This post is the continuation of Refinish Your Swing Keel for Best Performance – Part 2: Cleaning. I will describe common keel defects, the fairing system I used, sealing a freshly sandblasted keel, applying body filler to build up an accurate hydrodynamic foil shape, and paying extra attention to the shape of the leading edge of the keel.
Continue reading “Refinish Your Swing Keel for Best Performance – Part 3: Fairing”
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”
2019 was another exciting year here at The $tingy Sailor!
Looking out my office window at gray skies and still waters days before Christmas Day, I’m in a melancholy mood. Those of you who have followed this blog for at least one year know that I only mention my Christian … Continue reading Faith And Fair Winds
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”
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”
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”
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”
No matter how well organized your gear is in your lazarettes, it doesn’t help you to hold the lazarette lids open while you dig that gear out. It’s not so bad with small items like a hank of rope or a fender but larger items that take two hands like a BBQ grill or an outboard fuel tank will leave you one hand short.
The $tingy Sailor 