“You won’t be able to pee on a heel,” someone said. “You won’t have room to stow the coco peat,” said another. “I don’t know. That’s just gross,” said a third. These are just a few examples of the pushback my partner, Phillip, and I got when we announced on our blog we were ...read more
Presented by VETUS MAXWELL Got a tip? Send it to sailmail@sailmagazine.com The Third Reef For a really neat reef it’s hard to beat a simple slab system. There’s only one problem—the clew pennants may lead safely aft, but the tack often relies on being physically hooked onto a ...read more
Properly maintaining your inflatable boat can be vexing, no? Wait a sec, though, before throwing up your hands and marching off in search of a bottle of rum. As the owner (and chief repair technician) of two inflatable-boat repair companies, let me provide a few pointers. In the ...read more
Everyone dreads the day that something as major and costly as a boat’s rigging must be replaced. For my 1984 Tayana 42, Eclipse, still sporting its original setup and with a 1,500-mile offshore passage looming, the time for an upgrade had finally arrived. Along with swapping out ...read more
I’m not going to lie. This all started with wine. I wanted (needed?) to find more space on the boat where we could stow the stuff, especially what we call “cruiser’s wine”—bagged wine, which is the tipple of choice on Plaintiff’s Rest. Thankfully, this fruitful endeavor ended ...read more
