Bootleg Bronze Cleaners
Lest you think multi-billion-dollar chemical companies and their geeks in white lab coats have a lock on cleaning your bronze, there are numerous homebrewed...
Common-Sense Safety Precautions
Most times, cleaning your sailboat is nothing more than a common but necessary chore. But some cleaning jobs require special cleaners and more-than-usual elbow...
Momentum
Excerpted from Maneuver and Dock Your Sailboat Under Power
Throughout this book, we will explain the concept and combine it with real exercises that we will...
No Damage Docking Hacks
Excerpted from Maneuver and Dock Your Sailboat Under Power
RETURNING TO THE DOCK
Time flies when you are sailing, but sadly the moment comes when it is...
Checking for Delamination
Excerpted from Don Casey’s Inspecting the Aging Sailboat
DELAMINATION
Delamination in fiberglass is the functional equivalent of rot in a wooden boat. Well-constructed solid-fiberglass hulls (meaning...
Signs of Stress or Trauma in Fiberglass
Excerpted from Don Casey’s Inspecting the Aging Sailboat
SIGNS OF STRESS OR TRAUMA
Fiberglass generally reveals stress problems with cracks in the gelcoat. The cracks can...
How To Evaluate the Condition of an Older Fiberglass Sailboat
Excerpted from Don Casey’s Inspecting the Aging Sailboat
SURVEYING A BOAT FOR PURCHASE
There aren’t many experiences more ripe with promise than buying a boat. When...
Maximize the Use of Each Sail
Excerpted from How to Sail Around the World
After trying many sails and lots of sail-handling schemes, I have learned which sails to buy and...
3 Things To Check When Under Sail
Excerpted from How to Sail Around the World
A basic problem with sailing vessels is chafe - things rubbing against one another to destruction -...
What Size Boat Can You Handle?
Excerpted from How to Sail Around the World
When searching for a boat to buy, you need to answer a few questions. One is “What...
$40,000 for a 40 Foot Cruiser? The Bristol 40 Reality Check
You can find Bristol 39s and Bristol 40s for around $40,000 — and at first glance, that sounds like one of the best deals...
Latest Sailboat Review
Tartan 33 Used Boat Review
In 1978, Tartan brought out the Tartan Ten, a 33', fairly light, fractionally-rigged "offshore one design." The boat was a huge success: fast, easy to sail, and unencumbered by the design limitations of a rating rule. But the Tartan Ten had one big problem: limited accommodations with stooping headroom, an interior most kindly described as spartan. A hardy crew could take the Tartan Ten on a multi-day race such as the Mackinac, and you might even coax your family aboard for a weekend of camping out. But cruising or extended racing in comfort? Forget it!