SAIL.SailMagazine

Installing a bow thruster is not an inexpensive upgrade, so it pays to do your homework before deciding on a type and make. The problem is that there are so many types of thrusters to choose from.

One challenge with older boats that have been out of production for decades is obtaining replacements for components that may have been custom-made back in the day. Good luck finding a new bow pulpit for your 1974 Flexiflyer 43 or a mast cap for the rig on your 1967 Brickouthouse 29.

One of the best things about being retired is that it allows me to spend some quality time doing what I really like. One such escape—wife willing—is a month-long stay on my sailboat on San Francisco Bay.

There were many impressive nominees this year, and our judges had no easy task. In the end, a retro trimaran, a carbon-fiber racer and an ocean-capable lifting-keel cruiser are all among this year's winners. 

After working together at SAIL for two years, my coworker Christa asked me if I’d teach her to sail. Having never “learned” how to sail with either a coach or in a classroom, though, I knew my limitations as a teacher.