A plan for the future and a project for today Issue 84 : May/Jun 2012 When I was in high school, a friend of mine and his father were working to restore a Jaguar Roadster. Anytime I asked when they we...
Years of devotion and labor lifted Spirit Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Coincidence, destiny, serendipity — call it what you will, chance must play a strong hand in matching aging boats with their rightful ...
A cheap boat and cheaper labor add up to sailing riches Issue 87 : Nov/Dec 2012 I had put our O’Day 22 on the local Craigslist and was hoping to find her a new captain by the end of May. We had sailed...
New sailors freshen up an Irwin 32 Issue 88 : Jan/Feb 2013 I learned to sail when I was 5 or 6 years old on Curaçao in the Caribbean. While I was in my early teens, my family moved to the Netherlands ...
A boat search takes an unexpected turn Issue 89 : Mar/Apr 2013 As I write this, Christine and François Ferbos have returned home to Bordeaux, France. They were in the U.S. to visit their son and his w...
Years of tender care revived a wilting Watkins Issue 90: May/June 2013 Her name is Sundew. She’s a 1978 Watkins 27 shoal-draft cruising sloop. She was named after an award-winning tulip in Holland. Sa...
. . . and an International Folkboat feels the love Issue 98: Sept/Oct 2014 It’s my belief that an obscure gene compels some of us to complicate our lives with elderly boats. In my case, it first appea...
A well-earned renovation for a well-used boat Issue 92 : Sept/Oct 2013 When Ken and Ginny Reinink decided to buy a good old boat, they had a list of criteria. The boat had to be the right size for two...
A good old classified helps a Chris-Craft Capitan Issue 93 : Nov/Dec 2013 It took two men and 16 years to complete an international effort to save Sophie. She was a little blue sloop, just like the bo...
After buying back his boat, he brought her back again Issue 94 : Jan/Feb 2014 The legendary singlehanded sailor looked me in the eye, paused for dramatic effect, and said, “Ray, buy this boat. You wil...
All agree this boat has character Issue 95 : Mar/Apr 2014 A beautifully maintained classic sailboat is sure to attract attention, even among non-sailors. The graceful hull lines and the fine details, ...
. . . but none the worse for the off-road experience Issue 96 : May/Jun 2014 That bright October afternoon, conditions were perfect for our Sunday motorcycle ride. We rumbled along for a few miles in ...
A lack of options pointed to DIY Issue 97 : Jul/Aug 2014 I met my rudder on March 30, 1998. It was attached to a Nicholson 35 that my wife, Mary Broderick, and I were about to buy. Our surveyor had ju...
Essentials first, then the fun parts Issue 97 : Jul/Aug 2014 I first laid eyes on an O’Day Mariner as a teenager while working at my family’s marina in Niantic, Connecticut. It was a derelict, but the...
Only buy new if you can’t make do Issue 99 : Nov/Dec 2014 I have owned my 1967 Alberg 30, Good News, for more than 22 years. While maintenance is always needed on a good old boat — mine is now 46 year...
Her past glory inspired a restoration Issue 99 : Nov/Dec 2014 The Cal 34 Vagus was once a star. That was in the mid-1970s to the mid-’90s, when Lake Michigan’s Bay of Green Bay was busy with races tha...
. . . is an ongoing work of artists Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 Sailors may have many reasons to switch boats, but upsize and update would probably apply to most. Our boat-buying history didn’t follow an...
Fear of holes redirects energy in a refit Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 I agonized for months over what to do. I really did have a choice. I could either do nothing, which in my now-established senior year...
A Pacific 30 — possibly the last one — sails again Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 Every marina has a few neglected boats. Their owners, enthusiastic at first but now distracted by daily life, have left thes...
A fine example of English lines and lineage Issue 105 : Nov/Dec 2015 In the retail publishing business, it’s the cover photo that sells a magazine on newsstands. “Lose 25 pounds in one week!” screams ...
She looked the part . . . but now she also walks the walk Issue 106 : Jan/Feb 2016 We bought our CT 54 from a couple who had been cruising on her for a few years, always with at least another couple a...
He was “through with boats” until . . . Issue 106 : Jan/Feb 2016 In 2003, I sold my Catfisher 28, Bullfrog, and moved ashore with my soon-to-be wife, Sue. After 15 years as a liveaboard, living ashore...
. . . is Katnip to a family of lake sailors Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016 In April 2015, we purchased a 1974 Herreshoff America catboat. She was cute, interesting, and in need of significant TLC. She took ...
. . . when properly mounted and maintained Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016 When planning to buy a good old boat, most sailors typically look carefully at the design, the propulsion, the hull, the sails, and ...
Tired, sole-scorching teak decking gets the heave-ho Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 “You’re delirious — come out of the sun right now!” my wife, Heidi, called to me from the shade of the cockpit. For the rec...
The cost of wood made aluminum the way to go Issue 113: March/April 2017 I was up the foremast of my 1977 Down East 45 schooner, Britannia, raised there by the electric windlass bolted to the bowsprit...
At 50, she gets her long-awaited makeover Issue 114: May/June 2017 Our decision to purchase a Columbia 29 for bluewater cruising was based on three primary factors. First was her reputation. The Colum...
A dilapidated freebie becomes a respectable tender Issue 118: Jan/Feb 2018 When I bought my Down East 45 schooner, Britannia, she didn’t come with a dinghy, but she had very sturdy aluminum davits jus...
A Vagabond 47 gets a multi-year makeover Issue 119: March/April 2018 Almost 40 years ago, walking the docks at Shilshole Bay Marina in Seattle, I came across a new Vagabond 47 ketch. It was love at fi...
A neglected vintage sailing dinghy finds love Issue 120: May/June 2018 A couple of years ago, I realized that, if I wanted to sail more, maybe I should look around for a smaller boat. I started watchi...
