A big trailerable boat with a lifting keel Issue 1...
May 6, 2026
A liveaboard sabbatical wasn’t quite as expected, but maybe even more. Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 I’ve dreamed of the liveaboard sailing lifestyle. What could be better than a life of purpose, nonstop ad...
Here’s how to put a quick, easy stop to a free-spinning prop and shaft. Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 Under sail aboard Soggy Paws, our CSY 44, the flow of water past our hull makes our fixed-blade prop spi...
From Carbon Wings to Polytarp Lugs and Beyond: The Complete Guide to What’s Flying in 2025 The wind hasn’t changed, but the cloth catching it has never been more diverse. On one marina dock you’ll fin...
…And Two More Cruising-Capable Performance Tris Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 It’s probably fair to say that the average recreational sailor seldom considers a performance trimaran for extended or eve...
A Cruising Rocket Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 New Zealand designer Ian Farrier, who died in 2017, is legendary in the multihull community for his concept of folding trimarans. His patented Farrier Folding...
A chilly morning at the edge of autumn foretells the longer journey. Issue 131: March/April 2020 Sunlight streaming through the port-side window into my V-berth burns my eyes open. Last night’s howlin...
Issue 131: March/April 2020 Being Big Brother Last year, as hurricane Dorian headed for Florida, I was forced to evacuate, leaving my schooner Britannia to fend for herself in a Cape Canaveral marina....
Issue 131: March/April 2020 “Do you miss living on a sailboat?” We traveled to visit extended family over the holidays, and I was asked the question a few times, in some form. The question was small t...
Fresh sailing grounds of the Salish Sea offer perspective on Lake Superior. Issue 132: May/June 2020 Nothing in four years of summer sailing on Lake Superior has prepared me for this. Adrenaline pulsi...
Issue 132: May/June 2020 Filling Fuel Tanks Neatly Just over a decade ago, filling outboards, mowers, chainsaws, and small tanks got messy when CARB (the California Air Resources Board) mandated low-e...
During a running refit, a boat imparts life and sailing lessons. Issue 132: May/June 2020 It all started on a freezing winter’s day in a boatyard at the French Canadian-New York border. The decks of t...
A new mainsail puts a spring in a good old boat’s step. Issue 132: May/June 2020 I slept with my sail in my bunk for a month before I finally set it. That hadn’t been the plan. The plan had been to me...
Off the grid and off most sailors’ itineraries, Lasqueti Island is a community unto itself. Issue 132: May/June 2020 “You should stop here,” said our new friend, Kevin, tapping his finger on our route...
Buckets, sawdust, and a clever seat make a functional dry marine toilet. Issue 132: May/June 2020 When our son, John, moved aboard his Baba 30, the marine head was inoperable and unrepairable. He saw ...
With three brands on the market, marine composting heads are gaining acceptance. Issue 132: May/June 2020 Several marine-suited composting toilets have been on the market for many years, and each has ...
Ready to buy a boat and sail away? Try this first. Issue 132: May/June 2020 I blame YouTube. I blame those sailing channels filled with bikini-clad sailors living carefree lives in tropical paradises....
Eight-track audio tape makes for perfect telltales. Issue 132: May/June 2020 When I first began sailing my own boats, I tied yarn to the shrouds to use as telltales. This common, quick-and-easy method...
Need emergency running lights? Try soda caps, PVC, and a little ingenuity. Issue 132: May/June 2020 On a recent sail approaching our anchorage at dusk, I switched on the running lights and saw the sta...
…and Two More Spunky, Popular Little Big Boats Issue 132: May/June 2020 Twenty-seven-footers should have a special place in the history of fiberglass yacht design. At 27 feet you could incorporate all...
A Beamy, Obliging Pocket Cruiser Issue 132: May/June 2020 A sailor’s reasons for buying a boat are myriad and often mysterious; in the case of James and Barb Shroeger of Traverse City, Michigan, James...
Issue 132: May/June 2020 I’ve heard the refrain, over and over: “I would never leave the dock without paper charts aboard!” It rubs me the wrong way. I think it’s often used as a declaration of one’s ...
Issue 133: July/Aug 2020 Getting Smarter Wanting to be more self-sufficient and increase my knowledge of the diesel engine aboard my Beneteau 311, I signed up for Boater University’s online course Mar...
Issue 133: July/Aug 2020 In the introduction to their book Sensible Cruising: The Thoreau Approach, Don Casey and Lew Hackler suggest that, “The applicability of the philosophy of Thoreau to the activ...
Issue 134: Sept/Oct 2020 Chain Lube Change-up Steering chains lurk unloved, out of sight, in one of the toughest environments on the boat, a constantly damp bilge. And steering failure ranks near the ...
Anything for love, right? Or was it something else… Issue 136: Jan/Feb 2021 This fool thinks I’m going to buy his boat. I can tell by the look on his face, he thinks I’m hooked. He hasn’t a clue...
Issue 135: Nov/Dec 2020 Clamping Up… Edson Marine clearly has an eye for what the market needs, adding to its products a garden hose connector fitting made by Banjo, one of the best-known manufacturer...
Issue 136: Jan/Feb 2021 Nav on the Table The first thing I noticed when I received these nautical chart placemats was the bold warning that they not be used for navigation. Ha! Tell that to my 9-year-...
A day in the life of a marine surveyor is one of questions, clues, diplomacy, and boat yoga. Issue 136: Jan/Feb 2021 It was the beer that got my uh-oh meter twitching. I was in a Food Lion parking lot...
This refit of a proven, 1970s-era racer maximized performance for speed, safety, and fun. Issue 136: Jan/Feb 2021 Three months after selling my Cal 2-29, Loophole, I found myself pining for another bo...
A bracket fabricated from Coosa board keeps an outboard tiller out of mischief. Issue 136: Jan/Feb 2021 The outboard tiller had been bothering me for a while. The friction lock on the engine side—the ...
