How to Raise Your Foresail with a Pendant

If you regularly sail in a busy bay with other boaters, personal watercraft, kite boards, SUP boards, kayaks, and the like, it can get downright dangerous. Would you like to see forward under your foresail better to avoid a collision? A foresail pendant will help you out. It’s a simple little thing to add to…

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Fix That Screeching Main Hatch!

A very common problem with older C-22s is a companionway hatch that screeches when opened or closed. Over the years, the flanges on the sides of the hatch and the teak rails that they slide in wear thin from use. This eventually lowers the hatch until it scrapes against the cabin roof. The sound it…

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Tips To Get Organized Below Deck

It can be tempting to keep every possible item that you might ever need aboard your small sailboat. You know, Boy Scout style, ready for anything. But storage space is very limited and the more you keep aboard, the harder it is to find what you’re looking for. Getting organized below deck not only makes…

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Let Your Boom Off Its Leash With a Topping Lift

The standard equipment C-22 backstay pendant is simple and handy for holding up the boom when the mainsail is lowered. It also works fine to keep the boom more or less centered over the boat when docked or anchored. But it’s not very convenient for shorter crew members to reach and it won’t help you…

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Flatten Your Mainsail Foot With an Outhaul

You’re familiar with basic mainsail running rigging, right? The halyard hoists it up the mast and the main sheet adjusts the angle of the sail to the hull. Both lines are important but they don’t adjust the aerodynamic shape of the mainsail, which can make a big difference if you want to get the best…

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Make This Fold-Up Paper Towel Holder

Meal preparation and cleanup, spills, and children are just a few of the reasons to have a roll of paper towels on board. But a roll can take up a lot of precious shelf space and the roll won’t stay dry for long in a locker exposed to the bilge. What’s the solution? Hang it…

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How to Restore Rusted Parts

I buy a lot of used sailboat hardware on eBay and craigslist.org. The reason is simple, I usually can’t afford new! If you’re reading this and you aren’t independently wealthy then you know how expensive parts and supplies for our boats are. I only buy new when I can get a great discount and buying…

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Headsail Furlers For the Trailer Sailor

I used to be a little envious of skippers with headsail furlers. They can just pull a line to roll up their headsail at the end of the day. Their headsail stays crisper longer because it doesn’t get folded up and stowed away. To set sail, they can just pull the sheets aft to unfurl…

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GPS Tips & Tricks for Sailors

Handheld GPS devices have been around for over 30 years now. If you have one but don’t use it for sailing or if you’d like to try using a GPS but don’t want to buy a more expensive, dedicated, marine GPS, then this is the article for you. I’ll share some of the tips and…

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