Mastering Precision Drilling: How to Use Drill Guides
Poking a ⅜-in. bit into wood is simple enough. Place the bit on the mark, sight the drill from two directions at 90 degrees...
Giving Bugs the Big Goodbye
Were not naturally bug phobic, but when they eat our food, clothes, or boat, something needs to be done. Since we don't like heavy doses of pesticides in a space as small as a boat, lets first look at low impact approaches that focus on specific pests. After that, well look at the more potent approaches
Windlass Replacement on an Island Packet 40
At first I thought that standing on the V-head toilet and climbing awkwardly into the chain locker was funny. I tried not to think...
Galley Gadgets for the Cruising Sailor
Historically, the cook has always enjoyed a privileged position on board a boat. And no wonder, since the cook almost always works the hardest, whether the boat is underway or at anchor. While the navigator and helmsmans job is no less critical, the nerve-wracking labor of maintaining a steady course and plotting an accurate DR position has nearly evaporated in recent years, thanks to GPS, chartplotters, and autopilots. The cooks job, on the other hand, hasn't gotten a whole lot easier. So, in honor of the hardest working crew, Ive put together a list of five items that can help make a cooks life easier underway. Id be interested in hearing what other suggestions our readers have.
Getting a Clue for the Blown-Out Clew
How do you manage major sail repairs in remote locations? By using whatever you have onboard to get you home—or beyond.
After an easy three-day...
Fuel Lift Pump: Easy DIY Diesel Fuel System Diagnostic and Repair
As with all things in life, everything goes well until it doesn’t. It is an inevitable truth that something will go wrong eventually and...
Monel Seizing Wire is Worth the Extra Cost
Just weeks ago, a fellow Corsair 24 owner dismasted due to a seizing wire failure. More than once I’ve had stainless seizing wire fail...
Sinking? Check Your Stuffing Box
Sometimes as a sailor you are learning to run before you can walk or even crawl. If the auto bilge pump isn’t working, maybe...
How to Change Your Engine Mounts
It is always discomforting when you know, and actually feel, that something is not quite right. For a little while now, while navigating under...
Vinyl Boat Lettering DIY Application and Repair
One of the pleasures of boating, at least for me, is reading boat names! I enjoy the many humorous names and those that are...



















