A reluctant 7-year-old gets bitten by the sailing bug Issue 64 : Jan/Feb 2009 The second time my wife, Shawna, and I took our daughter, Carly, sailing on our Albacore dinghy, I figured someone would c...
A dinghy makes a tender and fitting gift Issue 64 : Jan/Feb 2009 A sailing dinghy was the most perfect wedding gift Jonathon could have given me, but I was not thrilled about my new husband spending o...
An astronomical illiterate seeks a star to steer by — any star Issue 67: July/Aug 2009 I’ve been a sailor all my life. One of the fundamental skills that sailors are supposed to possess is a knowledge...
Review your expectations Issue 64 : Jan/Feb 2009 What is the ideal boat size? Should I buy the biggest boat I can afford or the smallest boat I can possibly squeeze my family into? For most of us, the...
Positive experiences and peaceful moments make good memories Issue 64 : Jan/Feb 2009 My 9-year-old granddaughter, Piper, escaping the tedium of grown-ups talking about boring things, was burrowed deep...
This old Winslow yawl still stirs passions Issue 64 : Jan/Feb 2009 Most sailboats, when berthed or moored, look rather like birds with folded wings. As birds are meant to fly, windships are meant to s...
While we deliberated, our boat chose her own name Issue 64 : Jan/Feb 2009 It’s time to buy the champagne. The name of the Mega 30, our project boat, has been determined. Fate stepped in while we were ...
Size evokes no envy when sailing is its own reward Issue 65 : Mar/Apr 2009 My wife, Jen, and I were settling down in one of our favorite anchorages after a hard but rewarding day of sailing. We’d brok...
Life aboard is measured by aural stimuli Issue 65 : Mar/Apr 2009 A gull’s cry pierces the morning quiet of the marina as I open the hatch and emerge into the mist with my coffee. That sound bridges ti...
His magnum opus inspires anew Issue 65 : Mar/Apr 2009 Jerry and I were in awe of Don Casey in 1997 when we started our new magazine named with a nod of appreciation to Don’s popular book, This Old Boa...
Filled with boat love, her heart sang loud Issue 66 : May/Jun 2009 The smell, if I didn’t love it, would have made me sick. Diesel fuel, tar, salt water . . . and dreams. I couldn’t get enough. I stop...
The rise and fall of a famous nautical cover girl Issue 66 : May/Jun 2009 Some consider it absurd to anthropomorphize inanimate objects, but those of us who mess about in boats know differently. After...
Advice from one of America’s best-known cruising authors Issue 66 : May/Jun 2009 When I’m way out on the water in a small boat and a storm swoops down and the yacht starts hopping around, all sorts of...
A father and son bond deeply playing pirate Issue 66 : May/Jun 2009 In 1995, my son and I towed our daysailer from Birmingham, Alabama, to Bahia Honda State Park, Florida, for a week of cruising in th...
They are shipmates of a higher order Issue 66 : May/Jun 2009 Father-and-son relationships come in as many variations as there are fathers and sons. Looking back at my own father, I remember him as som...
Lessons learned by a would-be circumnavigator Issue 66 : May/Jun 2009 Choosing and equipping your voyaging boat is all about compromise. Among other considerations, you have to balance initial costs, ...
A large family has big adventures in a small boat Issue 67: July/Aug 2009 A two-day passage into bright blue sub-tropical water inspired pleasant reflections on how the journey with our good old boat ...
An informal survey for our readers Issue 66 : May/Jun 2009 As the national and world economies started heading south, Good Old Boat magazine made some rigging changes to help us weather the storm. Mos...
Reviewing those occasional moments of chaos — and bliss Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 In a frustrating moment during a mechanical refit on Pleiades, I sat wondering, “Why do I even own a boat?” My lack of ...
Marina auctions offer good old bargains aplenty . . . but caveat sailor! Issue 67: July/Aug 2009 Auctions of abandoned boats are potentially an excellent source for sailors looking for smaller and ine...
Ten things you could take off the “must-have” list Issue 67: July/Aug 2009 In today’s economic climate, many of us are looking for ways to scale back our budgets without giving up our dreams. For anyo...
A good old author recalls the fun of the good old days Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 Everything about sailing was very different then. The America’s Cup was challenged for and defended by syndicates of pri...
Docking in a storm brings near-calamity Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 The deal was done. I handed the check to the yacht broker, and she was mine: a classic New England sloop, designed by a famous marine a...
Singlehanded to Grenada in a Tartan 33 Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 “Two ladies in the prime of their lives.” That’s how Mina L’Ecuyer (pronounced MY-na Lek-WEE-a) describes herself and her 1982 Tartan 33...
A much admired designer steps aboard Issue 68 : Sept/Oct 2009 Please join me in welcoming Robert Perry as a regular contributor to our pages. Bob is no stranger to Good Old Boat. He’s been a regular r...
That first storm builds a bond, even on the hard Issue 69 : Nov/Dec 2009 Ominous clouds spread across the horizon. I hoped they might miss me. But the flags crackling stiffly straight off the pole tol...
Building a boat was an education that paid for itself Issue 69 : Nov/Dec 2009 We hear a lot these days about student loans and young people working for years in humdrum jobs to clear the heavy persona...
Two classic beauties capture a sailor’s heart Issue 69 : Nov/Dec 2009 When I open a sailing magazine, I always start flipping through from the back, where all the brokerage listings are. So, on one pa...
Counting blessings at the season’s close Issue 69 : Nov/Dec 2009 Yesterday’s Thanksgiving dinner is still sticking with me as I contemplate breakfast. My morning ritual of checking the marine weather ...
Deflecting the dreaded midlife malaise Issue 69 : Nov/Dec 2009 In this issue, Graham Watt puts forth a convincing argument that a wonderful education is available to the young person who invests his o...
