DIY Projects

Online Help for Autumn

It's getting to be that time of year, when many skippers haul out or head south. Fall also heralds the beginning of boat show...

Sailing into the Golden Age of Hook-and-Loop Fasteners

Hook and loop fasteners are familiar from jacket cuffs and companionway bug screens, but during our many years of fiddling around boats, weve come...

Controlling Motion: Two Case Studies

Securing a small boat between pilings in a wrong-sized slip is a common challenge. The dock line angles from the dolphins (outlying pilings) are...

Make Your Own Over-the-Boom Riding Sail

Delighted with the performance of the over-the-boom riding sail, we decided to make our own. To measure, we outlined the proposed sail area with -inch...

Sails and Summer Projects

While most of us are-hopefully-out sailing this summer, we know that many sailors are busy with system upgrades, do-it-yourself projects, and the usual marine...

Shedding Weight on Sailboats

Balsa and rigid foam cores. Aluminum, magnesium, and titanium alloys. Epoxy resins. Unidirectional glass, carbon fiber , and Kevlar. Builders have the most fantastic...

Leaving Your Boat in a Foreign Port

A high percentage of cruisers we meet each year plan on leaving their boats in a safe place and flying home, often once a...

The Sailor’s Boot Dryer

I like the outdoors. I sail year-round, and I can endure as much heat and cold as my passions demand. But whether it is...

Seacocks for Thin Hulls

A proper below-the-water line sea cock consists of three parts: the outside portion or mushroom, which threads into the flanged valve, the flanged valve,...

Mailport: Dustless Sanding

Regarding your recent Waypoints article about making your own dustless sander (see Dustless Sander, PS April 2016 online) I added a Dust Deputy (~$50...

Jeanneau Yachts 65 Full Tour and Review

Choosing between a monohull and catamaran was already hard, but Jeanneau just made it even harder. The new Jeanneau Yachts 65 is a monumental...

Latest Sailboat Review

Islander Bahama 30 Used Boat Review

More than a few years ago my wife Carey and I were looking to move up from our O’Day 25 to something a little...