Issue 123: Nov/Dec 2018 In the fall of 2013, I was living in New Bern, North Carolina, and I was in the market for a bigger sailboat. It had to be a good old boat to keep the cost down to something I ...
A new life for an abandoned good old boat turns a lubber into a sailor. Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 It all began on a sunny mid-August Saturday seven years ago, my two boys and I walking along the harbor ...
During a running refit, a boat imparts life and sailing lessons. Issue 132: May/June 2020 It all started on a freezing winter’s day in a boatyard at the French Canadian-New York border. The decks of t...
Issue 133: July/Aug 2020 In the introduction to their book Sensible Cruising: The Thoreau Approach, Don Casey and Lew Hackler suggest that, “The applicability of the philosophy of Thoreau to the activ...
This refit of a proven, 1970s-era racer maximized performance for speed, safety, and fun. Issue 136: Jan/Feb 2021 Three months after selling my Cal 2-29, Loophole, I found myself pining for another bo...
Restoring a nearly 50-year-old Pearson included repowering with electric. Issue 143: March/April 2022 I purchased my 1972 Pearson 30, hull #220, in March 2015 sight unseen by way of eBay. I was the on...
A father and son find and restore the first Cal 25, then win the nationals with her. Issue 144: May/June 2022 In these days of glitzy grand prix yacht racing, it might be easy to believe that the trul...
After an exhaustive six-month refit, a forlorn Blue Jay flies again. Issue 145: July/Aug 2022 When I first saw her, leaves swam in 6 inches of dirty water in her cockpit, and the trailer had a flat ti...
An old, leaky hatch gets a makeover to stop the drips and add some special teak. Issue 146: Sept/Oct 2022 The original forward hatch on Calypso, the 1976 Bristol Channel Cutter that my husband, Jeremy...
An unpleasant surprise necessitates the replacement of a sole and stringer Issue 151: July/Aug 2023 I have a long list of projects on my boat that I want to complete. But replacing the cabin sole was ...
Restoring a Dyer Dink 10 for dreamy daysailing Issue 151: July/Aug 2023 We hauled out our 1983 Sabre 30, Ora Kali, on a blustery day last November. In retrospect, we should have done it sooner. Winter...
The late Gordon Lightfoot’s ’70s-era Ericson gets a proper rig and hull refit Issue 153: Nov/Dec 2023 The calls, emails, and texts started coming in to my wife, Lisa, and me on the evening of Ma...
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 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...
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...
A refit turns a Great Lakes daysailer into a Caribbean cruiser Issue 128: Sept/ Oct 2019 When my wife, Sheila, and I bought Her Diamond, our 1991 Freedom 38, she was the ideal daysailer and vacation b...
A couple of days’ work extends into an odyssey Issue 126: May/June 2019 Way in the back of the long-term storage lot where old boats go to die, I looked at my Catalina 34, Ukiyo, and thought of an ins...
New sailors outfit an old boat for a future of adventures. My husband, David, and I have always loved the outdoors and water. We have been avid sea-kayakers and snorkelers. We have owned powerboats, b...
