Sketchbook: Chasing Leaks
February 12, 2016
Leaks can be hard to trace. Sometimes there’s a “snail trail” to follow, but often the drip is a long way from the leak itself.
Leaks can be hard to trace. Sometimes there’s a “snail trail” to follow, but often the drip is a long way from the leak itself.
Looking for a little more protection from the elements onboard my Najad 343, Panthalassa, I built a hard dodger for her. It turned out to
One of the great joys of living in the Pacific Northwest is that we can usually sail our boats year round. Even when not sailing,
SERIOUS BATTERY DRAIN Q: While sailing on a friend’s boat we noticed what we thought was excessive voltage loss overnight. The vessel has five 8D
Q: The electronics at my nav station rely on the old NMEA 0183 protocol for sharing data. I can’t seem to find my original wire-color
Q: The prop shaft zincs on my Cal 33, which I keep in a marina on Long Island Sound, have been disappearing rapidly for a
Q: When the breeze builds above 16 or 17 knots my 31-footer gets hard to handle and has significant weather helm. The autopilot does not
Dorothy Parker once famously remarked: “I hate writing; I love having written.” I feel the same way about varnishing. Nothing flatters a boat more than
Often the hardest part of refinishing wood on a boat is getting the old finish off. Unfortunately, there is no magic solution. It usually takes
It was the sulfurous smell of the water issuing from Ostara’s galley faucet that finally tipped me over the edge. I could live with bottled
Point Nemo is the most remote part of the ocean, marking the exact location where a boat is farthest from land in all directions. From
At the Banderas Bay Regatta, the term cruiser/racer is quite literal.
A disastrous collision forced two boats to return to port at the start of Leg 1 of The Ocean Race Europe.
There’s nothing quite like a little bit of summer sunshine, but when you can’t get it naturally, a nice bright spinnaker will do instead. We
A new Scandinavian deckhouse cruiser is making waves with its smart lines and bluewater capabilities.
The fire alarm went off with a wild shriek at 0300, about 10 minutes after I’d turned the engine on to start motoring through a
Bali has announced the launch of the new Bali 5.2 just a year after the launch of the 5.8, and a first look suggests 5.2 takes lessons from her big sister and fits them skillfully into a more approachable LOA.
The Magenta Project seeks applicants for its 2025-26 mentorship program.
Cottage Park Yacht Club hits a milestone: one million dollars raised for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Perfect places to drop the hook are hard to come by. Have a few different anchoring techniques in your back pocket to make the best of it.
