A Fistful of Splicing Fids
While pre-spliced lines are easy to come by these days through marine chandleries, riggers, or the major rope suppliers, the sailors art of splicing...
Seven Muscular Winches
The origin of the magnificent machine called a winch is obscure. It ranks almost as high as the lever, which can provide unlimited mechanical...
Garhauer Launches Hefty New Traveler
All the components of this system—end fittings, mainsheet connection shackles, sheaves, etc.—are fixed in place using stainless bolts with hex heads. Except for the...
Clutch Play
A book could be written about the ways sailors have struggled with the bitter end of a rope. Many are the devices seamen have...
Soft Mud Anchors for $200 and Up
Bottom Line: Expensive with less than stellar holding power when set on a short scope.XYZThe XYZ website describes the anchor as “a radical departure...
Chain, Chain, Chain:Mooring Rig Test Begins
Acco is the pre-eminent supplier of mooring chain to the recreational marine industry, partly by virtue of supplying most of West Marine’s galvanized chain,...
Chain, Chain, Chain:Mooring Rig Test Begins
Acco is the pre-eminent supplier of mooring chain to the recreational marine industry, partly by virtue of supplying most of West Marine’s galvanized chain,...
Solid Vang Showdown
This size Ocean Vang retails for $279, which includes the control line, but not the brackets for the mast ($39) or boom ($42). The...
Anchors for Muck, for Under 200 Bucks
Bottom Line: The Spade Oceane set quite easily, but, as tested, it showed a lack of holding power in soft mud.West MarineA pair of...
PS Advisor: 01/06
Saildrive CorrosionI purchased a 1983 Sweden 41 in September, 1999. Since that time I have had to purchase three saildrives because of corrosion. I...
Diesel Overheating Dinghy Pump Hack
Bert Vermeer tells his story of an overheating Beta Marine 20 diesel sailboat engine with clogged sail drive intake ports and how he used...
Latest Sailboat Review
Caliber 40 LRC Used Boat Review
Brothers George and Michael McCreary, and Marshall Jones, formed Caliber Yachts Inc. as a backyard boatbuilding company in 1979. No strangers to the sailing...