Ask SAIL: Satellite Antenna Concerns
Q: Do I have to place my satellite radio receiver antenna out in the open, up high, for effective satellite radio and weather chart reception?
Q: Do I have to place my satellite radio receiver antenna out in the open, up high, for effective satellite radio and weather chart reception?

Q: I’ve just bought a sailboat that’s been sitting unattended for a couple of years. The docklines, sheets and furling line are green with algae
ZINCS EMERGENCY Q: I need advice. All of a sudden I’m burning through zincs while at dock. My gut instinct says that there is a

BASHED-UP BOW PULPIT Q: The bow pulpit on my old 34-footer has seen more than its share of abuse over the years, and now it’s

It’s essentially true that if you give a marine diesel engine clean oil, clean air and clean fuel, it will run, if not forever, then
DIFFERENT TACKS, DIFFERENT PERFORMANCE Q: What may be the reason that my boat exhibits different behavior depending on whether I am sailing on starboard or
LOOSE DEPTH CONNECTION Q: The LCD readout on my boat showing bottom depth has become intermittent. When I pulled apart the nav station panel, it

HOLDING TANK PUMP-OUT FREQUENCY Q: How long can I go between holding tank pump-outs? I can see it being over two weeks easily between uses

Q: Do I need to buy an expensive VHF test meter to check my AIS antenna, which is separate from my normal VHF antenna? T.

REVIVING NONSKID ON DECK Q: The molded-in nonskid is becoming less and less nonskid on the side decks and foredecks of my old 35-footer. I’m

Souvenirs are evidence of a life well lived and uniquely documented.

Our 1979 Cheoy Lee 41, Avocet, was anchored in Morro Bay during the worst storm system the state of California had seen in two decades.

Note: This story is excerpted from SAIL Contributing Editor Christopher Birch’s upcoming book The Four Seasons of Boat Maintenance—a compendium of lessons learned during his

In the May issue, Charles Scott writes about sailing OPBs—other people’s boats—and a host of voyages that he’s been on thanks to generous invites, offers

A little know how will save you a lot of stress on passage.

The wind built faster than it was forecasted to. We ate dinner with full sail, close-reaching on a building SSW’ly breeze. Before dark we had

Sailing on a schedule is famously a recipe for disaster, but on charter you don’t have much of a choice. The adventure is what you make of it.

Francesca Clapcich has announced the onboard crew roster for the inaugural Ocean Race Atlantic. First up is Will Harris (Great Britain) who was Clapcich’s co-skipper

A spin around the steaming cauldron of the Aeolian Islands makes a bewitching visit to the heart of the Mediterranean.

After a long absence, one sailor finds herself sailing the waters of her youth and contemplating years of change in all its forms.