Projects

No Small Leak

by Michael Holtzinger, Posted May 4, 2012

One cold October day I was aboard as several rain squalls passed through, and I heard a distinct dripping sound. At first I ignored it, thinking it was coming from somewhere outside, but by the third squall I was up investigating.

Holes Be Gone

by Connie McBride, Posted April 12, 2012

When a boat’s systems or interior are modified, you may need or want to glass over existing holes in the hull. One season when we hauled out in Trinidad, we decided to eliminate three through-hulls in our Creekmore 34, Eurisko. The holes were all different sizes, but we treated this as one project.

Why You Should Paint Your Boat Yourself

by Wally Moran, Posted April 12, 2012

The cost of hiring a yard to repaint a 30- to 40-foot sailboat is likely to be over $10,000, which is uneconomical given the actual value of most older boats. The alternative, if you’re willing to put in long hours with a rotary sander, is doing it yourself.

Hard Charging: A New Way to Charge Batteries

by Peter Nielsen, Posted March 30, 2012

When my flexible solar panel gave up the ghost early last summer, I was surprised at how much motoring it took to replenish our Norlin 34’s two Group 27 house batteries after they’d been run down by a week of sporadic bilge-pumping (caused by a slow leak around the keelbolts, ahem).

How and Why to get your Prop Realigned

by Andy Howe, Posted March 14, 2012

The original purchase survey for my Allied Seabreeze sloop Keewaydin included a note about the fixed three-bladed bronze propeller: “some cupping noticed on all blades.” One of the surveyor’s post-purchase recommendations was to have the prop reconditioned.

Assemble Your Own Compression Terminals

by Charles J. Doane, Posted February 13, 2012

Do-it-yourself sailors have long been attracted to the concept of swageless rigging terminals, also known as compression terminals. Unlike swaged terminals, which require expensive dedicated machinery to create, compression fittings can be assembled with simple hand tools.

Time for a New Headsail Furler

by Charles J. Doane, Posted November 14, 2011

Near the end of the 2010 boating season I noticed that the old Profurl roller-furling unit on my Tanton 39 cutter Lunacy was no longer working properly. The furler, which probably dates back to the early 1990s, was getting increasingly difficult to use.

Hybrid Power Keeps Going

by Joseph Huberman, Posted March 20, 2006

The diesel-electric hybrid as an auxiliary power source for sailboats has moved from the laboratory into the water. Though still in early development, it has advantages including fuel efficiency, ease of handling, responsive motor control, low sound levels, immediate-use capability, and, on some systems, power regeneration.I have a Solomon Technologies motor and a Glacier

Wi-Fi for Sailors

by David W. Shaw, Posted May 8, 2009

The term Wi-Fi gets bandied about plenty these days. After all, you probably use it to obtain high-speed Internet access at work, in airports and hotels, or at home, and you’ve probably used it on your boat, likely with varying degrees of success. Built-in Wi-Fi hardware in laptops, or PC Wi-Fi-card adapters (802.11 cards), such as those from Linksys, work fine if you’re close

AIS for Sailors

by Peter Nielsen, Posted May 7, 2009

Any sailor who has made extended passages along coastlines or across oceans has had at least a few close callswith big ships whose course and intentions can be difficult to discern until the last minute. The introduction of AIS (Automatic Identification System) has taken a lot of the guesswork (not to mention terror) out of these close-quarters situations. For just a