Sketchbook: Securing the Tender
March 5, 2015
Rowing a hard tender rather than motoring an inflatable means we don’t need to carry stealable items like a pump, repair kit, tools, motor and fuel tank.
Rowing a hard tender rather than motoring an inflatable means we don’t need to carry stealable items like a pump, repair kit, tools, motor and fuel tank.
I often see poor electrical installations on boats, but here is a real classic. The owner of this boat wanted to install a switch for the air conditioning water pump, but there was no room for it on the shore power breaker panel.
Bonding circuits tie all the underwater metals together and hold everything at the same potential, and thus reduce the amount of galvanic corrosion.
I have a 1972 Cal 2-29. The interior fiberglass was evidently painted at the factory. Now, however, large pieces of paint are peeling off everywhere. I have found a solution for removing the old paint by first scraping and then using a combination of peel-and-strip paper with some orange citrus Home Depot paint remover.
I am doing a retrofit on my old CRT radar to a new Garmin LCD radar system. All my wiring is replaced, except for a spaghetti-sized coax cable that was original
I’m planning on replacing the mainsail on our 1994 Catalina 320 with a loose-footed cruising sail, using a two-line Dutchman rig. One loft is recommending that the Dutchman boom pockets be fitted with a bolt rope
My 35ft Cooper 353 sloop, Rhumb Line, has a Volvo MD2030 saildrive. The zinc between the saildrive and three-bladed folding Volvo-supplied propeller comes loose and rotates on the shaft.
By far the most prevalent type of hull-to-deck joint today is based on an inboard flange on the hull. This is at first a little surprising, as adding an inward-turning feature to the hull necessitates a split mold and some challenging laminating, but beyond the tooling and layup issues, the inboard flange has some distinct advantages.
We are removing the teak deck from a 1972 Swan 43. We will not be putting any teak back on and will be looking to apply nonskid and paint. I have taken all the fixtures off and removed all the old teak.
It’s hard to make a hole smaller, but sometimes it’s just as hard to make it bigger, I thought as I stared at the through-hull fittings for my galley sink drain.
Managing Editor Lydia Mullan and her team found themselves on a sinking ship 200 miles from shore one year ago today.
Earning a Special Mention in our Top 10 Best Boats for 2025, this expedition yacht leaves no detail unattended and no dream unimagined.
Passagemaking is requires its own special set of skills.
You’ve read about the misadventures of the J/122 Alliance over the past two years, from an eventful Annapolis-Newport in 2023 to her ultimate sinking in
Accon Marine releases a new line of streamline folding chocks for an uncluttered look on deck.
The J/42 Allegiant set a new milestone in the Annapolis-Newport Race this year as the first all-female team to complete the race.
A cruising family and two friends have recovered the University of Washington’s Seaglider in the Pacific, after learning about the plight of the damaged automated underwater vehicle from a story in SAIL.
Named for the author of Around the World in 80 Days, the Jules Verne Trophy commemorates the fastest circumnavigation on record. Which of the following
A sail to Newfoundland, and a summer spent cruising there, expands one sailor’s horizons in every way.
This passage reflects on the enduring impact of Steve Callahan’s remarkable survival story—his 76 days adrift in a life raft after his sloop Napoleon Solo
