DIY Projects

Online Help for Autumn

Its getting to be that time of year, when many skippers haul out or head south. Fall also heralds the beginning of boat show season. Here are some PS articles from the online archives that are suited for the season.

Sailing into the Golden Age of Hook-and-Loop Fasteners

Hook and loop fasteners are familiar from jacket cuffs and companionway bug screens, but during our many years of fiddling around boats, weve come up with a few applications that even a Velcro-lover havent yet tried. Lets look at some new tricks.

Controlling Motion: Two Case Studies

Securing a small boat between pilings in a wrong-sized slip is a common challenge. The dock line angles from the dolphins (outlying pilings) are too narrow for a beam wind, allowing the boat to dance around, increasing forces, chafe, and even making it difficult to stand in the cockpit. During a recent winter near-gale we measured dockline forces on several smaller boats that reached four times higher than the static wind load. If the recommended size dockline was used, the rope would be operating beyond its working load limit in real storms and could fail. Increasing the line diameter would result in more jerking and chafe.

Make Your Own Over-the-Boom Riding Sail

Delighted with the performance of the over-the-boom riding sail, we decided to make our own.

Sails and Summer Projects

While most of us are-hopefully-out sailing this summer, we know that many sailors are busy with system upgrades, do-it-yourself projects, and the usual marine maintenance adventures. Here are some archive articles we think will help you tick off the tasks on your to-do list.

Shedding Weight on Sailboats

Balsa and rigid foam cores. Aluminum, magnesium, and titanium alloys. Epoxy resins. Unidirectional glass, carbon fiber , and Kevlar. Builders have the most fantastic tools at their disposal to build light, durable boats … and then we weigh them down with all manner of stuff.

Leaving Your Boat in a Foreign Port

A high percentage of cruisers we meet each year plan on leaving their boats in a safe place and flying home, often once a year. If youre leaving your boat for less than four weeks, it may be most convenient to leave it in the water, providing you can find a secure marina slip or mooring. For longer periods of time, it may be cost effective and attractive to combine dry storage in a secure boat yard with your annual haul out. Weve left Mahina Tiare 1, II & III on the hard or in the water in Portugal, the Azores, Sweden, Panama, Chile, Hawaii, Canada and New Zealand and over the past 35 years and have learned quite a bit about the process, from choosing a place to keep the boat.

The Sailor’s Boot Dryer

I like the outdoors. I sail year-round, and I can endure as much heat and cold as my passions demand. But whether it is summer or winter, I just can't abide cold, wet feet. There is something about damp socks that chills me through. If my feet are warm, Im warm.

Mailport: Dustless Sanding

Regarding your recent Waypoints article about making your own dustless sander (see Dustless Sander, PS April 2016 online) I added a Dust Deputy (~$50 Ace Hardware) upstream of my shop vac around 3 or 4 years ago.

Heat-Seal Connectors

A typical cruising boat has thousands of electrical connections. The consequence of failure range from a light that doesn't work to a fire that can cost lives.

Guided Tour – Caribbean, Erie Canal, Great Lakes! The Beneteau Oceanis...

This week we get a tour or a Yacht Club in Toronto and have a guided tour of a Beneteau Oceanis 45 that sailed...

Latest Sailboat Review

O’Day 30 Used Boat Review

Over 350 O'Day 30s were built between 1977 and 1984. During 1984, the 30 was modified by changing the keel and rudder, and the stern was lengthened to accommodate a European-style boarding platform. This "new boat" was called the O'Day 31, and it stayed in production until 1986.