An Easy-to-Sail, High-Quality Coastal Cruiser Issue 139: July/Aug 2021 From the San Juan Islands of Washington State north to the shores of Alaska, the British Columbia coast has it all for fabulous c...
Issue 139: July/Aug 2021 Back in February, I decided it was time to step away from my role as this magazine’s editor. Being Good Old Boat’s editor has been a dream job, a fantastic opportunity, and on...
Our fleeting imprint on the water reminds us that now is what matters most. Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 Paul’s wet shoes left a trail on the wooden dock, but it wouldn’t last long. Water trails never do....
Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 I have a small head. However, to borrow an adage, I always believed that meant that good things were kept inside its small package. Unfortunately, my small head has meant that...
If you’re tired of bogus bungees, try this custom-built alternative. Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 The average bungee has a one- to two-year life expectancy when enduring stressors such as UV and chafe tha...
Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 Buffing can help or hinder. Doing a good job buffing vinyl windows requires considerable effort and patience, and it is quite possible to make things worse. I recommend not tr...
Properly maintaining dodger and enclosure windows is a lot trickier than it looks. Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 Perhaps the most fragile and vexing part of any boat’s exterior is the clear vinyl material ...
Nobody likes a leaky hatch. Here’s how to re-bed one. Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 My husband, Robin, and I met fellow cruiser Adva Reshef in a boatyard, and we became fast friends making repairs to...
Completing their boat’s much-needed refit was almost like building her twice. Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 How many people can say that they built the same boat twice? My wife, Ellen, and I can safely rai...
A little sewing, some clever woodwork, and voilà, a better quarter berth. Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 Nurdle, my 1979 Bristol 35.5, has a quarter berth, a common feature on boats of this size and vintage...
A series of misjudgments leads to a nearly catastrophic bridge encounter. Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 My wife, Terri, and I, aboard our 2006 Beneteau 423, departed our home port of Clear Lake, Texas, to ...
Here’s how to give your old ropes a new life. Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 Every sailor has gazed longingly upon the rack of shiny new ropes at the local chandlery, admiring the smooth finishes and ...
Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 In 2011, a sophomore at State University of New York’s Maritime College in the Bronx jumped into his car and drove 300 miles north to the Adirondacks to join a landscaping cre...
The world’s most famous physicist was a devoted, if unconventional, yachtsman. Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 What name would you give an amateur sailor who capsized, hit rocks, and ignored bad weather? Who...
Wherein loose lips end up sailing ships, that is, a venerable fishing schooner. Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 Decades into my successful marriage, I know that compromise is requisite to happiness. Which ex...
Arguably Canada’s most influential racing boat, Red Jacket broke all the molds. Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 The name Red Jacket invokes instant pride and recognition among knowledgeable Canadian sailors....
… and Two More Transitional Racer/Cruisers Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 The Redline 41 Condor’s win at the 1972 Southern Ocean Racing Conference (SORC) was no mean feat for a Great Lakes boat originally d...
Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 A few summers ago, my buddy Travis and I were powerboating on the Connecticut River when mechanical issues forced us into the nearest marina. While Travis looked for help, I w...
A masked intruder triggers an emergency trip ashore and a call to animal control. Issue 141: Nov/Dec 2021 The plan was to sail our 1975 Bristol 24, Pegu Club, to Block Island, Rhode Island, for the Me...
Issue 141: Nov/Dec 2021 When we were preparing for a three-year cruise aboard our 1979 Dufour 35, we knew we needed to rewire our boat. But, overwhelmed by the technicolored spaghetti behind our DC pa...
A new pair of pedestals and cockpit winches improves trimming ergonomics. Issue 141: Nov/Dec 2021 When I purchased my 1965 Alberg 35, Tomfoolery, a little over two decades ago, she came with a tiller....
Wherein the lack of a head door threatens a happy marriage and worse yet, a cruise. Issue 141: Nov/Dec 2021 One thing I learned about long-distance cruising under sail—especially aboard boats on the s...
Issue 141: Nov/Dec 2021 The sailing world in late July lost a giant, and many sailors—myself included—lost a good friend, with the passing of Bruce Kirby at age 92. He is most well-known, of course, f...
Often it’s the little things that make a boat feel like home. Issue 141: Nov/Dec 2021 A small sailing craft is not only beautiful…if it happens to be an auxiliary cruising boat, it is without qu...
A sailboat’s precarious final voyage takes teamwork, tools, and a 10-foot tide. Issue 141: Nov/Dec 2021 Stretched out on my side amid tangled clumps of bittersweet and knotweed, my head resting on a r...
Extensions make older-style cockpit coamings far more comfy to lean against. Issue 141: Nov/Dec 2021 Kicking back and relaxing in the cockpit of one’s sailboat, especially if it is well-designed, cons...
A boisterous sail and a new boat make for a day full of lessons learned. Issue 141: Nov/Dec 2021 “If you never make mistakes, you never learn anything.” The first time I said this to my kid, I thought...
Great modifications make all the difference on three good old boats. Issue 141: Nov/Dec 2021 Spend any meaningful amount of time aboard a boat, and its shortcomings quickly become apparent. That wet l...
Adding a second engine switch in the cockpit made singlehanding safer and easier. Issue 141: Nov/Dec 2021 Reading Robb Lovell’s review of the Beneteau First 345 (September/ October 2019), I realized f...
