Issue 4 : Jan/Feb 1999 One of the most annoying problems that can occur on a sailboat is a leak in the diesel fuel tank. If you don’t have the time, expertise, or courage to attempt to repair it yours...
Issue 4 : Jan/Feb 1999 Tucked away under the cabin sole floorboards, the average fuel tank doesn’t get much attention from those of us who like to sail. In fact, it may be totally neglected until some...
Issue 4 : Jan/Feb 1999 You’ve found your dreamboat, had it surveyed, and signed up for a long and happy relationship. The broker said it holds 20 gallons of fuel and 40 gallons of water. He didn’t say...
Issue 5 : Mar/Apr 1999 Picture a hot, windless Sunday afternoon as you power home on a glassy sea. Suddenly your engine slows and stops or overheats. Today of all days! You really did not need this, a...
Issue 9 : Nov/Dec 1999 I recently read that relieving oneself over the leeward rail is the most common reason for men falling overboard. You can’t help but wonder why this potentially dangerous practi...
Issue 9 : Nov/Dec 1999 When you purchase an older boat, it’s inevitable that some things will need to be changed, repaired, or enlarged. Holding tanks are often on the list of things that must be adde...
Build a one-off holding tank Issue 9 : Nov/Dec 1999 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 wa...
Keeping the water outside, where it belongs, calls for the best in materials and design Issue 14: Sept/Oct 2000 I’m sure most older boats at one time or another have had a seacock that’s corroded to t...
With more countries introducing regulations, holding tanks are an issue that won’t go away Issue 22 : Jan/Feb 2002 Traditional marine heads that discharge sewage straight out through a skin fitting ar...
A useful way to remove frozen hose Issue 23 : Mar/Apr 2002 Disconnecting a plastic hose from the through-hull fitting it has shrunken onto over the years is enough to make anyone hot under the collar....
Simple (not too elegant) gauge for your holding tank Issue 23 : Mar/Apr 2002 Our boat was built with a holding tank, but there was no provision made for determining how full it is. In the early years,...
Enjoy lots of pure fresh water from your own onboard system Issue 28 : Jan/Feb 2003 As we cruised across the Pacific between Mazatlan and New Zealand, one of the most frequent topics of discussion was...
Taming the lazarette and unplugging the drains Issue 31 : Jul/Aug 2003 During nine years spent sailing a 25-foot Yamaha sailboat in the waters of the Puget Sound, I have found space to be at a premium...
This technology means no holes in the hull or deck Issue 31 : Jul/Aug 2003 My solutions to the problems, concerns, and mandates about marine toilets had been to use a Porta Potti and a few jury-rigged...
How to shower without having a shower aboard Issue 32 : Sept/Oct 2003 A cruiser friend once said about her first trip up the Intracoastal Waterway, “We had to stop at a marina every few days for showe...
Issue 32 : Sept/Oct 2003 Paint this picture in your mind: You are at sea after dark, the waves are a bit more than you like, and the shaft packing is leaking. It’s not life-threatening. The automatic ...
More reach, more height in the galley sink Issue 36 : May/Jun 2004 I love the foot pumps in my galley. Not only do they provide precise control over water consumption, they allow the use of both hands...
How to put that water back outside where it belongs Issue 39 : Nov/Dec 2004 There is an enormous variety of bilge pumps on the market. Some are electric, some manual, and some are belt-driven from the...
Warm water without the usual hassle Issue 41 : Mar/Apr 2005 Here’s a shower idea I incorporated into the updating of our 1973 Bristol 30. Since I was building new galley counters, I installed a ...
Spray away and be the envy of the anchorage Issue 41 : Mar/Apr 2005 At the bow of our boat is a silver-dollar sized fitting with a screw-on cap that evokes envy from fellow sailors almost every time w...
How a naval architect shapes the boat’s bathroom Issue 42 : May/Jun 2005 As any sailor knows, the term of sailing ships when men were men and the crew’s rude toilet was a hole open to the seas, right ...
An automatic cycle counter for next-to-nothing Issue 47 : Mar/Apr 2006 Living in Colorado, with my Pearson 424 tied up in New Bern, North Carolina, I sometimes awaken in a cold sweat, wondering if my ...
Refining the boat’s most important plumbing system Issue 47 : Mar/Apr 2006 We have all had that experience: you complete a project, feel justifiably proud, but as you live with the results you realize...
Now it’s easy to get to the pump strainer Issue 51 : Nov/Dec 2006 On my 1973 Bristol 30, bilge access was not very good. When I purchased the boat, there was only a Whale Gusher 10 pump in the cockpit...
Simple solar-heated system is gravity-fed Issue 57 : Nov/Dec 2007 It’s known as the “Shower Dilemma.” Most pocket cruisers and older boats are not equipped with the luxury of a hot, freshw...
Know how much water you have — at a glance Issue 62 : Sept/Oct 2008 Water tanks are located in the nether regions of the boat and are covered by bunks, liner pans, access hatches, and all the stuff th...
Food-safe epoxy makes potable possible Issue 65 : Mar/Apr 2009 At the end of a two-year search for a fixer-upper cruising boat, I acquired a Pearson Vanguard, hull #142 built in 1964. I found her in a...
Captive bolts mean freedom from worry Issue 69 : Nov/Dec 2009 Like many boats from the early 1970s, my Hallberg-Rassy Mistral 33 was originally fitted with bronze gate valves. They were mounted direct...
The less costly route to water independence Issue 72 : May/Jun 2010 When we decided to transit the Panama Canal and head across the Pacific, we knew we would face a problem that had cropped up occasio...
Vegetable oil fixed one, the other remains Issue 73 : Jul/Aug 2010 My usual motto, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” has served me well in many life experiences but has never been the best strategy t...
