Upgrade To a Bimini Top On a Budget
The first mate and I live at around 48 degrees north latitude, which means that we don’t get a lot of hot weather. We have four distinct seasons and enjoy them all. It will get to around 100 degrees for a couple of weeks in August, but that’s as hot as it gets. The rest of the summer is in the 80’s and 90’s.
How to Sew Cabin Cushion Covers
One of the many things that Catalina Yachts did right in building their sailboats was the upholstery: tough fabrics and bomber construction. You have to forgive the colors and patterns. Fashion is, well, fashion. It comes and goes and comes again.
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Fix Those Leaky Windows!
The most common cause of water leaks into the cabin of first generation C-22 sailboats besides the chain plates, are the aluminum frame windows, also called portlights. The silicone that seals the glass to the frame eventually loses its adhesion and elasticity and separates from the glass. Water accumulates in the vinyl glazing channel, which isn’t watertight. The water works its way into the cabin, adding to condensation and causing stains, mildew, and odors.
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How To Bed Hardware With Butyl Tape
When shopping for a used sailboat, one of the most important things to look for is soft or springy spots in the deck. They’re a sure sign that water has seeped into the wooden core and caused rot that’s difficult and expensive to repair. Water damage is also common around the edges of wooden bulkheads, chain plate bolts, and anywhere else that hardware penetrates the exterior fiberglass. There is no easy fix for water damage but preventing it in the first place is quite simple if you seal all penetrations with butyl tape.
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The 6 Worst Things You Can Do To Your Sails
Crisp, clean sails not only look better than dirty, worn out sails, they also work better and let your sailboat heel less. New sails are expensive so it’s smart to take care of the ones you have so that they will last longer before you need to replace them. Here are some simple things that you can avoid doing and that will help your sails to last longer. I’ll also mention a few things that you should make into habits that can prolong the life of your sails.
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On Generosity
This is my annual Christmas post in which I share a bit about my faith and I don’t apologize for it. I’ll return to posting the usual content in the next post. If reading this post would offend you, then … Continue reading On Generosity
How To Add Numbers To a Sail
Have a new mainsail without numbers? An old mainsail with peeling numbers? How about a used mainsail that you bought or that was given to you and has the wrong numbers on it? You can easily replace or add professional-looking numbers to your mainsail without taking it to a sailmaker and I’ll describe how.
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Install a Marine Music System
If you’re a music lover, an onboard music system is mandatory. There’s a mysterious connection between the open waters and music. Whether it’s classical, jazz, rock, country, folk, or reggae, there’s a song for every mood when you’re sailing.
A marine music system lets you take your favorite music with you on the waters. We have them in our homes, in our cars, even in our phones, so we need them on our sailboats. A quality system isn’t difficult to install and it doesn’t have to be expensive.
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How to Reinforce Your Stem Fitting
While removing and rebedding all the deck hardware on Summer Dance with butyl tape, I decided that I would reinforce the stem fitting while I was at it. A popular online Catalina parts retailer’s website says:
Boats built before ’82 had an inherent weakness: The forestay load was forward of the stem fitting’s forward mounting bolts, supported only by the deck, in an area with many holes in a small space, all forward of the marine plywood reinforcement. It is common to see these Catalina 22’s with stem fittings that are being pulled up from the deck.
Deck failure begins by looking like the picture below. Notice the line of cracks just in front of the forward stem fitting bolts.
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The $tingy Sailor 