I used Sikkens Cetol on the bare wood on my Catalina 30, Morning Dew IV. The can was compromised over the spring, and I put the balance in a 16oz clean glass mayo jar. Last spring when I went to use it, a skin had formed over the top of the liquid, so I just cut the skin off. It is 1/8in thick. In the future, is it still OK to use?
Quiet. That’s what you hear as you back away from the mooring. No chug, chug, chug from the diesel as water cascades out of the
“You won’t be able to pee on a heel,” someone said. “You won’t have room to stow the coco peat,” said another. “I don’t know.
Properly maintaining your inflatable boat can be vexing, no? Wait a sec, though, before throwing up your hands and marching off in search of a
I pretty much took rigs for granted when I first started sailing on other people’s boats. After all, unlike exciting, moving, tweakable things like sails
Everyone dreads the day that something as major and costly as a boat’s rigging must be replaced. For my 1984 Tayana 42, Eclipse, still sporting
I’m not going to lie. This all started with wine. I wanted (needed?) to find more space on the boat where we could stow the
Duncan Kent explains what you should look for in these vital fittings Clearly, with any device that penetrates the hull of a yacht, the choice
Push-Button Reefing Boats have never been easier to sail, and yet, designers and builders still strive for that extra iota or two of convenience. A
Our 1987 Pearson project boat came with an elderly but functioning Raymarine chartplotter, located belowdecks at the nav station. Since I usually sail solo or
You’ve probably seen the clips online. During the first day of racing in SailGP’s New Zealand series, the worst crash in the league’s six seasons
Log the Glass These days with weather forecasts available wherever there is WiFi, it doesn’t do to forget the old ways. Last season I was
This weekend saw the fourth annual Northeast Ocean Racing Symposium (NORS), held at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts. The day of technical lectures and networking
Contributing Editor Christopher Birch’s much anticipated book The Four Seasons of Boat Maintenance is out now. Billed as “the maintenance manual that should have come
On March 1, the U.S. SailGP Team shook up the Grand Prix series and won the Sydney Sail Grand Prix, marking their first victory since
Lessons learned by others are a great guide when putting together a vacation to remember.
After being the Chief Designer at Tartan Yachts for 48 years, Tim Jackett has found a new home with Niche Watercraft. The company has announced
A trans-oceanic performance catamaran loads up on practical features and comforts of home.
A classic racing yacht, three weeks at sea, and eight crewmates you’ve never met. What could go wrong?
Editor’s Note: This story is excerpted from SAIL Contributing Editor Christopher Birch’s upcoming book The Four Seasons of Boat Maintenance(available for order soon)—a compendium of
