Got a tip? Send it to sailmail@sailmagazine.com How heavy a hit? We can’t miss seeing a squall coming, but it’s not always obvious if it has our name on it. The answer is to treat the thunderhead like a ship on a collision course. If the bearing over a stanchion doesn’t change, ...read more
TIME FOR NEW SAILS? Q: I have had the same Dacron sails on my boat for five years, and the previous owner had them for a number of years before that. I know that they are getting old, but how do I know when it’s time to replace them? Pat Chandler, Chardin, OH BRIAN HANCOCK ...read more
For the past seven years my wife, Jody, and I have been cruising aboard Blue Pelican, our Pearson 424 ketch. We spent most of those years sailing the East Coast of the United States and the Caribbean, but in 2015 we transited the Panama Canal and sailed Blue Pelican across the ...read more
Sailmaking ain’t what it used to be, especially out in the Nevada desert Some years ago I visited the Bavaria factory and was amused at the thought of a powerhouse boatbuilder turning out its products smack bang in the middle of rural Germany, surrounded by fields of cows and ...read more
I’ve always been less than enthusiastic about changing my genoa sheet leads on different points of sail. I know I should move the lead forward to improve its shape when I’m reefing or sailing off the wind. However, when I’m sailing singlehanded it is a bind to release the genoa ...read more
