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by Don Casey

Contributing editor Don Casey is the author of several books on boat maintenance, including This Old Boat, published by International Marine/McGraw-Hill

Ask Sail: Battling Diesel Fumes

by Don Casey, Posted May 8, 2012
Thanks to a number of maintenance errors made by its previous owner, my sailboat smells of diesel fuel. I have cleaned the bilge and corrected the maintenance issues, but the smell still lingers. What do you recommend to get rid of it?

Know Your Rudder

by Don Casey, Posted April 10, 2012
After hull integrity, rudder integrity is the most vital component of a seaworthy vessel, yet most sailors pay more attention to LED lighting or smartphone apps than they do to their boat’s rudder. Before you shrug off rudder failure as a remote concern, consider that the incidence of mid-ocean rudder failures is close to 1 percent.

Ask Sail: Transducer Extraction

by Don Casey, Posted March 14, 2012
I have to replace my depthsounder. The plastic nut that holds the old transducer in place was set in the hull with adhesive. The new transducer will not fit the old nut, which has proven very difficult to remove.

Ask Sail: A Warped Fixer-Upper

by Don Casey, Posted February 1, 2012
A recent survey states that a 41-foot Morgon Out Island I am considering buying has hull deflections.  These were discovered when the boat was hauled.  Should I be concerned?

Flying Free

by Don Casey, Posted November 15, 2011
On our Allied Seawind ketch we fly the national ensign from our mizzen topping lift, rather than flying it from a short staff on the rail under the mizzen boom where it would be at odds with the mizzen sheet.

A Head Start

by Don Casey, Posted September 27, 2011
When your boat spends the winter on the hard, relaunching in the spring will go easier, and perhaps happen sooner, if you tackle a few of your pre-launch tasks during the fall and winter months. Some of these are jobs you might otherwise neglect or skip in the rush to launch. And the nice part is you get to mess about doing boat things during the off-season.

Epoxy in Water Tanks

by Don Casey, Posted August 24, 2011
Bob Meier of Mount Vernon, Ohio, asks:"I need to repair an 80-gal fiberglass water tank that is leaking. What food-grade material would you recommend for this purpose? I’d like to use an inert substance that will seal the tank and reinforce the weak area without contaminating my drinking water."Don Casey replies:There are plenty of food-grade

Tools for your Cruise

by Don Casey, Posted August 22, 2011
Cruisers who sail long distances typically carry a vast array of tools and spare parts, but weekend sailors tend to buy parts as needed and depend on tools normally kept at home, in the trunk of a car, or even hanging on the rack at a hardware store. But what happens when you take your boat out of home waters, with house, car, hardware store and chandlery left behind? This is a good question to

A Moveable Feast

by Don Casey, Posted August 17, 2011
Say “link” to a cruising sailor today and anchor chain is probably not what comes to mind. Reliable Internet access has become a Holy Grail for most cruisers. We are so anxious to be connected that Wi-Fi hotspots now trump most other harbor attractions.Virtually all new laptop computers have wireless capability, but their range is limited by their antennas and the power of the internal

Compost Complexities

by Don Casey, Posted July 22, 2011
Wayne Steinhauser of Hartford, South Dakota, asks:"We sail on an impounded Missouri river lake with only one pump-out station within 100 miles. We find returning to the pump-out station is troublesome when we spend a week or more exploring and sailing. We’re thinking of installing a composting toilet. What is your opinion of these?"Don Casey
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