Seattle Boat Show 2015 – Operation Foghorn
For a stingy sailor, boat shows are like going undercover as a spy. You can walk the aisles of exhibits and tour fancy new yachts looking like any other potential buyer but in reality, you represent the antithesis of the new yacht shopper. You’re a mole from the other side, the kind of owner that keeps their aged sailboat, fixes it up, and maintains it in top condition. You’re just there out of curiosity and to get ideas for cool projects to do on your own boat back home. Yacht salespeople would hate us a little if they knew who we really are, top-secret spies.
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How to Add Coachwhipping to Your Tiller Handle
Want to add a decorative grip to the handle of your tiller? It’s not hard to do in a couple of hours and almost free with a few scraps of canvas and/or cord you may have lying around.
Coachwhipping is one of those little touches you can add to your sailboat to give it a more old-school, handcrafted look. It harkens back to a time when sailboats were made almost entirely out of wood and lashing parts together with rope was the norm. It’s a nice contrast to all the sterile fiberglass and stainless steel used on modern yachts and boosts your seaworthy credibility (or at least gives that illusion). Learning the knots and braids is fun. It’s a great way to spend time on a cold winter evening near the wood stove while the snow is falling.
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Dinner Invitation for Seattle Boat Show Attendees
Are you going to the Seattle Boat Show 2015 on Friday, January 30th? If so, and you’d like to meet up with other stingy sailors for a casual, Dutch treat dinner, join us at the Cask and Trotter restaurant at 711 Westlake … Continue reading Dinner Invitation for Seattle Boat Show Attendees
Ten Most Popular DIY Projects of 2014
Merry Christmas to all you stingy sailors out there! I hope you are enjoying a warm celebration of the reason for the season with family and friends. That’s what’s going on here at The $tingy Sailor home port, but this is … Continue reading Ten Most Popular DIY Projects of 2014
Improve Sail Shape and Performance with a Leech Line
Before I dive in to the main topic of this post, I want to wish all you stingy sailors out there a Happy Thanksgiving Day. Even if you don’t live in the US or don’t normally celebrate this holiday, I hope you can take some time today to express your gratitude for the blessings in your life with those around you that you love. Whether it’s good health, a loving family, a job that pays the bills, or just fond memories, we can all find something to be thankful for.
Let’s face it, if you’re reading this blog and you either already own a sailboat or are just thinking about getting one, you’re more prosperous than most of the people on our planet. I urge you to look for ways to share your prosperity with those who are less fortunate. On to the project!
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Important Address Change Announcement
It’s official. The $tingy Sailor blog now has its own domain name, stingysailor.com. In part due to your nudges, I registered the domain name this week. You can now forget the wordpress.com domain part and simply type stingysailor.com in your browser’s address bar to get here. If you have the old address bookmarked in your browser, it will continue to work and will redirect you to the new address or you can update it with the new address. If you haven’t bookmarked this site yet, now is a good time to do it. Then you can get here with a click anytime you want. It won’t get any simpler than that. Continue reading “Important Address Change Announcement”
A Special Message from the Skipper
A hearty Ahoy! to all you stingy sailors out there who have followed this blog this year. I’m not sharing a project with you this week to pass along a few personal comments and ask for your opinion. Continue reading “A Special Message from the Skipper”
Storm Damage to Summer Dance Repaired
After Summer Dance was badly damaged in a freak storm, the first mate and I doubted whether we would get her back in the water before the end of the sailing season. I didn’t know how I was going to fix her, whether I could do the work, or whether our insurance claim would pay enough to have the work done professionally. The DIYer in me wanted to save money and learn how to lay up fiberglass. But looking at the complexity of the damage and how long it would take a novice like me to fix it only reinforced the reality that if we wanted to sail again this year, the damage would have to be repaired by professionals.
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How to Add an Anchor Light For Less
Early on in our sailing career, the first mate and I discovered that we really enjoy anchoring out overnight. The bays in the North Idaho lakes where we cruise are surrounded by snow-capped mountains, covered by crystal clear starry skies, and afford plenty of privacy. The problem was, Summer Dance didn’t have an anchor light, which is a shame because according to the original invoice that I have, it would have only cost $36 in 1981 when she was built. Not even $tingy Sailor can add one that cheaply today.
The $tingy Sailor 