Sails, Rigging & Deck Gear

How frequently do you bother removing spreader boots and taping to check the condition of the spreaders and rigging? No matter how well the spreader ends are protected, and whether you use ready-made vinyl spreader boots or conventional rigging tape, water will get through to the fittings inside. On a boat used in salt water, the atmosphere's corrosive nature can cause rapid disintegration of aluminum fittings (nevermind the fact that the spreaders might be 25 feet or more off the water). The thorough taping job you did on the spreader ends may actually accelerate the problem by holding in water.

Unobtainium is the metal at the top of every Naval Architect’s wish list. It’s a perfect marine material; light, strong, stiff yet flexible—it’s as...

An anchor trip line is a stout line connected from the after end of the anchor fluke to a marker buoy so that the...

Outboard powered boats can be slow to respond when maneuvering around the docks at low speed. With no prop wash over the rudder, it...

It was snowing and I needed a project. Ever since the article on cross sheeting, “Where Winches Dare Go,” I’ve been wanting to add...

I can’t leave a boat that’s yawing. I can’t sleep. Each time I’ve had an anchor fail suddenly it was caused by excessive yawing....

Sailboat cockpits will happily collect spaghetti if we let them, each sheet, halyard, and new control line adding to the confusion. The chaos is...

If a line does not approach a cam cleat close to level, the line may slip out or be hard to cleat or release....

Self-adhesive hardware-store hooks don’t stick well to bare fiberglass. Just last week we had one wash into the bilge-pump strainer on our test boat....

In the early 2000s, Dyneema was a breakthrough lifeline material. It is as strong as steel and much lighter, inexpensive, simple to install (at...