It’s for the hardy and it starts at 50 degrees north Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 LATELY I’VE HAD REASON TO CONTEMPLATE THE CHARMS AND challenges of high-latitude sailing. Since we’ve just completed the pro...
The hardest part is waiting out the winter Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO, THE WEATHER improved enough here in the mid-Atlantic for me to rush out to my boat, a 1986 Hunter 28.5, scuff up ...
This tough, flexible, shiny oil penetrates old gelcoat Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 OVER THE YEARS, I’VE OWNED SEVERAL “EXPERIENCED” FIBERGLASS sailboats. These are boats that have already had at least one ...
Make them yourself this easy way Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 A LIFELINE CUSHION IS SOMETHING YOU CAN THROW TOGETHER from materials intended for other projects, and you can save a nice wad of cash while you...
Barbecue charcoal does the trick Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 SINCE I PERFORM THE BULK OF THE MAINTENANCE ON MY SAILBOAT, not to mention on my cars, pickup, tractor, and house, it’s only reasonable that I w...
A DIY kit to soothe those aching teeth Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 TWO WEEKS AWAY FROM ANY CHANCE OF HELP, THERE WAS a blinding pain. I found myself staring down at a chunk of metal in my hand. The hole it...
This nice fat one won’t jam in a block Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 HAVE YOU EVER HAD A JIB SHEET RUN OUT OF ITS BLOCK AND blow overboard on the leeward side? The consequence of this temporary loss of jib c...
An inspired solution to an intimidating problem Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 BELOW THE WATERLINE OF VESPERA, THE 51-FOOT CUTTER I had chosen as a refit project, the entire gelcoat surface was star-cracked. ...
Don’t forget — the advantage always goes to the buyer Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 IT WAS IN 1995 THAT I STARTED looking for my first big sailboat. I had previously owned a 14-foot Flying Junior and a 20-fo...
Solving the problem of joining one to the other Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 In the November 2006 issue, John Danicic wrote about installing an anchor windlass. One remaining issue is the creation of a stro...
An unusual family daysailer and inshore cruiser Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 JOHANN “HANS” TANZER WAS AN Austrian, who designed, built, and raced small sailboats in Switzerland. In 1956 he emigrated to Cana...
What it’s made of and how to check it Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 STANDING RIGGING IS THE TERM GIVEN TO THE CABLES that support a sailboat’s mast(s): the forestay, backstay, and shrouds, as well as special...
What’s a retired Snipe and Catalina 22 champ to do? Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 WHEN IT COMES TO SAILING, Beattie Purcell has done it all. He was a major figure in the early days of Catalina Yachts and has...
Space-age braids named after a biblical hero Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 A NYONE WHO EVER BRAIDED HAIR OR made lanyards in craft class knows the intricacy of the braiding process. Consider automating that ...
And why shouldn’t women share the stress of docking? Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 The National Marine Manufacturers Association recently released a survey stating that boaters, by a whopping margin, are hea...
A wee dram and a little ingenuity create twice the storage space Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 IT STARTED INNOCENTLY ENOUGH LAST year. Bert MacKay, a sprightly Scot of indeterminable age, had found his way a...
Four basic elements of yacht design Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 WE ALL HAVE TO FACE THE FACT that there is no such thing as the perfect sailing yacht, with the possible exception of the one you just bought...
Avoiding engine failures in rough seas Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 IT USUALLY TAKES A COMBINATION OF failures, poor decisions, and bad luck to narrow down your options. We had been learning that our new cr...
Three of the most brilliant stars of 20th-century yachting Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 WHAT CAN ANYONE SAY ABOUT A LEGEND? FINISTERRE: length overall: 38 feet 6 inches; length waterline: 27 feet 6 inches; ...
Famous 1950’s racer thrives on patience and perseverance Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 BILL TAIT SAW SINISTERRE for the first time in 1972. It was love at first sight. She was in Bristol condition. Bil...
A procrastinating boat sinner seeks forgiveness Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 Forgive me, Mother, for I have sinned. Three years ago I described my 22-foot sloop, One Love, in the pages of this magazine (No...
Working, working, and waiting for the lulls Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 My friend George will occasionally point out that when you work for yourself you only have to work about half-time. He explains that...
Managing a terrifying moment Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 Late August, it was. We were tied up on a dock a mile up the Carabelle River at the Moorings Marina in northern Florida. The water there wanders to...
Rolling pin doubles as paper-towel dispenser Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 Few onboard items are more likely to spread microbes around than that good old bug farm, the towel. Thus it came to be that we now ...
Homemade bearings make launching easier Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 Sometimes on improvement creates an opportunity another. To make it easier to launch my Com-Pac 16 when the tide is low, I installed a t...
This handy gadget just measures and measures Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 Have you ever used a deck shoe as a hammer . . . or a knife from the galley as a screwdriver? We’ve all used whatever was handy at ...
At last, a collapsible boathook that works Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 I have never seen a collapsible boathook I liked. Even if you can get the twist lock to release, it never seems to retighten securely...
Curing the clamminess under your cushions Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 My wife and I live aboard our 40-foot ketch in San Francisco Bay. The weather is relatively cool, and often foggy, for much of the yea...
Chrysler caterpillar turns into 22-foot butterfly Issue 52: Jan/Feb 2007 SARA WAS DANGLING FROM A BOSUN’S CHAIR HIGH ATOP THE MAST. Last night, Sara had gone to the prom. This morning, still wearing h...
Comparing 30-footers: Ted’s “Brewernalysis” Issue 53 : Mar/Apr 2007 Initially, I was thoroughly confused about the Islander 30 Mk II and the Islander Bahama 30, but I finally determined that the Mk II...
