Author: $tingy Sailor

Skipper of The $tingy Sailor blog
Cockpit/stern10 Comments

Make These DIY Cockpit Scupper Grates

$tingy Sailor

 

I have a serious mental condition known as OCD, Obsessive Compulsive DIY syndrome. I see something that needs fixed or replaced and I ask myself, “How can I make that?”

The other night, I had an OCD attack and I just needed to go out in my shop and make something with my hands. It was one of those days when nothing else seemed to go right. For me, it’s cathartic to turn raw materials into something practical and/or beautiful.

I decided to make cockpit scupper grates to replace the flimsy, afterthought-designed, original grates. They were corroded, bent, and wouldn’t stay glued in place for long. Continue reading “Make These DIY Cockpit Scupper Grates”

Sails, Sewing2 Comments

How to Flatten the Luff of that Baggy Old Sail

$tingy Sailor

Do you have one or more old sails that, after you hoist them fully, have scallops and wrinkles along the luff like in the picture above? Or do you have to winch them flat or overtighten your backstay? Instead of a flat, smooth leading edge, those wrinkles disrupt airflow and rob your sail’s performance. If the sail has a polyester bolt rope in the luff and not wire rope, you can fix that yourself for almost no cost other than about an hour of your time. And you won’t have to take the sail to a sail loft, wait days or weeks to get it fixed, and drop a Benjamin or more out of your wallet.

Continue reading “How to Flatten the Luff of that Baggy Old Sail”
Product reviews, Rigging6 Comments

Product Review: Barton Marine Winchers

$tingy Sailor

Do you have winch envy? I mean do you wish you had shiny new self-tailing winches like on bigger and newer sailboats? It’s easy if you think about how you have to go to the extra effort to cleat off your sheet on every tack when the other guys only have to give them another wrap. Depending on the position and type of the cleats on your sailboat, that can be frustrating.
Continue reading “Product Review: Barton Marine Winchers”

Tips8 Comments

The 6 Best Sources for Sailboat Parts and Supplies

$tingy Sailor

This blog is big on saving money while doing restoration and improvement projects. I’ve literally saved a boat load of money by doing almost all projects myself, buying gently used parts, and shopping for bargains online. As of the time I wrote this post, I’ve saved over $10,000 compared to the suggested retail price of the parts and supplies that I actually used. If that sounds incredibly high, consider Chip Ford who has spent over $40,000 on his C-22 and is now trying to sell it. Boy, I hope he doesn’t have regrets. Good luck, Chip!

Continue reading “The 6 Best Sources for Sailboat Parts and Supplies”
Plumbing1 Comment

Move Your Galley Drain Valve for Better Gray Water Control

$tingy Sailor

You’re sailing along on a reach at 4 knots with a steady wind on your beam. The sails are trimmed perfectly, there’s no weather helm, and the boat is in perfect balance. The sky is clear and the sun is shining but it’s not uncomfortably hot. Your first mate is below deck reading lazily in one of the berths. You lean back over the coaming a bit as you watch the clinometer inch past 15 degrees and you build more speed. It’s one of those dream days when everything comes together perfectly on the water and it feels like you could sail to China effortlessly. Your eyes scan up the telltales, all perfectly streaming aft. It doesn’t get any better than this. This is why you came. This is why you sail. Continue reading “Move Your Galley Drain Valve for Better Gray Water Control”

Book reviews6 Comments

Book Review: Thoughts, Tips, Techniques & Tactics for Singlehanded Sailing

$tingy Sailor

I’ve mentioned here several times in passing that I sail primarily single-handed. That doesn’t mean that I always sail alone. Usually, the first mate is with me but she’s the hands-off type. Oh, she’ll take the tiller if I ask her to in light winds while I attend to something outside the cockpit but she’s no threat to my skippership and that’s okay with me.
Continue reading “Book Review: Thoughts, Tips, Techniques & Tactics for Singlehanded Sailing”