The fabric is not worn, but it has long faded from fashion Issue 88 : Jan/Feb 2013 Near as we can figure, Mystic began her life in 1975 in a Cuthbertson and Cassian boatyard in Niagara on the Lake, On...
Inter-island telegraph app for social media Issue 89 : Mar/Apr 2013 We are a long way from home. After nearly a decade in the Caribbean, we returned to the mainland a few years ago and haven’t yet mad...
You never know who’s gonna need your help Issue 89 : Mar/Apr 2013 Alone in my Bill Tripp-designed Columbia 26 sailboat that late September afternoon in 1975, I was bound under power for Hyannis on the...
Finding homes for boatyard orphans Issue 89 : Mar/Apr 2013 I was the kid on the block who rescued strays. My mother once remarked that I was a magnet for every homeless mutt in the neighborhood. They ...
We asked — now it’s our turn to respond Issue 89 : Mar/Apr 2013 Earlier this winter — once the boat was put away — Jerry decided it would be a good idea to ask our readers for their input. He introduc...
It’s easy to lose sight of what it means Issue 91 : Jul/Aug 2013 We all know what a boat is and we can probably arrive at some definition of “old” without too much difficulty, but what exactly puts th...
Compound errors add up to a bump in the night Issue 91 : Jul/Aug 2013 Accidents are supposed to be nasty moments that come out of nowhere. Yet in 1983, when I had more than 20 years’ sea time under my...
Five stages from taking the bait to being truly boated Issue 91 : Jul/Aug 2013 1. The beginning It might have been Swallows and Amazons . . . or the thought of small animals in a beautiful pea-green b...
When super-human effort isn’t enough, humanity succeeds Issue 90: May/June 2013 This is a story of disaster, struggle, despair, and dreams lost . . . but also one of friendship, creativity, redemption...
A journey alone around the world by sail and by foot Issue 91 : Jul/Aug 2013 Good Old Boat is proud to announce our 15th audiobook, this one by James Baldwin about the wonderful and rather unusual two...
Prevention demands diligence and vigilance Issue 90: May/June 2013 Ellen and I have been involved with two major boat fires over the years. The first was in the Caribbean on board Entr’acte, our Nor’s...
Having circled the Americas, he’s now focused on the oceans Issue 91 : Jul/Aug 2013 By the time you read this, with luck, Matt Rutherford will be back at sea. Aboard his newly refitted Colvin Gazelle,...
Where you are depends on where you measure from Issue 91 : Jul/Aug 2013 A chart datum is a reference from which data or information displayed on a nautical chart is measured. One type of chart datum, ...
Every step is an accomplishment in itself Issue 98: Sept/Oct 2014 I didn’t know this when I was younger. I haven’t been young for 20 years now, but some things, the best things, have no end, no finale...
Good Old Boat evolves issue by issue Issue 91 : Jul/Aug 2013 As we celebrate our 15th anniversary this summer, my office is lined with three-ring binders filled with a steady parade of our issues: 90 ...
Lingering fair weather is irresistible Issue 92 : Sept/Oct 2013 Past Labor Day, through October and well into November, there’s some fine sailing to be had in Puget Sound — warm 75-degree days that tu...
Mayhem begets a teaching moment Issue 92 : Sept/Oct 2013 It’s amazing how fast things can change on the water. How does that salty expression go . . . that sailing is 99 percent boredom and one percen...
Highway hauling takes preparation and patience Issue 92 : Sept/Oct 2013 Sometimes good old boats need to be moved overland. Many were not designed for that and present a challenge that may seem overwh...
Five ideas that flunked; five that made the grade Issue 92 : Sept/Oct 2013 In the years since we launched her, our home-finished 31-foot Cape George cutter has been subjected to perhaps the most rigor...
Variety is the spice of the sailing life Issue 92 : Sept/Oct 2013 One of the greatest aspects of offshore and coastal cruising is meeting other like-minded souls out there who are sailing the world’s ...
Shelter and a helm station are key features Issue 92 : Sept/Oct 2013 It’s a challenge to define what we mean when we refer to a pilothouse on a sailboat. Is inside steering a definite requirement? Wha...
Oh, yes . . . sailboats are a distraction Issue 92 : Sept/Oct 2013 Sailboats are clearly a distraction in the lives of sailors. At Good Old Boat we see a predictable and seasonal pattern in our reader...
Cold souls among the jackstands Issue 93 : Nov/Dec 2013 Winter has closed in. Boats are hauled out in northern climes. Their once-sweet lines are swaddled in shrink-wrap or tarps. The boatyard, which ...
It’s everything from taxi to truck Issue 98: Sept/Oct 2014 Selecting a dinghy is a critical step in outfitting a cruising boat, but amid the onslaught of outfitting decisions about whether to add sola...
A Sandpiper sheds its dust and spreads its wings Issue 93 : Nov/Dec 2013 I caught the sailing bug early despite the fact that powerboats outnumbered sailboats by a zillion to one on the lake at my gra...
What’s the D/L with the SA/D? Issue 93 : Nov/Dec 2013 Good Old Boat receives frequent letters from readers asking for an explanation of the formulas used to compare sailboats. We generally refer peopl...
After the storm, it’s decision time Issue 93 : Nov/Dec 2013 For some sailors, after a storm or hurricane comes relief. The mooring held. The neighboring steel boat didn’t break loose during the night ...
Grandchildren keep the wind in the family’s sails Issue 98: Sept/Oct 2014 In these my retirement years, I spend many hours messing about on Hornblower, my 1976 Pearson 35. One day, the sea breez...
Sophisticated mechanisms that use a simple principle Issue 93 : Nov/Dec 2013 Windvane steering was pioneered by Blondie Hasler in the 1960s and is the autopilot of choice for many bluewater sailors. I...
A solo sailor is active in mind and body Issue 98: Sept/Oct 2014 In 1974, I owned a varnished wooden Folkboat in Branford, Connecticut. On my first try at sailing solo I was wracked with anxiety, not ...
