Engines

The Government Accountability Office’s report last week on the parlous state of the Global Positioning Satellite system should set alarm bells ringing. When a body like the GAO warns that the GPS system is in crisis, all of us – not just sailors – need to take notice. GPS technology is so omnipresent in modern life that few areas of transportation remain unaffected by it.The GAO report

Black clouds bearing cold rain showers are racing across the sky. The VHF radio is broadcasting gale warnings. This is not the day to be testing propellers, but nevertheless we are headed out of a marina near Aarhus, in Denmark, on a Bavaria 42 equipped with a Gori three-bladed folding propeller.The three- and four-bladed Goris are unique in the propeller world. They look much like any

Black clouds bearing cold rain showers are racing across the sky. The VHF radio is broadcasting gale warnings. This is not the day to be testing propellers, but nevertheless we are headed out of a marina near Aarhus, in Denmark, on a Bavaria 42 equipped with a Gori three-bladed folding propeller.The three- and four-bladed Goris are unique in the propeller world. They look much like any

The term Wi-Fi gets bandied about plenty these days. After all, you probably use it to obtain high-speed Internet access at work, in airports and hotels, or at home, and you’ve probably used it on your boat, likely with varying degrees of success. Built-in Wi-Fi hardware in laptops, or PC Wi-Fi-card adapters (802.11 cards), such as those from Linksys, work fine if you’re close

Any sailor who has made extended passages along coastlines or across oceans has had at least a few close callswith big ships whose course and intentions can be difficult to discern until the last minute. The introduction of AIS (Automatic Identification System) has taken a lot of the guesswork (not to mention terror) out of these close-quarters situations. For just a

ChecklistToolsBasic tool kitWrenches and sockets (metric if you’re working on a European or Japanese engine) Screwdrivers Propane blowtorch Rubber malletHammerRazor bladePliersVise-GripsVise400-grit wet/dry sandpaperBrush for applying grease and lubricating

ChecklistToolsBasic tool kitWrenches and sockets (metric if you’re working on a European or Japanese engine) Screwdrivers Propane blowtorch Rubber malletHammerRazor bladePliersVise-GripsVise400-grit wet/dry sandpaperBrush for applying grease and lubricating

ChecklistToolsScrewdriversWrenches Cordless drill Tube cutterMaterialsWater heater 5/8″ heavy-duty water hoseNPT fittingsFasteners, as neededAfter upgrading the mostly original fresh-water plumbing system on our 1973 Norlin 34 project boat with new hoses,

ChecklistToolsScrewdriversWrenches Cordless drill Tube cutterMaterialsWater heater 5/8″ heavy-duty water hoseNPT fittingsFasteners, as neededAfter upgrading the mostly original fresh-water plumbing system on our 1973 Norlin 34 project boat with new hoses,

Of all the upgrades you can lavish on an older boat, few will give you more bang for your buck than a complete overhaul of the fresh-water plumbing system. An improvement in water quality should be immediately apparent; any of the new breed of water pumps will be quieter and less power-hungry than their predecessors, and with a little planning, you can make your boat much more user-friendly both