Projects

No Small Leak

by Michael Holtzinger, Posted May 4, 2012

One cold October day I was aboard as several rain squalls passed through, and I heard a distinct dripping sound. At first I ignored it, thinking it was coming from somewhere outside, but by the third squall I was up investigating.

Why You Should Paint Your Boat Yourself

by Wally Moran, Posted April 12, 2012

The cost of hiring a yard to repaint a 30- to 40-foot sailboat is likely to be over $10,000, which is uneconomical given the actual value of most older boats. The alternative, if you’re willing to put in long hours with a rotary sander, is doing it yourself.

Holes Be Gone

by Connie McBride, Posted April 12, 2012

When a boat’s systems or interior are modified, you may need or want to glass over existing holes in the hull. One season when we hauled out in Trinidad, we decided to eliminate three through-hulls in our Creekmore 34, Eurisko. The holes were all different sizes, but we treated this as one project.

Hard Charging: A New Way to Charge Batteries

by Peter Nielsen, Posted March 30, 2012

When my flexible solar panel gave up the ghost early last summer, I was surprised at how much motoring it took to replenish our Norlin 34’s two Group 27 house batteries after they’d been run down by a week of sporadic bilge-pumping (caused by a slow leak around the keelbolts, ahem).

How and Why to get your Prop Realigned

by Andy Howe, Posted March 14, 2012

The original purchase survey for my Allied Seabreeze sloop Keewaydin included a note about the fixed three-bladed bronze propeller: “some cupping noticed on all blades.” One of the surveyor’s post-purchase recommendations was to have the prop reconditioned.

Assemble Your Own Compression Terminals

by Charles J. Doane, Posted February 13, 2012

Do-it-yourself sailors have long been attracted to the concept of swageless rigging terminals, also known as compression terminals. Unlike swaged terminals, which require expensive dedicated machinery to create, compression fittings can be assembled with simple hand tools.

Furl it Up

by Charles J. Doane, Posted January 6, 2012

After cruisers tested and perfected furler systems about 30 years ago, they were widely adopted on certain types of raceboats. Since then, however, there’s been an interesting reverb effect, in which offshore racers have created ever more refined and versatile furling technologies that are now trickling back into the cruising community.

Taming Full Batten Mains

by Adam Cort, Posted January 5, 2012

One of the great ironies of sailing is that as hard as it can be to get your mainsail up, it can often be just as hard to get it back down. This goes double when tucking in a reef with a slab-reefing system—one reason why so many sailors are willing to sacrifice sailing performance for the sake of in-boom or in-mast furling.

There's the Rub

by Brian Hancock, Posted January 5, 2012

Because friction makes you work harder and harms your boat’s performance, it pays to take a long, hard look around your boat to see where and how you can make it function as smoothly as possible.

Snow, Sleet and Storms

by Charles Mason, Posted December 12, 2011

Make no joke about it: winter is here. Luckily SAIL editor Charles Mason is luckily here to show you how to winterize your boat easily and efficiently.