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Sails, Rigging & Deck Gear

Superlight Anchors: Not Just for Racers

How important is an anchor aboard a racing sailboat? Just ask Swiss sailor Bernard Stamm who was disqualified from the 2008-2009 Vendee Globe Around-the-World...

Refining Furling Line Fairleads

There was a time when headsail handling meant snapping on bronze piston-hanks and hauling on a smooth-running halyard. Times have changed, and now it's...

Revive Your Mast Like a Pro

Unobtainium is the metal at the top of every Naval Architect’s wish list. It’s a perfect marine material; light, strong, stiff yet flexible—it’s as...

Solving the Dodger Dilemma

The phrase ‘cruising canvas’ has always had a sail inventory connotation, but today it’s even more descriptive of cockpit coverings that range from small...
We like going one size over what is often recommended for smaller boats. The advantages are a.Less stretch. Nylon can be too stretchy, but polyester not stretchy enough. One size over can be a Goldilocks answer. b.Better wear resistance. Because we like using short chain when hand-hauling, we cover the first 10 feet with a webbing chafe guard. This is very cut resistant, because unlike the rope inside, it is floating and not under tension. c. Better grip. ⅜-in. is pretty hard to grab with the wind is up. ½-in. fits our hands better. (Photo/ Drew Frye)

Polyester vs. Nylon Rode

In order to minimize the strain on our anchor, we expect the rode to absorb impact forces imposed by waves, yawing and gusts. These...

Getting the Most Out of Older Sails

Efficient windward work requires sails with a good lift-to-drag ratio. Mylar laminate sails hold their shape throughout their useful life, well enough for all...

How (Not) to Tie Your Boat to a Dock

No sailor can resist the temptation to look over another sailor's work, and nothing draws the eye faster than your neighbor's docklines. We like...

Stopping Mainsheet Twist

The dinghy requires a gorilla to hoist onto the davits. The mainsheet won’t release in a gust. The internal reefing line inside the boom...

Working with High-Tech Ropes

If you are working with low friction rings, sooner or later you're going to work with Amsteel and other high molecular polyethylene (HMPE) ropes,...
Using only what they had available onboard, the cruisers rebuilt a broken clue on their genoa which lasted for thousands of miles of sailing.

Getting a Clue for the Blown-Out Clew

How do you manage major sail repairs in remote locations? By using whatever you have onboard to get you home—or beyond. After an easy three-day...

$650,000 Yacht Tour : Hanse 460 – This Luxury Cruising Sailboat...

In the $500,000+ cruising sailboat market, the competition for world traveling sailboats is full of exceptional sailing yachts like the Catalina 445, the Amel...

Latest Sailboat Review

MacGregor 26M Used Boat Review

MacGregor 26 has been a staple in the trailerable sailboat market for decades, and company literature claimed more than 7,000 of the original model...