winter sailing - search results

While many North American sailors have already hauled out their boats for winter, there are plenty of cold-weather diehards who refuse to bow to the season. In a recent issue of Practical Sailor, contributor Drew Frye shares his tips for sailing year round above the frost-line. It has always seemed a shame to me that the great majority of boats in the country are only used in the summer," says Frye, who sails through the winter on Chesapeake Bay. "[In winter] I have the waters virtually to myself.

As long as the water hasn't turned to ice (and even if it has, if you are an avid ice boater), sailors will find a way to get out on the water. Fortunately for Practical Sailor readers, we have our own Dr. Chill to inform us of ways to stay floating through the winter.

Whether you want to cruise the higher latitudes or extend your sailing season this winter, youll need to think about clothing. Over the years, Practical Sailor has published a number of tests and reports on garments that we can count on to keep us warm when the wind chill dips toward freezing. In this report, well take a broader look at the essentials, focusing on the first principles; under layers, accessories, how to wear them, and what materials stay dry.

Hands take a beating while sailing, from chafe, pressure points, cuts and cold. Hard heads will say “you just need to let the calluses...

Some of us go sailing in the rain in warm weather. Some go sailing in the winter. But day sailors—and that’s most of the...

The stretch of coast known as the Pacific Northwest (PNW) is one of the largest and most diverse sailing grounds in the world. It...

If you want your ropes to stay a bit lighter in the rain and spray, waterproofing treatments can definitely help. In our testing, Nikwax Rope Proof made a 39-percent difference in water-weight gain after a dunking—compared to untreated line—after eight months of use. It also gave a subtle, but unmistakable, improvement in handling and reduction in snarling. It seems like good stuff to use on all sheets and halyards.

I have a pocket dictionary I keep in the navigation desk of our 1978 Catalina 30 called Sailing: The Fine Art of Getting Wet...

For most sailors the off-season begins on Labor Day, which is a shame because fall brings the best sailing of the year in many of parts of the country. Of course, extending the season also brings the risk of snow and ice on deck.

For many seasonal sailors, the winterizing routine is already well underway. But there are more than a few diehard sailors in the mid-Atlantic regions, on the West Coast, and even in New England, who plan to spend all or part of the snowy season afloat. Some, we daresay, look forward to the quiet of winter. If youre toying with the idea of keeping your boat in the water during the winter, heres a short rundown on some of the more important steps to take.