Rhumb Lines: Livin’ the Wharf Rat Life
Named after the enterprising expat who “developed” the former Navy boat repair basin on the island of Guam, Gerberville barely qualified as marina. Our...
Rhumb Lines: Lessons from Hurricane Ian
Well, Hurricane Ian plowed south of the refuge-by-default for Opal, the 1971 Yankee 30 I spent a good part of last year working on. With...
Rhumb Lines: Cold Weather Sailing
For the first year since escaping New England to take the helm of Practical Sailor in 2005, I’ll be experiencing a true autumn in Marquette, MI—a...
Rhumb Lines: Getting a Grip on Gloves
My grandfather had two good digits on his left hand, the thumb and pinky. The other three were sliced off just above the cuticles....
Rhumb Lines: Salute to the Miracle Glues
In a stick-built boat, a shipwright builds piece-by-piece the interior furnishing—lockers, berths, settees, etc. The interior structures on contemporary boats, by comparison, are often...
Rhumb Lines: Learning by (Not) Doing
With many of our readers wrapping up their spring pre-launch projects, I thought it would be a good time to offer a brief update...
The Solo Sailor’s Quandary
Whether it is simply the curse of age or my diminished capacity for self-delusion, my efforts at creating a small boat fit for single-handed...
A C-22 Out in the Wild
Many of the most interesting cruising areas in Florida are inaccessible to the average cruising boat. The Florida Bay between the southern tip of...
Stay Safe this Spring
The past couple of months I’ve been engaged in an ongoing struggle to remove all the deck paint and primer from Opal, the 1971...
The PS Power Subscriber
Another runner has made it! It’s always nice to get an email or letter from an appreciative reader letting me know they’ve escaped the...
This “Bulletproof” Cruiser Has a Serious Weak Spot Caliber 40 LRC...
If you’re shopping for a serious cruising sailboat, the Caliber 40 LRC is often described as “bulletproof.” Heavy displacement, huge tankage, conservative construction, and...
Latest Sailboat Review
Union 36 Used Boat Review
While not the best boat for light-air sailing, the Union 36 is a good sailboat for the bluewater cruiser. It wont get you there fast, but it will get you there comfortably and in one piece. The boats teak decks and lavish use of interior wood is attractive but requires much upkeep and maintenance. A product of the Taiwan-U.S. boatbuilding industry, the Union 36 is a heavy-displacement, full-keel, cutter-rigged double-ender designed for ocean sailing. The Union 36 is nearly identical to several other boats built during the same period: the Hans Christian 36, Mariner Polaris 36, and the EO36. According to well-known naval architect Bob Perry, the Union 36 and its cousins are all based on the design of a 34-footer that Perry was commissioned to create back in the early 70s.