Two-boat-itis arouses ambivalence Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016 It is possible to have too much of a good thing. We discovered this in the summer of 2015, the year we had two boats in the water. At once. I...
An enchanting ruse brings a wife on board Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 I’ve never chosen the right boat for me. I’ve always let the right boat choose me. In the November 2015 issue of Good Old Boat, I des...
When the self is inseparable from The Water Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 The Water is always there. The Water forms a continuous thread through my life from my earliest memories to this moment. It has bee...
Canadian sailors broaden their boating skills on England’s canals Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 Here we were, four freshwater sailors maneuvering a 65-foot steel narrowboat in pitch darkness through a damp...
Ways to dispose of expired pyrotechnics Issue 108: May/June 2016 Your flare caddy was overflowing with mostly expired flares. You bought a bigger one. Now it, too, is almost filled with expired flares...
How sailboats stand up to the wind Issue 108: May/June 2016 In a letter to Mail Buoy in the September 2015 issue of Good Old Boat, Rich Morrow of Herring Cove, Nova Scotia, called me to task for putti...
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 ...
Take one tabloid six times a year Issue 108: May/June 2016 When we hang out in our booth at boat shows, subscribers stop to resubscribe, of course, but we’re amazed by the number of times they tell us...
Repair-centered missions bear unexpected fruit Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 While cruising down the U.S. Pacific coast we have had hardware break, alternators seize, water pumps give out, and all manner 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...
The talent on Good Old Boat’s masthead Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 Back in 1997, Jerry Powlas and I had no idea what we would be creating with this magazine. In nearly 20 years, a community has formed ar...
Eradication attempts wither to a ritual cleansing Issue 110 : Sept/Oct 2016 I have morning rituals when cruising. Though I try to sleep late, I usually rise with the sun, but with deliberate care so a...
The best decision was to call for help Issue 110 : Sept/Oct 2016 Having plied the Great Lakes on sailboats for more than 30 years, I was thrilled when my brother Jim informed me that he was getting hi...
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...
Sailing with the heirs to our pastime Issue 110: Sept/Oct 2016 This was the summer that will be remembered fondly aboard Mystic for the times we took kids sailing with us. We didn’t go far. In one cas...
A young woman traces her avocation to infancy Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 I am a sailor. I always have been and I believe I always will be. Most people, when they hear the word sailor, picture the stereot...
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...
Dreams fulfilled, sailors return to an unsteady terra firma Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 Odysseus, I was recently reminded, eventually got so fed up with his sea travels that he wanted to walk inland carry...
A logbook by lamplight and a flood of memories Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 I’m an old man with an old boat moored not far from my old house. My desire for new things has waned into a dying moon sliver wit...
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...
. . . means coping with the occasional nightmare Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 What happens when someone who has discarded a dream, a dream clearly beyond reach, meets a dreamer? Possibilities germinate. Yo...
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...
Could old boats be the new old cars? Issue 112: Jan/Feb 2017 When reader George Chase offered his perspective on owning good old boats, we decided to share it with all good old boat caretakers. –Edito...
A sailboat evokes a certain kind of emotion Issue 113: March/April 2017 Many a captain will tell you a sailboat is a conscious being. She can be a jealous thing, a sensitive gal whose dependability ri...
