Restoring a Classic: How to Get into Sailboat Ownership on a Budget
Some sailboat buyers want (and can afford) to plunk down a boatload of money to get on the water right away. For others, restoring...
Tool Kits For Every Possible Boat Job
Like all sailors that have a home shop and work on their boats, we’re constantly schlepping tools back and forth. I have multiples of...
Hatch Tinting Test
UV is the enemy of both hatches and interior fabrics. Acrylic can resist UV for 15 years or more, but polycarbonate generally begins to...
Making Your Own Workshop Filter
It all started when I needed to make a number of large cuts inside the house and outside of the confines of my shop....
Pre-Purchase or Insurance Survey: Which One Do I Need?
You’ve been bitten by the sailing bug and every spare minute is spent searching online for that perfect vessel. You’ve narrowed it down to...
Bottom Sanding Hack To Save Your Back
If you own an older sailboat, you’ve most likely had the dubious joy of working on the bottom. Perhaps multiple coats of bottom paint...
Antifouling Exposure Risks
One look at the safety data sheet for an antifouling paint, and a quick listen to the controversy surrounding the effects of antifouling paint...
In Search of Better Filters
Presumably, air cleaners are about dusty environments, and dust is a rare thing on the water. But is the engine room actually clean?
We’ve seen...
How I Made My Wooden Wheel
The reader will notice that the title is not “How to Build a Wooden Wheel”. I don’t pretend to be a carpenter or shipwright,...
DIY Salon Refit: 1979 Fast Passage 39
"Interesting, functional and downright ugly," were a few words people used when I mentioned the boat my husband and I had on Vancouver Island...
Affordable AND Good? Sabre 34 Mk II Review
Can you buy a good sailboat for $25,000? In this video we take a deep dive into the Sabre 34 Mk II, a proven...
Latest Sailboat Review
Tartan 30: An Affordable Classic
The early 1970s was the heyday of the Tartan 30' racer/cruiser. In all, no less than two dozen boats of a similar size and type were introduced in just three years, many of them to become highly successful among sailors eager for the performance and amenities of big boats at a modest price. Among the most noteworthy and enduring of the 30-footers from this era has been the Tartan 30.