Steps in the process of measuring progress Issue 80 : Sept/Oct 2011 Speed on the water is measured worldwide in knots. A knot is a speed of one nautical mile per hour and is abbreviated as kn or kt. A...
Mystic’s mad scientist is at work again Issue 80 : Sept/Oct 2011 Strange noises have emanated from our basement ever since we moved in 20 years ago. I’ll hear high-pitched whines, odd buzzings and whi...
Sailing creates sensory addiction Issue 81 : Nov/Dec 2011 What is it about sailing that so completely captures our hearts, captivates our souls, and enchants us with its magic? I believe this enchantm...
Good old racing on Tampa Bay Issue 81 : Nov/Dec 2011 Every sailor knows the place to be in January is on a modern high-tech sailboat at Key West Race Week. While that may be true for the hired guns on...
Boat parades are a seasonal spectacle Issue 81 : Nov/Dec 2011 Spectacular water parades are held up and down the coasts of North America every Thanksgiving and Christmas season. These family parades w...
The alternative doesn’t bear thinking about . . . or does it? Issue 81 : Nov/Dec 2011 Our friend Harold has always hated powerboats. Now pushing 70, he’s been a sailor his entire life and has distinct...
But life ashore afterward is stifling Issue 81 : Nov/Dec 2011 The docklines are once again tied and my feet plod once more on solid ground. My body is back in port, but I don’t know if my sailor’s sou...
Issue 83: March/April 2012 Brian Cleverly was born in Sydney, Australia, on October 17, 1936, and died on November 6, 2011, two days after his 75th birthday. Brian is known to many of our longtime sub...
Do it in a jiffy with a tape splice Issue 83: March/April 2012 I needed to replace the internal spinnaker halyard on my Catalina 27 and chose the easy way to do it, using the old halyard as the messen...
Using a radial-arm saw and a simple jig Issue 83: March/April 2012 Sometimes, the lumber you have (or can obtain) isn’t long enough for the job you want to do. When building a wooden boat, for example...
Practice, observation, restraint, patience, persistence Issue 81 : Nov/Dec 2011 Blinken, Sabot dinghy In 1949, I was racing my Naples Sabot dinghy with very modest success. I complained to my mentor, ...
It’s invisible, insidious, and destructive Issue 83: March/April 2012 Everyone today knows we shouldn’t go out in the sun without wearing adequate protection, but it wasn’t always so. Noel Coward wrot...
Good old designs that still catch the eye Issue 81 : Nov/Dec 2011 When I was a kid in the early 1960s, there were quite a few yachting magazines. Each had its own character but they all had one thing ...
Mastering the machine assures entry to the club Issue 81 : Nov/Dec 2011 Defining moments can occur at any time. I was sewing a couple of covers for the new (larger!) winches Jerry installed this past ...
Compassion for the lost transcends species Issue 82 : Jan/Feb 2012 Once, for two nights and a day, in the middle of the Sargasso Sea, I made an unlikely friendship with a castaway bird. He was no bigg...
Degrees, decimals, and the synthesis of cultures Issue 82 : Jan/Feb 2012 As we go about our daily rounds, whether on land or sea, it’s critically important that we be able to identify and describe exa...
A safe and reliable installation takes thought Issue 82 : Jan/Feb 2012 Davits provide the ultimate system for launching, retrieving, and stowing a tender while offering a few bonuses beyond their desi...
Coming to an anchorage near you Issue 82 : Jan/Feb 2012 During a 2010 cruise to Barkley Sound on the west coast of Vancouver, we found ourselves anchored for two days in a tree. Not tied to a tree, bu...
A project boat helps a young man set his life’s course Issue 82 : Jan/Feb 2012 For as long as I can remember, I was scheming to buy my first sailboat. I spent many hours of my childhood poring over cl...
A compulsive boat fixer share some advice Issue 82 : Jan/Feb 2012 Over the last few years, I have restored a 1972 Helms 25, reconditioned a 1977 Irwin 28, and begun researching another project boat. B...
How the CCA rule influenced sailboat aesthetics Issue 82 : Jan/Feb 2012 It’s not unusual for people to look at older boats and marvel at their beauty and remark how today’s boats just aren’t as good l...
Classic classes are given new life Issue 83: March/April 2012 A few paces down the first dock, I was captivated by a bright red hull. Radio Flyer is long and lean with the beautiful overhangs commonly...
Practical ways to comply with the law Issue 83: March/April 2012 If you own a boat and your head discharge hose is connected directly and only to a through-hull fitting (as shown below), you’re in vio...
What’s in a name? Issue 82 : Jan/Feb 2012 It’s hard to believe Good Old Boat is approaching its 15th birthday. It was 15 years ago this past fall that Jerry and I sat on Mystic in the Canadian Slate I...
An enjoyable voyage needs no destination Issue 84 : May/Jun 2012 For some people, the term “going nowhere” is an oxymoron, impossible to fathom. You’ve seen them, walking along staring at their BlackB...
Timing is everything when picking out a light Issue 84 : May/Jun 2012 You’ve been under way for days. It’s 0200 and you’re on watch on the blackest of nights, straining through binoculars to pick up t...
A family business makes old boats good again Issue 84 : May/Jun 2012 Cayuga Lake, located in upstate New York’s Finger Lakes Region, is home to a large and active fleet of good old boats based in the ...
Mother Nature has no respect for job schedules Issue 83: March/April 2012 If you spend enough time on the water, you’ll have stories to tell: good and bad, hair-raising or hilarious. It comes with the...
A nesting hard dinghy that’s enduring and endearing Issue 83: March/April 2012 Many years before we cast off our docklines, sailed out the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and watched Cape Flattery disappear a...
Issue 84 : May/Jun 2012 Editor’s Note: We hope you enjoy these excerpts from Jule Miller’s Voyages in Desperate Times. It is a historically based novel about the Coast Guard Picket Fleet, aka the Hool...
