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Boat Doctor
2019 April 1 - 12:00 am
Dear Boat Doctor, I have owned my Tartan 37 for more than 25 years, first on freshwater and now in the Chesapeake and the Bahamas. I love saltwater, but it is eating my boat. What can I do to keep th
Technique
2019 March 7 - 12:00 am

Start the season right by getting your hull sparkling clean

Spring cleaning is a ritual, but when it comes to boats it’s often a necessity. Before you launch for the season is often the only and best opportunity to get a boat sparkling clean. But that kind o
Technique
2019 January 1 - 12:00 am

In a nod to our annual retrofitting issue, we are featuring several projects to inspire and consider for your own boat

Upgrading cockpit canvas Canvas can add a lot of creature comfort to a boat. It helps keep sailors warm and dry and provides relief from the beating sun. But that same canvas can be a real bother s
Technique
2018 October 1 - 12:00 am

Learn to make lashings and grommets with high-tech line

In about a decade, Dyneema (sometimes called Spectra, both are trade names for the same material) has gone from a gee whiz high-tech marvel to common place on many boats. It started out replacing wire
Boat Doctor
2018 June 1 - 12:00 am
Dear Boat Doctor, My winches desperately need to be lubricated, and it’s been more than a few years since I’ve done it. A friend told me to use wheel bearing grease but cautioned me not to use it
Boat Doctor
2018 May 31 - 12:00 am
Dear Boat Doctor, I just bought a new-to-me Beneteau 40 with a PSS dripless prop shaft seal. I appreciate the dry bilge, but those little set screws holding the sealing collar in place make me nervou
Boat Doctor
2018 April 1 - 12:00 am
I recently bought a Passport 47, and it’s in really good shape but a bit of the running rigging is tired. I need to replace the mainsheet and I have questions on the running backstays. First off, what type of line should I use for the mainsheet? It is just regular double braid now and the guy at the chandlery suggested Dyneema, so I am not sure what to use. Second, the boat has running backstays, do I need to use those all the time? They are made of wire and hard to handle, they tend to rub on my nice new mainsail too. Can you shed some light on this?
Boat Doctor
2018 January 1 - 12:00 am
I’d like to install some USB ports to charge phones and tablets on my boat. I have a J/35 built in 1986, so the entire interior has exactly one 12-volt receptacle built into the electrical panel next to the starboard quarterberth. I’m OK with that, but my kids seem to run their iPods all the time, so I need a way to charge them without fighting over the single receptacle. My thought was to install two USB ports, one going forward to the V-berth and one over to the port quarter berth. How do I connect them to the electrical system?
Boat Doctor
2017 October 1 - 12:00 am
Dear Boat Doctor, At the tail end of a recent cruise, I went to start the engine and heard the distinct thud of a dead battery. But when I checked the batteries, all was well. I tried the starter aga
Boat Doctor
2017 September 1 - 12:00 am
Dear Boat Doctor, I am having a problem with a dock line. The distance between the cleat and the chock is about 4 feet, long enough that the elasticity in the dock line “works” enough at the choc
Boat Doctor
2017 September 1 - 12:00 am
Dear Boat Doctor,I just got a new RIB, and I am looking for the best way to manage navigation lights on it. I’d like something mountable that won’t eat through batteries. Any ideas? Shane William
Technique
2017 September 1 - 12:00 am

Avoid the feeling of a wheel loose in your hands with routine steering system checks, before it breaks

 My definition of “boat” entails three essential capabilities—flotation, propulsion and steering. If you lose one of these, things are going to get difficult. We all know about keeping the water out, the rig up, and engine working, but we tend to take steering for granted. I have had a wheel go loose in my hands, and I can attest to the helpless feeling that accompanies it.
Boat Doctor
2017 June 1 - 12:00 am
Dear Boat Doctor,
I decided to upgrade my head to a new electric model. I chose a new model with the pump integrated into the base and it fits in the same spot as my old head. I followed the instructions to place a vented loop in the seawater inlet line to prevent the head from siphoning water and flooding the boat.

Perry on Design

  • Bob Perry gives the interior of a 1998 Farr-designed racer a makeover for offshore sail training

  • This next gen racer-cruiser is elegantly fast

  • A comfy cruiser with loads of interior space has options to suit many

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