Staying Power – Adding an Inner Forestay
Adding an inner forestay expands sail plan options and can make for better boathandling. When my wife, Ellen, and I began our search for an ocean-going cruising boat, high on our list of requirements...
View ArticleTillers
What’s old is the latest thing Improve performance! Save weight! Save money! Cut down on steering failure and cockpit clutter! Sound like an advertisement? It should be, but it isn’t. Since the tiller...
View ArticleSplit Personality – Dual Duty for Vertical Windlass
A vertical windlass, reimagined, fulfills dual duty as an automatic furler. I stared down at my university packing list. I had been onboard Jasamine since I was two days old and couldn’t help but feel...
View ArticleAutocorrect
It was time for a stronger autopilot, but the install presented interesting challenges. It was a June day, and a gale was blowing. I remember because I spent 18 hours hand-steering Violet Hour, our...
View ArticleThe Grind
Checking your traveler car shackles for wear can prevent unwanted surprises. A week after I happened to watch a young sailor on YouTube repair a Harken traveler car, a fellow Sabre sailor experienced...
View ArticleClear Passage – Moving a Mainsail Traveler
Moving a mainsail sheet traveler track makes for smooth sailing through the companionway. To my mind, there are two types of sailors: racers and cruisers. Racers are intent on tuning their rigging for...
View ArticleA Winch Handle Solution
As I have gotten older, I have found that I am having more difficulty cranking my genoa winches to properly trim my boat’s headsails. The challenge is greatest in the position where I have the least...
View ArticleGetting Loopy
Simple to make, mast loops keep halyard ends tidy and secure. I’ve been looking around at all the improvements you’ve made on Sahula during the past five years,” David said as he climbed back into the...
View ArticleThe Rigger’s Apprentice
How a mast overhaul marked the passing of an icon and a new chapter for a storied rigging loft. The 60-odd-foot aluminum tube, balanced horizontally on a custom two-wheeled cart, bounced and bent...
View ArticleCrew Saver
The ins and outs of replacing your stainless lifelines with synthetic. Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene, abbreviated UHMWPE and best known by the trade names Dyneema and Spectra, is amazing...
View Article