With careful planning, a rudder can be unshipped and refitted in the water Issue 123: Nov/Dec 2018 The lengths that sailors go to avoid hauling out range from the ingenious to the ridiculous. Friends ...
Worldwide connections give a 50-year-old sailboat a new lease on life Issue 123: Nov/Dec 2018 It’s midafternoon in late August 2015, and the wind is howling at a near gale. We’d put two deep reefs in ...
In “Mounting the Outboard Inboard, Part 1,” September 2018, James Baldwin summarized the pluses and minuses of replacing an inboard engine with an outboard motor, and specifically the benefits of inst...
Notes for creating harmony on board Issue 123: Nov/Dec 2018 On a torturous August crossing of Lake Superior from Isle Royale to Grand Marais, the wind was either light and on the nose or roaring up ra...
Posting Preface Jim and Connie Grant started Sailrite at a young age, driven by a deep passion for boating and sailing. Beginnings is Jim’s personal recounting of how it all began. The Sailrite story ...
A lovely full-keel cruiser in the classic CCA style Issue 123: Nov/Dec 2018 Bristol. The very name fires in the imagination of sailors a multitude of visions: Bristol, Rhode Island, the home of the le...
Boat ownership triggers the gene for self-reliance Issue 123: Nov/Dec 2018 Acknowledging a bit of hyperbole, I think that Kenneth Grahame’s Water Rat was right: “. . . there is nothing — absolutely no...
Issue 124: Jan/Feb 2019 Hold that beverage Accon Marine’s quick-release stainless steel drink holders use the same mounts as the quick-release fender hangers I reviewed in the September issue (“Quick-...
Sooner or later the cushions on that “Good Old Boat” will need replacement. Cushions get old. They get worn. They go out of style. They eventually bottom out. They develop hollow spots from frequent u...
Banish the black bane with a simple chemical brew Issue 124: Jan/Feb 2019 As near as I can tell, boating consists of one part blue lagoons and white sails and two parts painting the bottom, fixing eng...
Istvan Kopar’s choice for the solo nonstop race around the world Issue 124: Jan/Feb 2019 When he heard about the Golden Globe Race 2018 (see “Sailing Back in Time,” July 2018), Istvan Kopar had just t...
Our customers’ biggest concern is often “What measurements do I need and how do I use them to create a proper fit.” Let me respond to that question first. The key dimensions for any ...
Issue 125: March/April 2019 Bio protection for propellers Before our June launch this year, after cleaning the prop thoroughly I coated it with PYI’s Velox Plus propeller antifouling paint. Everything...
They’d set sail tomorrow if it weren’t for . . . Issue 125: March/April 2019 We see it all the time. A boat is purchased and an announcement made, but, after some time has passed, either realit...
Issue 126: May/June 2019 Protect a jib’s head from sunburn Most roller-furling headsails have fabric strips sewn to the leech and foot to protect the furled sail from ultraviolet radiation (UV). At th...
Mantus and Mustang recently released their latest waterproof packs for boaters and we’ve spent time with both . . . Issue 127: July/Aug 2019 Mantus This pack represents Mantus’ return to the waterproo...
Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 A New Approach to Through-Hull Redundancy Given that I needed to change the ball valve on the through-hull for my AC raw-water intake, I was the perfect candidate to test this...
Issue 129: Nov/Dec 2019 Electricity-Free Slow Cooking Having spent 20 years (off and on) living aboard small boats, I’ve come to realize that there are only a handful of household appliances that I tr...
Issue 129: Nov/Dec 2019 It was a Sunday morning in early June when Jeremy McGeary quit his job at Good Old Boat , via email, without notice. It was the last thing in the world he wanted to do. “I’m af...
A novice sailor finds it easy to slip out of time while learning a new world. Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 It all started as a writing project. Assigned an article on sailors who singlehandedly sailed acro...
Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 Nav in Hand During a cruise of southwest Florida, I used the iNavX charting and navigation app on my iPhone 8 (it can be used on other IOS and Android devices as well). The app...
Getting tasty water from your boat’s tap isn’t a pipe dream if you follow some basic steps. Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 Stagnant, skunky, tank-sourced drinking water is one of the less romantic aspects of...
A new life for an abandoned good old boat turns a lubber into a sailor. Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 It all began on a sunny mid-August Saturday seven years ago, my two boys and I walking along the harbor ...
A meander along Nova Scotia’s southwestern coast is just the ticket for a miles-weary sailor. Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 Straws and camel’s backs are funny things. I’d been sailing with my husband and ou...
An alternator puzzle leads down an illuminating electrical rabbit hole. Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 For several days while anchored off a remote Pacific island, wind and solar power took care of the batte...
A monster wind wreaks havoc on a “safe” harbor. Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 In March 2019, we were halfway up Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula, sailing on the Sea of Cortez side and looking ...
Understanding what’s happening on the bottom goes a long way to improving anchoring success. Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 Any article about anchoring can smack of fear mongering. And the audience is ripe b...
Rethinking a battery lifting strap results in a longer-lived piece of essential boat gear. Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 Batteries are heavy. In a sailboat they are best positioned low, near the centerline,...
A meditation on mountains helps define an evocative passion for sailing. Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 At 45 degrees North, our bedroom overlooks an old neighborhood with mature hardwood and conifer trees, ...
Adding a gate in the stern pulpit makes for easy in, easy out. Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 We love our 40-year-old Catalina 27, but it has the old-style stern pulpit with no easy access to the swim ladder...








































