Cruising Tips

Nav Tip: Dead Reckoning

by Tom Cunliffe, Posted April 9, 2012

There aren’t many sinking sensations to compare with the one you get when your GPS decides to take an unscheduled break, especially if you’ve been relying on an electronic chartplotter. One minute you know exactly where you are. The next you’re surrounded by a trackless sea, feeling distinctly insecure.

Sail Cover Tactics

by Charles J. Doane, Posted March 14, 2012

Getting a sail cover on and off a mainsail is often harder than it should be. Once it’s off the sail, it can be hard to tell which end goes where, and when you spread it out to check, the wind will wrestle you for control of it.

File Your Sandpaper

by Zuzana Prochazka, Posted March 14, 2012

If there’s one thing I hate more than varnishing it’s not having all the tools at hand to do the job right. Besides brushes, old cans of varnish, new cans of varnish and thinners, there is the sandpaper.

How to Create a Deck Dam

by Kimball Livingston, Posted March 13, 2012

When Mark Edwards, a rigger from Auckland, New Zealand, molded the deck for his 50-footer Relapse, he deliberately included raised toerails that trap water on deck for most of the length of the boat: as in, all the way back to the fill-point for the water tanks.

Judging Leeway

by Tom Cunliffe, Posted March 14, 2012

Any boat under way in a crosswind, whether it’s a rowboat crossing a lake or a powerful cruiser reaching along the coast, will be pushed sideways to some extent. The effect is called “leeway,” and even big ships are subject to it. Sometimes leeway is insignificant; often it is not.

Voice of Experience: Cold Front on the Chesapeake

by L. Alan Keene, Posted March 15, 2012

“Wake up! Wake up! I think we’re dragging anchor!” Peg’s words pierced my sleep like a needle popping a balloon. In an instant I was standing in the cockpit, face to face with the bowsprit of a large Island Packet that had been anchored three football fields away the night before.

Do You Know Your Racing Flags?

by Sail Staff, Posted March 1, 2012

Everyone knows the Answering Pennant (AP or “Cat in the Hat” flag) means racing has been postponed and that the “P” flag means a standard starting sequence. But what about the “M” flag, an “N” flag over an “A” flag, or an answering pennant flying above Pennant 2?

Running Commentary

by Peter Nielsen, Posted March 5, 2012

When we talk about downwind sailing, the debate often seems to be about the relative merits of symmetrical versus asymmetrical spinnakers, or gybing a headsail to go goose-winged. It’s easy to forget there’s more than one way to pluck that particular goose.

How to Properly Use a Windvane

by Andy Schell, Posted February 6, 2012

It’s not as easy as pressing a button, but once you learn to use a windvane you’ll never get stuck hand-steering again.

Voice of Experience: Cruising Without a Sail

by James Williams, Posted February 3, 2012

My wife, Penelope, and I recently enjoyed a wonderful cruise through the Florida Keys. Our boat, Alizee, a cutter-rigged Cabo Rico 36, was in excellent condition, with fresh bottom paint and recently inspected standing rigging.