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Sailboat DIY And Repair Tips

Ask Sail: VHF Radios Ashore

I just bought two marine handheld radios that also have land channels for GMRS. A few weeks ago on a hike to Mt. Whitney, the marine VHF channels gave us extraordinarily increased range over the GMRS channels…

Ask Sail: Do Fuel and H2OUT Mix?

I was interested in the article by Nigel Calder in the February 2012 edition on the H2OUT dehumidifier and think it is something that I might install.

Ask Sail: Speed with a Staysail

I own a 1973 C&C 30 sloop that came with a staysail setup. We race the boat frequently, and it’s surprisingly competitive for its age using just the jib, spinnaker and mainsail…

Things that work: Granny Bars

Anyone who has stood working at the mainmast aboard a sailboat underway in heavy weather knows how awkward, even dangerous, it can be, juggling a halyard, reef cringle and lines, and a winch handle while simultaneously hanging on for dear life…

Ask Sail: the Best of August

Every month, SAIL gives its readers the opportunity to interact directly with sailing experts regarding sails, maintenance, electronics, systems and more. Check out our questions and answers from the August issue and feel free to send in some questions of your own.

Maintaining your Diesel Exhaust

The phrase “out of sight, out of mind” is all too true where boats are concerned, and some of the systems that are out of sight on a typical sailboat can really ruin your day—or your season. Take the exhaust mixing elbow, for example—and give yourself a pat on the back for actually knowing what it is.

Ask Sail: Reusing Old Bolts

I am replacing the rubrails on my 26-year-old Pearson. I have removed the many bolts that hold the rub rail to the deck and the deck to the hull. They do not

Things that Work: Dinghy Sling

I bought a 9-foot inflatable dinghy to take cruising, intending to carry it in davits when island-hopping. Its plywood transom had a secure attachment point for a davit hoist line, but there was no provision for hoisting the forward end. I tried attaching lift lines to the port and starboard towing rings, but realized they would chafe the tubes over time and might stress the glued-on D-rings.

Dieter Loibner

A Father, Son and a Custom Boat

“It was almost standing waves, and we were hobby horsing. The bow was going whoosh, and we were going nowhere,” says Kevin Starnes, 62. He’s

Harken-climbing the Mast

Weekly Photo: Aloft

Going up the mast can be daunting, but not for this sailor who tackled the task while underway on Narragansett Bay last summer. This year,

Trivia

Scraping the Sky

Colloquially the term “skyscraper” is used to refer to a tall city building, but nearly a hundred years before its modern architectural association, it had

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