Upgrades

On the Right Track

by Peter Nielsen, Posted March 21, 2013

Here is a sad truth relating to older boats: the more desirable the piece of equipment you want to install, the harder it is to remove its predecessor.

Traditionally, all sailboat mainsails were reefed by simply pulling down the reefing lines through cringles in the luff and leech of the mainsail, then securing the reefing pennants—often permanently attached to the mainsail—to the boom to tidy the sail up.

Sails and Sailhandling Systems

by Sail Staff, Posted January 11, 2013

Six experts weigh in on the best ways to improve a boat’s sails and sailhandling systems.

Simpler is Better

by Peter Nielsen, Posted May 15, 2012

Sometimes you have to pass through complexity on the road to simplicity, as one sailor found while rethinking his sail-handling systems.

Testing Ultrasonic Antifouling

by Charles J. Doane, Posted May 8, 2012

I’d been wrestling with the problem of antifouling for some time prior to this, as I don’t like to use copper-based paint on Lunacy’s aluminum hull. I had tried E-Paint ZO, a zinc-based ablative paint, for a couple of seasons but was disappointed with the results.

Upgrade to energy independence

by Sail Staff, Posted March 31, 2003

When we bought Sea Spell, our 38-foot sloop, we realized she needed a major power upgrade. The existing electrical system was adequate for a boat kept in a slip, plugged into shore power and used for occasional weekend trips, but we intended to live aboard and cruise to distant tropical islands.Far from land, there is no grid to plug into. Instead, we now generate power with a

Shedding Light on LEDs

by Sail Staff, Posted March 28, 2007

More stories on LED lights from BoatWorks magazine. Let There Be LightThink you need a bigger battery to run the lights on your boat? Changing to LEDs could lower your power consumption and mean that you never have to buy another light bulb.LED Lowdown

Better Water-Tank Vent

by Sail Staff, Posted August 20, 2008

Edited By Mark CorkeBetter Water-Tank VentJim Hancock sends us this idea from New Zealand, where he and his wife, Eleanor, cruise aboard their Freya 39, Solstice. Solstice’s freshwater tank vented into the bilge, so when the boat heeled, water from the tank would siphon into the bilge. Jim’s solution was to buy an inexpensive off-the-shelf dishwasher air gap—a device that

Keeping Cool

by Paul Esterle, Posted August 25, 2008

A covered foredeck helps keep the noon sun at bayBy Paul EsterleSpending a Tennessee summer on my 35-footer taught me that surviving the sun and heat calls for proper sunshades and awnings. I quickly learned that if I didn’t put up adequate shades, the noon sun would heat the cabin to such high temperatures that even air conditioning could not cool the space down until

Build a Boarding Step

by Sail Staff, Posted August 27, 2008

As you get older, you usually discover it’s a little harder to climb on and off a boat. At least, that’s what’s happened to me. Attempting to improve my lot, I tried out several commercially available boarding steps. Some had good features, but I wasn’t really happy with any of them. Then one day Vince and Dianne Purcell stopped by aboard Finn MacCool, their classic Bill Tripp–designed