Sails Canvas

Try a Barber Hauler for Better Sail Trim

If you can't position the jib clew exactly where you want it on all courses and in all weather, a barber hauler should be...

Verifying Material of Mystery Ropes

When buying rope from a store you verify its source with a glance at the spool and learn its composition, elasticity, and other characteristics...

Online Help for Autumn

It's getting to be that time of year, when many skippers haul out or head south. Fall also heralds the beginning of boat show...

A Custom-fitted Clew Strap

After settling on the material, one of the most basic mainsail design questions is whether to have an attached foot or loose-foot. A sail...

Make Your Own Over-the-Boom Riding Sail

Delighted with the performance of the over-the-boom riding sail, we decided to make our own. To measure, we outlined the proposed sail area with -inch...

Rest Easy with a Riding Sail

Even when your anchor is well designed and ideally matched to your boat, there are four common factors that can cause an anchor to...

Sails and Summer Projects

While most of us are-hopefully-out sailing this summer, we know that many sailors are busy with system upgrades, do-it-yourself projects, and the usual marine...

Long-term Clear Vinyl Protection

When the clear vinyl on one of our multihull test boats began to crack and fade after approximately 10 years, the costs estimates for...

Making Sail Repairs Last

Polyester has long been the workhorse sail fabric; durable, easy to sew and handle, and relatively stretch resistant. It is also relatively easier to...

Anti-Seize Coatings for Spars

If you've ever been humbled by a single impossibly stuck fastener, or plan on adding hardware to your spar, running gear, or deck, this...

J Boats J/9 Sailboat Review and Boat Tour

Are you interested in a fast day sailor? The 28 foot sailboat J/9 from J Boats boasts the most comfortable J cockpit ever on...

Latest Sailboat Review

Tartan 37 Used Boat Review

The Tartan 37 is a moderately high performance, shoal-draft cruiser built between 1967 and 1988 by Tartan Marine, a company that helped usher in...