Hold abrasive sheets flat and sorted Issue 79: July/Aug 2011 I cut sandpaper into quarter sheets to keep on hand for finish sanding. In the Florida humidity, sandpaper soon curls and becomes unmanagea...
Don’t avoid the subject; do avoid the event Issue 78 : May/Jun 2011 It begins innocently enough. Two young couples meet socially and begin to talk. One couple says they’re sailors and enjoy racing on ...
Soften the helm and sharpen performance Issue 78 : May/Jun 2011 I am often asked by owners of good old boats what they can do in the way of upgrades or changes to make their boats perform better. Depe...
Ways to cope with motion unease Issue 79: July/Aug 2011 Call it mal de mer, Neptune’s revenge, or the breakwater flu . . . chances are, if you venture very far offshore, you will become acquainted wit...
A long-term cruising sailor comes clean Issue 80 : Sept/Oct 2011 When we made our escape from the house, careers, and land nine years ago, certain domestic chores followed us on board our Creekmore, E...
Steps in the process of measuring progress Issue 80 : Sept/Oct 2011 Speed on the water is measured worldwide in knots. A knot is a speed of one nautical mile per hour and is abbreviated as kn or kt. A...
Do it in a jiffy with a tape splice Issue 83: March/April 2012 I needed to replace the internal spinnaker halyard on my Catalina 27 and chose the easy way to do it, using the old halyard as the messen...
Using a radial-arm saw and a simple jig Issue 83: March/April 2012 Sometimes, the lumber you have (or can obtain) isn’t long enough for the job you want to do. When building a wooden boat, for example...
Practice, observation, restraint, patience, persistence Issue 81 : Nov/Dec 2011 Blinken, Sabot dinghy In 1949, I was racing my Naples Sabot dinghy with very modest success. I complained to my mentor, ...
It’s invisible, insidious, and destructive Issue 83: March/April 2012 Everyone today knows we shouldn’t go out in the sun without wearing adequate protection, but it wasn’t always so. Noel Coward wrot...
Mastering the machine assures entry to the club Issue 81 : Nov/Dec 2011 Defining moments can occur at any time. I was sewing a couple of covers for the new (larger!) winches Jerry installed this past ...
Degrees, decimals, and the synthesis of cultures Issue 82 : Jan/Feb 2012 As we go about our daily rounds, whether on land or sea, it’s critically important that we be able to identify and describe exa...
A safe and reliable installation takes thought Issue 82 : Jan/Feb 2012 Davits provide the ultimate system for launching, retrieving, and stowing a tender while offering a few bonuses beyond their desi...
A compulsive boat fixer share some advice Issue 82 : Jan/Feb 2012 Over the last few years, I have restored a 1972 Helms 25, reconditioned a 1977 Irwin 28, and begun researching another project boat. B...
How the CCA rule influenced sailboat aesthetics Issue 82 : Jan/Feb 2012 It’s not unusual for people to look at older boats and marvel at their beauty and remark how today’s boats just aren’t as good l...
Practical ways to comply with the law Issue 83: March/April 2012 If you own a boat and your head discharge hose is connected directly and only to a through-hull fitting (as shown below), you’re in vio...
Timing is everything when picking out a light Issue 84 : May/Jun 2012 You’ve been under way for days. It’s 0200 and you’re on watch on the blackest of nights, straining through binoculars to pick up t...
And we carry their lessons far from the water Issue 84 : May/Jun 2012 A boat — especially an old boat — is a good teacher. It teaches us how to fix things. We read manuals, magazine articles, and book...
Age and patience make up for fading youth and verve Issue 84 : May/Jun 2012 There comes a tide in the affairs of men that, taken at the flood, sucks them swiftly away from the sea and boats and strand...
Big Bobber marks the spot Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 As your boat swings around in a tight or crowded anchorage, it’s helpful if you can see where your anchor is lying. An anchor buoy enables you to do t...
A nifty boat-cover support that packs to nothing Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 As I drove slowly by this boat, the thought flashed through my mind that it sure would be easy to store this winter-cover frame...
Close it with a cord and a cleat hitch Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 In situations where more-normal people ask, “How can I fix this?” we on board Eurisko tend to think, “How can I use string to fix this?” ...
Tips for taking photos that “pop” Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 The difference between a snap-shot and a beautiful photo is in the details, not in the cost of the camera it’s taken with or the advanced proc...
Why American sailors stuck with a movable appendage Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 First, let me say it’s a humbling experience to take over the design comparisons in Good Old Boat from someone with the brea...
Car projects and boat projects don’t even compare Issue 87 : Nov/Dec 2012 When my fiancée, Jennifer, and I returned from our 11-month cruise from New Hampshire to the Bahamas aboard our 36-foot sloop,...
A good old springline suffices on a good old boat Issue 87 : Nov/Dec 2012 I recently came across a new Jeanneau with the 360 Docking system. A drive leg that rotates through 360 degrees, coupled with ...
A sewing sailor needs her own pair of pliers Issue 87 : Nov/Dec 2012 Here’s a little-known fact: any sailor who sews should have a pair of pliers in his or her sail-repair kit. Pliers are just the thi...
Old socks for laid-up standing rigging Issue 90: May/June 2013 We remove our boat’s mast every year when we lay her up and store her for the winter. When we’re doing the annual haulout, I have some ol...
Applying the principle without the cost Issue 90: May/June 2013 It’s impossible to build with fiberglass for very long without having occasion to think that a vacuum-bagging setup would be convenient....
Persistence pays off with a solo solution Issue 90: May/June 2013 Almost every boat manufacturer eventually tries its hand at designing a mast-raising system, with varying degrees of success. While I ...
