After Baranof Island, an Alaskan voyage brings more beauty, a few bears, and stories to tell. Issue 142: Jan/Feb 2022 As we walk down the main pier in Craig Harbor, our family’s dock cart is heavily l...
Issue 142: Jan/Feb 2022 When I was in my mid-20s, I instructed cruising and sailing classes on monohulls and catamarans in the Caribbean, Bahamas, Florida, and basically anywhere else I was asked to g...
Issue 144: May/June 2022 Holding an inflatable globe, I point out the equator and describe that at zero degrees latitude, it divides the earth into northern and southern hemispheres. Next, the prime m...
Issue 146: Sept/Oct 2022 Poking and picking at a corner of worn teak on the port seat behind Yahtzee’s helm, I slowly test the wood’s integrity. Unexpectedly, a slightly upturned slat breaks free in a...
Issue 147: Nov/Dec 2022 Sticking a sailmaker’s needle into your hand hurts. Ask me how I know. Fortunately, after the first time, I didn’t do it again…that weekend, anyway. It was the first day of a s...
When the surprise of a bad rudder comes to light, there’s only one direction to go — forward Issue 149: March/April 2023 I have to start this story with a few warnings. Your rudder matters. Don’t take...
Issue 149: March/April 2023 With the mainsail hoisted and our 6-hp Mercury pushing us toward Lake Michigan, we scooted out of Pentwater Lake Inlet with high hopes. My 15-year-old brother, Matt, hanked...
Issue 151: July/Aug 2023 This issue of Good Old Boat, #151, marks 25 years since the magazine was first published in the summer of 1998. Great Lakes sailors Karen Larson and Jerry Powlas, who met thro...
A Canadian Classic with a Racing Pedigree Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 As I walked down the dock at the Ludington Yacht Club, racers milled about, flags snapped in the breeze, and halyards clanged ...
Four friends and a refit rocket tackle the raucous Race to Alaska. Issue 136: Jan/Feb 2021 Gripping the tiller in my left hand and the coaming in my right, I spin my head from side to side, desperate ...
Baranof Island’s wild beauty and singular towns open a summer-long journey through Southeast Alaska. Issue 141: Nov/Dec 2021 Two hundred miles from the nearest point of land, it’s 11 p.m. on the summe...
A repower in rural Alaska required precise planning and helpful hands. Issue 130: Jan/Feb 2020 Wide awake in my bunk, I stared at the ceiling without really seeing it. It was nearing 3 a.m., and my mi...















