Author: $tingy Sailor

Skipper of The $tingy Sailor blog
Keel4 Comments

Refinish Your Swing Keel for Best Performance – Part 2: Cleaning

$tingy Sailor

This post is the continuation of Refinish Your Swing Keel for Best Performance – Part 1: Removing. This week, I describe using hand tools and power tools to remove most of the old coatings and rust, one way to lift and move the keel so you can work on it elsewhere, and the different methods of removing the remaining rust either chemically or by sandblasting to prepare it for fairing. Fairing is the process of making the keel fair, meaning the right shape, smooth, and pretty.

Continue reading “Refinish Your Swing Keel for Best Performance – Part 2: Cleaning”
Book reviews5 Comments

Book Review: Royce’s Sailing Illustrated Volume 1: Tall Ship Edition

$tingy Sailor

I write a lot–it’s my day job. And I read a lot. Consequently, I read quite a bit about sailing and sailboat restoration. I’ve learned a lot of what I know from reading and then backing it up with my own real-world experience. Sharing those experiences is at the core of this blog. In my book (pun intended), book knowledge alone isn’t worth the paper its printed on. Continue reading “Book Review: Royce’s Sailing Illustrated Volume 1: Tall Ship Edition”

Uncategorized1 Comment

15 Perished in US Sailing Tragedies in 2018

$tingy Sailor

Every year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the United States Coast Guard, and the Office of Auxiliary and Boating Safety publish a report of statistics about recreational boating accidents. The 2018 report was just published and there were three fewer sailing deaths than last year and nine fewer than four years ago, definitely a positive trend. I suspect that it is due more to the decline in the popularity of sailing than to increased safety awareness among skippers. Accordingly, the numbers of general boating deaths, accidents, and injuries are down slightly as well. Continue reading “15 Perished in US Sailing Tragedies in 2018”

Book reviews3 Comments

Book Review: 100 Fast & Easy Boat Improvements

$tingy Sailor

Don Casey is the dean of DIY sailboat restoration and improvement in my opinion. He’s a contributing editor of Sail magazine and author of several other books that I’ve reviewed in the past. The sheer expanse of his knowledge and experience comes through in every book. Every subject that he writes about is not only technically correct but also seasoned with advice that only comes from having been there and done that and more than once.

Continue reading “Book Review: 100 Fast & Easy Boat Improvements”

Sewing, Tips14 Comments

A Hotknife for the Rest of Us

$tingy Sailor

When I made my first canvas project, a mainsail cover, I cut out the pieces using scissors as usual. Later, when I made the cabin cushion covers, I discovered how much better a hotknife works for cutting synthetic marine canvas like Sunbrella. Instead of the edges unravelling, they fused solid. That not only makes them easier to work with and prevents getting pieces of thread everywhere, but it also helps to ensure that the seams won’t come loose after years of use and abuse.

Continue reading “A Hotknife for the Rest of Us”
Rigging9 Comments

Upgrade Your Main Sheet to Double Ends

$tingy Sailor

“Double your pleasure, double your fun” used to be the Doublemint gum slogan because of its double strength mint flavoring. You can double the utility of your main sheet by upgrading it to double ends. What you already have, a working end at the fiddle block that attaches to the traveler stays as it is and you can continue to use it from the rear of the cockpit. But instead of the opposite end of the sheet terminating at a becket at the boom block, it continues forward along the boom to a swivel block with a cam cleat over the front of the cockpit. This allows you or another crew member to also trim the main sheet from a forward seating position.

Continue reading “Upgrade Your Main Sheet to Double Ends”