DIY Projects

When a rope is no longer fit for purpose, for example a halyard with a chafed spot, we either keep it for future might-needs...

Many of the fiberglass sailboats constructed during the 1970s and 1980s are still in existence, though often in varying states of disrepair. These vessels...

Self-adhesive hardware-store hooks don’t stick well to bare fiberglass. Just last week we had one wash into the bilge-pump strainer on our test boat....

In the old Star Trek TV series Captain Kirk would press a button on a machine called a replicator and request banana cream pie,...

This week we're moving onto hardware, winches in particular. If you haven't serviced your winches in a couple years, or you notice squeaks, groans or slips as you grind, it is high time to tackle this project. We like to inspect our jib-sheet winches every year, but we sail our boats hard and they are exposed to some pretty harsh freeze and thaw cycles. Fortunately, winch servicing is a pretty easy, and for the wanna-be watchmaker who marvels at moving parts, it's fun—until you start dropping parts overboard. Thus, our first bit of advice: make sure you have the right winch servicing kit, including pawls and springs, before you start pulling your winches apart.

Are you one of those sailors who believes there are too many holes in the hull of your boat? Have you ever wondered if...

During the 1970s and early 80s frenzy of fiberglass production boat building, many cabin soles were pretty basic—a textured fiberglass pan or bare plywood....

As sailors, once we’ve cleared the outer markers of our club, marina or harbor, we look forward to raising our sails and we enjoy...

In light air, a major portion of the total resistance of a sailboat derives from skin friction. To oversimplify, the smoother the boat's "skin" — the submerged part of the vessel — the less power is required to drive it to a given speed. Put another way, given two boats identical in every way, including sail area, the boat with the smoother bot­tom will be slightly faster than a boat with a rough bottom in light air. Most racing sailors have learned the value of a smooth bottom. Ironically, cruising sailors can benefit at least as much from the creation of a low-resistance bottom as racing sailors, although you rarely see a cruising or daysailing boat with a bottom to match that of a good racing boat.

Many of the fiberglass boats manufactured in the 70s and 80s, sail or power, were built on production assembly lines where speed and expense...