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Sailboat DIY And Repair Tips

Ready to Fly a New Sail

It’s a typical humid, southern Chesapeake Bay summer day when I show up on the doorstep of Latell & Ailsworth Sailmakers in the one-stoplight, one-lane-roadway,

Know-how: All-new Battery Tech

Until very recently, the batteries in sailboats used some form of lead-acid chemistry to store energy. Different manufacturers used different techniques and materials, but in

Boat Works: Re-bedding Ports

The old saw that the happiest day in a sailor’s life is the one on which they sell their boat is funny, of course, because

Experience: Up the Mast

I gazed aft over Hazel James’ port quarter and patted her well-travelled 31ft hull. “It’s time to sail, girl. We’ve got a long way to

Know-how: Easy Eye Splicing

For the record, I will be the first to admit that a professionally executed reverse-tuck Class 1 eye splice on modern braided line adds an

Fabricating a Tablet Holder

During the pandemic, I was stuck aboard Guiding Light, a Lagoon 410, in St. Lucia for over a month. During that time, as I worked

DIY: Veneer

Part of the remodeling of the chart table area on my 45ft schooner Britannia involved making a new section of floorboarding or, to use its

A Watermaker Upgrade

As a classic-boat sailor, I’ve long held that simpler is the better. I still think this is true: a simpler boat is cheaper, she has

A DIY Battery Bank Expansion

For quite some time, I had contemplated an expansion of the house battery bank aboard our 1987 Sabre 38MKI, Orion. There were several potential issues

Boat under shrinkwrap

Selecting a Marine Pro

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

Squalls at night are no joke, but good preparation will get you through safely. Photo courtesy of Andy Schell

Storms & Sea Stories

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

Photo: Lisa Smith Molinari

A Charter Passage Rewritten

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. 

Photo: Zuzana Prochazka

Tahiti Revisited

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

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May Issue Preview

Spring is in the air and warmer weather is right around the corner. Get ready for the season with SAIL’s adventure issue! Through the Eyes

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