. . . 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...
Solving a perplexing problem led to an explosive discovery Issue 122: Sept/Oct 2018 I dialed the number and waited through several rings. A man answered, and I told him I was the most recent owner of ...
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...
