A big trailerable boat with a lifting keel Issue 1...
May 6, 2026
A first cruise after downsizing Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 Like many baby boomers, my husband, Chris, and I aren’t quite as quick, strong, and nimble as we once were. Increasingly attracted to the advan...
A diver’s insight can reveal the hull story Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 As I eat oatmeal and berries for breakfast, I make the day’s schedule. The oatmeal will be the last food I have until late afternoo...
An old galley gets a new view Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 “Take a look at all these small cracks in the window, it looks like frost.” “I don’t think the Sea of Cortez gets frost, Hon,” was my wife’s dist...
A true racer/cruiser from the world’s largest boatbuilder Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 Beneteau is arguably one of the oldest and most successful boatbuilders in the world. The French company traces its r...
…and a couple North American racer/cruisers Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 The 1980s were a transformative period in the sailboat industry in North America. After years of incredible expansion in the ...
A Bristol and her crew are schooled on the Chesapeake Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 It was a calm, foggy Friday morning in Rock Creek, just southeast of Baltimore. The day before, Keith, Scott, and I had s...
Life and the sailing season don’t always align Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 My wife sits down on the seawall above the beach. I tell her that I won’t be long. She laughs and waves me away. “Take your time...
There’s more than one way to fasten the two biggest boat parts Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 It is the nature of boats that they be built as two primary pieces — hull and deck. Over the decades, boatbuilde...
A J/40 races celestially to Bermuda Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 On the way back from Bermuda after the 2014 Newport-Bermuda Race, the inevitable “What’s next?” came up. Captain Dana of his J/40, Eagle, s...
Better than new after half a century Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 There are few experiences I enjoy more than dropping the hook in an empty anchorage, early or late in the Lake Superior sailing season, wh...
The go-slow art of sailboat repair Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 I don’t go to boatyards, not unless I’m in Florida, working on my friend Brian’s boat. There the ground is shell and coral, palm trees line ...
Safety and comfort increase with a companionway fix Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 Sailboat designers have good knees. I know this because I’ve owned three sailboats with companionway step heights twice as ...
Helping the next generation of sailors to find sailing Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 In 2016, my family and I were lucky to witness the dawn of the resurgence of youth sailing in American Samoa. I wish eve...
Chainplates Re-done When my wife and I bought our 1983 Endeavour 33, we renamed her Gemini. They say it’s bad luck to rename a boat. They might be right. Bringing her to her new home in Oyster Bay, Ne...
Me Too! Wow, so others have run into power lines too (“The Fourth of July Meltdown,” The Dogwatch, July 2019)! Around 1968, my brother and I set off across Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay from Bay City...
When my wife and I bought our 1983 Endeavour 33, we renamed her Gemini. They say it’s bad luck to rename a boat. They might be right. Bringing her to her new home in Oyster Bay, New York, we slammed i...
A Dollar and Some Words = a Morgan 32 Do you want to own Paul Koepf’s Bagheera, a turn-key 1981 Morgan 32? She can be yours for $1, and a winning essay. Read on, this is good. First, the essay. In at...
If you’ve ever found yourself aboard, beyond cell phone reception, with a pressing question, you’ll no doubt appreciate the value of having a good reference book aboard. As you wrack your brain to rem...
Why build more than you need? Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 We wanted two things to enhance our sailing lives aboard our Catalina 34: protection from the sun and rain while at the helm and a solar panel to...
Correct adjustment of your spreaders may save your rig Issue 128: Sept/Oct 2019 Next time you’re at the marina, look up. If there are enough sailboats around, you’ll likely find a variety of rigs, wit...
Delaminated fiberglass may conjure up images of free-falling straight through to the bilge but it need not frighten the most resourceful among us. The word “delamination” causes instant vi...
Book Reviews From 1998 Crusing Rules, by Roland S. Barth Dragged Aboard, by Don Casey Cruising 101: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Paradise, by Amy Sullivan and Kevin Donnelly Illustrated Dictionary of Boat...
Solving the problem of icing up in winter For those of us who live in the higher latitudes, the approach of the fall season reminds us of an upcoming conflict between our boating agendas and the impen...
A small project that brings satisfaction and pride. An acquaintance raised the question concerning those little wedges that hold the mast in column on many boats. On a recent sail in blustery conditio...
Vang/preventer: a fast, effective safety device I was guilty of contempt. Never a good thing, in this case it turned out to be a serious error. I had held a thunderstorm cell in contempt all morning. ...
The Valiant 32 was designed by Bob Perry as a smaller version of the successful Valiant 40. In the 1970s, a 30- to 35-foot boat was considered the optimum-size boat for a cruising couple. In response ...
Ease that fear of falling: Techniques for making a trip up the stick safer. The only sure things in life are death, taxes, and that – sooner or later – you will have to go up your mast. Ma...
Beefing up a retired racer with aluminum My mate, Karlene, and I looked long and hard for a sailboat suitable for world cruising that we could afford. I’ve become convinced that boat speed is an...
Epoxy, fiberglass, and a little cunning fix an old problem Tillers in some boats are known to break with regularity. If you’ve ever taken part in a drill of this nature, I don’t need to ex...
People may be impressed by a millionaire’s rocketship, but “ooohs” and “aaahs” are saved for the classic. A British author once wrote, in effect, that you can go away for...
