Rhumb Lines: Seamanship, Not Size, Is What Counts
Years ago, one of my first assignments as a sailing editor was to join the famous sailor and yacht designer Steve Dashew and his...
Rhumb Lines: Eight Bells for Charley Morgan
Legendary sailor and yacht designer Charley Morgan passed away on January 6, 2023. He was 93 years old. Outspoken, self-assured, indefatigable, Charley was all...
Rhumb Lines: Tiller Versus Wheel, Again
Two articles this month focus on the simplest, most reliable form of steering, one that has persisted through the ages with little modification—the tiller....
Rhumb Lines: The Bathtub Cockpit Concept
I often wonder what the Norwegian yacht designer Colin Archer would say about today’s performance cruising boats, with their open transoms rolling out the...
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: Pursuing the Illusion of the Perfect Boat
Earlier this month the press announced the launch of Jeff Bezos’ kazillion dollar sailing yacht, a three-masted, 417-foot schooner filled with a bunch of...
The Northwest Pacific Sailboat
Somewhere between Cape Caution, British Columbia and Cape Foulweather, Oregon, I found myself pondering the pros and cons of pilothouse sailboats again. The marinas...
Rhumb Lines: A Search for Sole Survivors
Inspired by Technical Editor Drew Frye’s dive into sailing shoe durability this month, I recently rummaged through Practical Sailor’s Gear Graveyard to see what I...
Rhumb Lines: Show Highlights from Annapolis
I’ve always enjoyed how the annual Annapolis Sailboat Show offers a glimpse of the future—or at least how gear and boat makers envision the...
Rhumb Lines: Getting a Grip on Random Orbit Sanders
This month’s discussion of random orbit sanders revived fresh memories of last winter’s arduous project removing six layers of paint from the deck of...