Un-Stepping the Mast for America’s Great Loop
As a family on a sailboat traveling on the Great Loop, our crew of four aboard Fika was a bit out of the ordinary....
Years Later, Mast Mate Still Riding High
Mast steps are a great help when going aloft, but they add weight where it hurts most (aloft), and halyards love to get stuck...
Adding a Polyester Cover to Dyneema Single Braid
Extremely low friction allows Amsteel and other high molecular weight polyethylene (HMPE) lines to run like lightening through low friction rings. Unfortunately, they also...
Splice Failure Linked to Fatality
You don't have to look far to find a case in point supporting our recent Practical Sailor Special Report on high-tech lines, which emphasized...
Inspecting Rivets and Screws for Trouble
Drew Fry
One of the interesting conclusions from our testing was the surprising strength among all of the test fasteners when loaded in the shear....
A Riveting Report: Spar Fasteners
Every sailor eventually feels the pull to add hardware to their spars. Maybe a piece of hardware has broken off, or the fasteners look...
DIY Rig Check
Here are two good examples showing the problems associated with the lower or deck level use of swage terminals for your standing rigging. Swaging...
Mechanical Terminal Pull Test
Swageless wire-rope terminals have long been a favorite piece of rigging kit among all kinds of sailors. These terminals are inspectable, reusable, and can...
Swage Fitting Breaks Surprise PS Testers
During the first round of mechanical terminal testing, testers were surprised to see that wire failures were occurring at loads that were at least...
Poured-Socket Assembly Requires Special Care
The most common error with poured sockets is insufficient cleaning of the wire, and/or using the wrong solvent to clean it. Even dry, stainless...
The UNIQUE Maxus 26 Lifting Keel Trailer Sailor
What is the best trailerable sailboat? One big feature is the mast stepping system. Today we look at trailer sailors like the Catalina 275,...
Latest Sailboat Review
Morgan Out Island 36 Used Boat Review
Most are familiar with Charles Morgan and his Out Island 41, primarily made to cruise and charter in the Bahamas, but not many are...