DIY: Replacing Track
August 21, 2016
Here is a sad truth relating to older boats: the more desirable the piece of equipment you want to install, the harder it is to remove its predecessor.
Here is a sad truth relating to older boats: the more desirable the piece of equipment you want to install, the harder it is to remove its predecessor.
After purchasing new sails last year and installing a Tides Marine mainsail track, we decided it was time to upgrade the 45-year-old roller-reefing boom on our Allied Seabreeze 35 project boat Keewaydin.
The last thing you want from your furling gear is for it to jam up in a rising breeze—or ever. I must be some kind of roller-reefing Jonah, because it’s happened a few times on boats I’ve been sailing aboard. On two of those occasions, halyard wrap was to blame.Halyard wrap sounds like something you’d tear off a new piece of rope, but it’s actually the most common cause of
Every boat, no matter how big or small, is the sum of its parts, and even on the smallest boat there are plenty of parts.
I have always liked lazyjacks in theory, but in practice I’ve found them to be a total pain in the backside. Even so mundane a
When I bought my aft-cockpit ketch, Silverheels, she had no bimini top at all. While I attended to other upgrades in preparation for tropical cruising, I pondered how I might have full-time shade in the cockpit and still get at the mizzen sail to furl and reef it.
Undoubtedly because of the Cup, which made wingsails a common sight, there is now more understanding of the concept among sailors. Inefficient triangle sails might see some competition in the future where sporting one or two elliptical wings will be a common sight for cruising boats.
Seamanship: “All of the arts and skills of boathandling, ranging from maintenance and repairs, to piloting, sail handling, marlinspike work, rigging and all aspects of boat operation.”
I’d always dreamed of using a spinnaker to propel our Tartan 31, Solace, along on a light-air summer’s day, but the thought of wrestling with an unruly kite (prior to running it over, of course!) was never appealing. Then one day I read about the benefits of rope-luff sails and their ease of handling in the January 2012 issue of SAIL magazine and decided, “I can do this!”
Traditionally, all sailboat mainsails were reefed by simply pulling down the reefing lines through cringles in the luff and leech of the mainsail, then securing the reefing pennants—often permanently attached to the mainsail—to the boom to tidy the sail up.
The sailing world has lost another great this week in the passing of John Rousmaniere, author of Fastnet Force 10 and numerous other sailing texts.
As a yacht broker, many people have talked to me about wanting to buy a boat, learning to sail, and then taking their own boat
A new flagship elevates an iconic and evergreen cruising brand.
I’ve been racing aboard a new boat this summer, and it’s gotten me thinking a lot about crew dynamics and what makes a good teammate.
How em-trak’s new X100 is simplifying communication and safety at the helm.
America’s longest running regatta for adaptive sailors took place last weekend in Chicago’s Burnham Park Harbor.
While everyone in the multihull market seems to be zigging, Aquila Catamarans has decided to zag. Renowned for their comfortable and spacious powercats, Aquila has
The American Sailing Association has partnered with the navigation app for use in a new Electronic Navigation course as well as their regular offerings.
The Everglades Challenge is a race, an adventure, and a test of character all at once.
Why one sailor went back in time one hundred years to find the perfect boat.
