Surface weather maps, part 2 Issue 108: May/June 2016 In the March 2016 issue I introduced surface weather maps, meteorological time-keeping systems, the difference between issued and valid date and t...
From one extreme to another Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 In Part 1 of this article, in the May 2016 issue, Rob described how sailing vessels achieve their stability. Using the C&C 39 as an example of ...
How they form and how they are named Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 Sailors have been watching clouds since the first boat was launched. As aficionados know, clouds come in an infinite variety of shapes and...
A rack where phones stay dry, charged, and in reach Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 Here’s a simple project for 21st century sailors who want a safe and dedicated place to stow expensive little gizmos. I desi...
A dry suit is put to the test on the Gumby immersion course Issue 110 : Sept/Oct 2016 Most sailors who venture upon cold water have given considerable thought to the consequences of having to abandon ...
Traveler controls belong in the hands of the helmsman Issue 110 : Sept/Oct 2016 Rat’s axiom, that there is nothing — absolutely nothing — half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats, is ...
How electromagnetic radiation sheds light on dark clouds Issue 110: Sept/Oct 2016 Rain, high winds, and thunderstorms can put a damper on any sailor’s day. But forewarned is forearmed, and the best re...
Simple gifts of welcome or thanks Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 While cruising, we receive help from other sailors on an almost daily basis. While a bottle of wine rarely goes unappreciated, it’s sometimes ...
Revealing storm structure through scanning strategies Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 In the first part of this two-part series (in the September 2016 issue), Mark explained the basics of Doppler weather rada...
A juice box traps both oil and cartridge Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 Changing an oil filter without making a mess is a challenge I have long faced, as have many other boat owners. Despite having relativel...
Getting a grip took a little help Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 To comply with the spirit and rule of USCG regulations, we keep the seacock on the holding tank’s overboard discharge closed and disable it by...
How it can come unhinged under stress Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 Cliff Moore has had his share of trouble with transom-hung rudders (see “Rudders I Have Loved and Lost,” January 2017). In my article “How...
Stirring paint without the Pollock effect Issue 113: March/April 2017 Our Creekmore 34, Eurisko, always looks sharp with her new black bottom paint, but we don’t wear it nearly as well. Bottom paint i...
Secondhand silverware made ideal tools Issue 113: March/April 2017 Nurdle’s toerail was leaking and I had no choice but to remove and rebed it — all 70 feet. While most of the Dolfinite compound used ...
Explore the world through sailors’ YouTube channels Issue 113: March/April 2017 More and more sailors are capturing their exploits and adventures on video and sharing those videos online. Still photos...
Tactics that help the dark hours pass lightly Issue 113: March/April 2017 As an early-to-bed person, I find a night passage offers special and sublime opportunities for stargazing, precious alone time...
Learning from adventures in anchoring Issue 114: May/June 2017 For the first two months of cruising on MonArk, our 1979 Dufour 35, I barely slept at anchor. I was too nervous about the possibility of ...
A shocking danger is ever imminent Issue 114: May/June 2017 Marinas are usually situated in places that offer good protection from storms. During the summer months, those locations can shield marinas ...
The Cuban yo-yo takes up no space yet hauls in dinner Issue 115: July/Aug 2017 I’m a fishing sailor. Fishing passes the time during periods of light winds, and there is no finer dining than on a fish ...
Don’t leave anything to chance Issue 115: July/Aug 2017 During the seasonal cruiser migration along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW), it is quite common to see boats bottle-necked before a dr...
Dash off little jobs with dispatch Issue 116: Sept/Oct 2017 When I’m desperate to get a relatively small teak finish job done in a hurry I . . . Allen Penticoff, a Good Old Boat contributing editor, i...
It uses a feature common to many devices Issue 116: Sept/Oct 2017 It started with a search for an anemometer, as I was curious about wind speeds while sailing my Seaward 24. Sure, I had an idea of wha...
Keep out their prey and spiders won’t move in Issue 116: Sept/Oct 2017 Over the more than 40 years that I’ve been messing around in boats, I’ve had to deal with a variety of uninvited guests that have...
The practiced art of setting and weighing anchor under sail Issue 116: Sept/Oct 2017 In four years of cruising aboard MonArk, we’ve lost our engine twice. On the second occasion, in San Francisco Bay,...
A simple springline takes the heat out of docking Issue 117: Nov/Dec 2017 Many boaters, power or sail, have a little trouble docking cleanly, sometimes made worse by a “helper” on the dock taking char...
Viewing vessel traffic with a smartphone app Issue 118: Jan/Feb 2018 A couple of times a year, I find myself on Virginia’s Hampton Roads, a large natural harbor close to the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. W...
. . . and the safety significance of MMSI and GPS Issue 119: March/April 2018 When we replaced the fixed-mount VHF radio on our 1986 cutter back in 2002, we noticed the new radio featured a red “distr...
The kink-free lifeline daisy chain gives wet rope a good airing Issue 120: May/June 2018 For sailors, wet rope is a fact of life. Coil and stow that wet rope after a sail, and green rope may become a ...
How to keep newcomers to sailing calm and engaged Issue 120: May/June 2018 Now you’ve done it. A week after talking up sailing at the office party or neighborhood barbecue, you’re surprised that your ...
Those nightmare threads that become unthreadable can be avoided Issue 122: Sept/Oct 2018 Sailing is all about feel. And sometimes it’s through feel we get the first hint that things are about to go al...
