How To Repair a Rudder

Rudders damage easily. Although they work similar to a keel, they aren’t nearly as tough. If you dry sail, the edges can accumulate nicks and dings in the fiberglass from loading and unloading. The rudders of some sailboats can hit the outboard motor’s propeller if you’re not careful. Add in accidental groundings, storage damage, and stress cracks…

Read More

Stingy’s Used Sailboat Buying Guide

If you’ve already been sailing for a while on a friend’s or a family member’s sailboat, then you probably have a good idea of what you want and what to look for. But if you’re relatively new to the sport and shopping for your first used sailboat, it can be a daunting task. There are a…

Read More

Free Triple Axle Trailer

Tom Blanchard was a stingy sailor and an avid reader of this blog for years. Tom dreamed of sailing with his wife Deborah off the coast of Virginia in a classic Herreshoff 28 ketch that he would restore himself. But before that could happen, Tom died of a brain tumor.

The Essentials You Should Have in Your Onboard Toolbox

Some of us were Boy Scouts back in the day and we learned to be prepared. For the rest of us, we might not have gotten the lesson. Are you prepared for a gear failure aboard your sailboat? If you cruise offshore or in remote locations like I do, you could be many miles from…

Read More

How to Rig a Self-Tacking Jib for Free!

You may not have seen or even heard of a self-tacking jib before. They’re usually only found on luxury sailboats. But that’s exactly what one is, a headsail that sheets itself when you tack. You don’t have to cast off the working sheet and haul in the lazy sheet on every tack. In fact, after…

Read More

Top 10 DIY Projects of 2020

2020 was another exciting year here at The $tingy Sailor with new all-time records: >2,200,000 page views from 139 countries >50,000 monthly page views in August >2,800 page views in one day in June >200 articles, most of which are projects >3,300 subscribers I’m very grateful and humbled that you have continued to visit, read,…

Read More

Unintimidated

What a year it’s been, right? For me, it’s gone by fast. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long since I wrote Is COVID-19 Keeping You Off The Water? In another sense, everything seems to have slowed down and some plans have been put on hold or canceled. We definitely live in a very…

Read More

Refinish Your Interior Teak to Better Than New

One of the things about older sailboats that I appreciate most is their abundance of teak woodwork. As a woodworker, I admire good craftsmanship, creative design, and a fine finish. It’s harder to find on today’s modern sailboats. Teak is in short supply so it’s more expensive than it once was and most modern sailors…

Read More

Sew Your Own Winch Covers From Scraps

Do you keep your lovingly maintained sailboat in a slip or on a mooring ball but want to protect your hard work from the elements as much as possible? Covers on your winches can protect the plated parts from corrosion, plastic parts from UV damage, bearings and pawls from rainwater and salt water spray, and keep…

Read More