spaghetti-like mess a...
Using à la carte components to make a watermaker Issue 114: May/June 2017 Living aboard almost full time as we do, what a treat it is to have an endless supply of fresh water we make ourselves. With a...
It removes the aroma before it can envelop you Issue 115: July/Aug 2017 Ah, the holding tank, that place where we store our waste until we can find a pump-out station. In a perfect world, a marine hol...
A water-cooled fridge keeps its chill in warm waters Issue 116: Sept/Oct 2017 Sailing in any region where the water is warm — the Tropics, Florida, and the Bahamas come to mind — can impose a real str...
Extending the life of an engine’s raw-water strainer Issue 118: Jan/Feb 2018 The Perko intake water strainer that feeds the engine on Phantom, our Pearson 365 ketch, was on its last legs. A hinged bol...
Don’t let dock-hose biomass contaminate the boat’s water tanks Issue 123: Nov/Dec 2018 Every time I take on fresh water, even in my home marina, I get an uneasy feeling. I’ve seen what lives in water ...
Getting tasty water from your boat’s tap isn’t a pipe dream if you follow some basic steps. Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 Stagnant, skunky, tank-sourced drinking water is one of the less romantic aspects of...
Buckets, sawdust, and a clever seat make a functional dry marine toilet. Issue 132: May/June 2020 When our son, John, moved aboard his Baba 30, the marine head was inoperable and unrepairable. He saw ...
Trading a dipstick for a digital meter takes the guesswork out of water use. Issue 139: July/Aug 2021 Our family’s Alberg 35 has a pair of freshwater tanks that total about 50 gallons. Unfortunately, ...
A dreamy cruise is interrupted when the head calls it quits. Issue 142: Jan/Feb 2022 A number of years ago, my family and I sailed Dreamer, the first of two Islander Bahama 30s we’ve owned, from the V...
Installing a foot pump in the galley is a great way to save water Issue 153: Nov/Dec 2023 On many sailboats, the biggest use of fresh water is for washing dishes, which was the case on our 1993 Moody ...
Replacing a traditional marine head with a composting system is clean and green. Issue 132: May/June 2020 I love my new-to-me 1999 Beneteau 311, but the boat came with a very pronounced smell in the h...
Build a one-off holding tank Like most good old boats, All Ways, my 28-foot Pearson Triton, was built with an overboard discharge marine head. Since my favorite cruising area was recently declared a N...
Simple solar-heated system is gravity fed This is a photographic supplement to the article printed in Good Old Boat magazine, November 2007....
