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...
Well-drilled junior sailors help save a mast Issue 116: Sept/Oct 2017 To the tune of the Beverly Hillbillies theme song . . . Let me tell you a little story ’bout an engineer named Tom.Had a little bo...
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,...
No deviations in Good Old Boat’s wake Issue 116: Sept/Oct 2017 Back in 1998, when Loran-C was in widespread use and the world’s attention was focused on Y2K, a couple of Great Lakes sailors noted that...
A father and son rediscover an old family “friend” Issue 117: Nov/Dec 2017 For 22 years, we didn’t hear much about Quelle Vie, the boat my grandfather purchased in 1966. She was a Grampian Classic 31,...
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...
Generations bond while stitching and gluing Issue 117: Nov/Dec 2017 When my grandson Ryan was born, in 2007, I was reminded of the fact that I never knew my grandfathers, as both had passed away befor...
Its master commands it by radio Issue 117: Nov/Dec 2017 Shortly after becoming a sailboat owner, I became intrigued by the idea of building a radio-controlled model sailboat that performed like the re...
Objets d’art emerge from an off-season pastime Issue 117: Nov/Dec 2017 When my boat is under wraps for the winter, I seek outlets that help me preserve my sailing sanity. One of my off-season pastimes...
Signature sailboat designs seem to have gone by the board Issue 117: Nov/Dec 2017 Doug Peterson drew a 35-foot sailboat, borrowed money from his grandmother to have it built in his hometown, raced it ...
The McBride knack for sidestepping misfortune Issue 118: Jan/Feb 2018 Sitting in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, four weeks after the eye of Category 5 Hurricane Maria missed us by a few miles, with no ...
An older boat is good enough for a crew of older sailors Issue 118: Jan/Feb 2018 This adventure started just like our last one (“Narrowboat Adventure,” July 2016), over a bottle of wine in the cockpit...
The yen to travel by boat is in her blood Issue 118: Jan/Feb 2018 I grew up in a megalopolis of five million people. My father always seemed to me a city person. He was an engineer, a tutor at the uni...
Intrepid Great Loopers survive in frigid Duluth Issue 118: Jan/Feb 2018 Most cruisers complete the Great Loop cruising route — up the ICW from Florida, through the Erie Canal to the Great Lakes, south...
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...
A departure delayed by foul ground and a lee shore Issue 118: Jan/Feb 2018 Following years of laid-back dreaming, of soaking up from books, magazines, and YouTube the wisdom and experience of voyagers...
Boat cards connect good friends and good times with places far and near Issue 118: Jan/Feb 2018 They’re a throwback to a time we seem to have moved past, a quaint time when all letters were handwritte...
It came with 40 years of someone else’s memories Issue 119: March/April Over the course of 45 years we had purchased eight sailboats in what we assumed was the natural progression of boat ownership: s...
. . . 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...
Two boys buy a big wooden boat with their hearts, not their heads Issue 119: March/April 2018 On a warm June evening in 1969, my friends Scott and David drove with me from the Chicago suburbs to Michi...
Engine trouble, sail trouble, a repair stop, and a Celtic goddess Issue 119: March/April 2018 “Lindora?” “No. I don’t like it,” said my husband, Erik. “It’s Lincoln’s and Isadora’s names put together....
Its breadth demands a diversity of content Issue 119: March/April 2018 Immediately upon assuming editorial responsibility at Good Old Boat, I started work on a mission statement. This magazine didn’t ...
Night-watch ruminations lead to an unsolvable riddle Issue 120: May/June 2018 I have a confession to make. It’s been six months and 6,000 miles since my mate James and I set sail from Portland, Englan...
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 ...
Issue 120: May/June 2018 Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com...
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 ...
Keeping up an older boat pays back in family time, not dollars Issue 120: May/June 2018 What is the point of all the effort and expense I put into owning a good old boat? I often find myself asking th...
It was not the best place for his rudder to jam hard over Issue 120: May/June 2018 On the day I purchased my first boat, the 30-foot Shallow Life, my sailing experience amounted to only two days aboar...
Most everything, according to surveys Issue 120: May/June 2018 We spent two years preparing our boat to cross the Pacific. We read countless blogs and peppered experienced ocean sailors with questions...
Shared passions form a common bond between strangers Issue 120: May/June 2018 I rode motorcycles for years, first a 1982 Yamaha Virago 920, later a 1977 Honda CB550. Neither was a touring bike, but th...
