The first time I stepped down a sailboats companionway I was overwhelmed by the beauty and abundance of the wood I found below. As a result, I knew one thing I wanted for sure when searching for my first sailboat was a teak-and-holly cabin sole. In the end, I found what I wanted, but the teak and holly was veneer over plywood. It was in less than perfect condition, but having
The first time I stepped down a sailboats companionway I was overwhelmed by the beauty and abundance of the wood I found below. As a result, I knew one thing I wanted for sure when searching for my first sailboat was a teak-and-holly cabin sole. In the end, I found what I wanted, but the teak and holly was veneer over plywood. It was in less than perfect condition, but having
Not all boats are created equal. Some are built to high standards by people who care about what they’re doing. Others are not. This is as true today as it was half a century ago, when boatbuilders took their first tentative steps along the untrodden path of fiberglass construction.Because their builders erred on the side of caution with this new and strange material, those early fiberglass
Sailors early on recognized the importance of keeping the bottom of their craft free of fouling, as they discovered that a hull covered with barnacles and weeds performs poorly. They used sheets of copper to protect the underbellies of their boats, and this practice is still used on some large sailing vessels.Fortunately for modern sailors, we can now use paint with similar properties to
Mark Neinast of Plano, Texas, asks:”I am restoring a 1970 Santana 21 and have noticed that the starboard side of the hull is indented around the trailer bunk. Can I jack up the boat, push out the hull (hoping it springs back into place), then strengthen the inside of the hull with epoxy?”Don Casey replies: You need to know if the hull is
Frank Fosse of Charleston, South Carolina, asks: “I sail a 1983 Beneteau First 42, which I enjoy very much. I would like to fly an asymmetric spinnaker and/or a Code-O sail from a bowsprit, like on many of the more modern boats I see these days. I see there are some removable bowsprits on the market, but they look a bit light to me. Are they really strong enough for what I
Ted Klastorin of Seattle, Washington, asks:”I have a Universal XP25 diesel engine with approximately 2,200 hours on it. The engine runs well, but is difficult to start after it sits idle for a few days. To get it started, I have to bleed air out of the fuel system for several minutes. Once started, however, it runs smoothly.I have checked and replaced both fuel
I love the fact that an old boat can give you as much sailing pleasure as an expensive new one. The only proviso for me is that the sail handling systems be absolutely top-notch. Replacing hardware like mainsheet travelers, genoa lead cars, boom vangs and lead blocks with new, low-friction gear will repay you many times over in ease of handling and improved efficiency.A case in point was a
Soon after I bought my aluminum cutter Lunacy it became apparent I needed to remove the heavy 20-year accumulation of hard antifouling paint from her hull. After I brought the boat from Florida to Maine all the old paint started flaking off in alarmingly huge chunks, presumably due to the dramatic change in water temperature.My initial plan was to soda-blast the boat down to its
Lewis K. Redmond of Plainfield, Illinois, asks:”We have an Adler/Barbour cold machine refrigerator, which is air-cooled with a small vertical evaporator. The ground wire and its retaining screw on the PCB board somehow were burned black. The technicians guess was that something must have been thrown across the terminals to have caused this burnout. What measures would you
Day one on June 21 saw the race overcome by a mild, slow moving electrical storm that swelled over land during the start before spilling
SAIL magazine and Hanse Yachts are excited to present a conversation with Cole Brauer and Lin Pardey during the Annapolis Sailboat Show in October. Encompassing
Laurence Holt Books, 2023$12 at stikky.com I can’t recall how I stumbled across the first edition of Stikky Night Skies published in 2003, but it
Life on three hulls has never been so comfortable, or so fast.
It was October, and Hurricane Maria had just stomped over Les Iles Sainte, devastated Dominica, and was still cooking up 12-foot seas and 25 knots
Bali Catamarans, known for their ability to accommodate a passel of people in style and comfort, are taking it up another notch with the new
I first saw the new Hanse 410 at the Annapolis spring boat show in April. Like her big sister the 510, which I had sailed
Spanning 50 years of sailing, SAIL Magazine presents a one-of-a-kind conversation with Cole Brauer and Lin Pardey.
Every year, the National Sailing Hall of Fame and the Sailing Museum announce the sailors, designers, sailmakers, businesspeople, and other men and women whose influence
New to the U.S. market, the Slovenian-built Pegasus 50 has already proven its offshore sailing chops, winning the 2022 OSTAR. Designed by company co-founder Marko
