You’re familiar with basic mainsail running rigging, right? The halyard hoists it up the mast and the main sheet adjusts the angle of the sail to the hull. Both lines are important but they don’t adjust the aerodynamic shape of the mainsail, which can make a big difference if you want to get the best performance out of your mainsail.
Continue reading “Flatten Your Mainsail Foot With an Outhaul”
I buy a lot of used sailboat hardware on eBay and craigslist.org. The reason is simple, I usually can’t afford new! If you’re reading this and you aren’t independently wealthy then you know how expensive parts and supplies for our boats are. I only buy new when I can get a great discount and buying used isn’t practical or safe. The only way that I can indulge a little in this hobby is by keeping costs at a minimum. That’s why this is called the $tingy Sailor blog, after all.
Continue reading “How to Restore Rusted Parts”
I used to be a little envious of skippers with headsail furlers. They can just pull a line to roll up their headsail at the end of the day. Their headsail stays crisper longer because it doesn’t get folded up and stowed away. To set sail, they can just pull the sheets aft to unfurl the sail in seconds. No more snapping and unsnapping, hoisting and dousing, flaking and rolling. Just pull and go or pull and stop.
If you’re new to trailer sailing, you might be unsure about your trailer’s brake system (or lack thereof). If you own an older trailer, the system could be badly corroded from many wet launches and need repair or replacement. If your trailer doesn’t have a brake system, you might be wondering why and if you should have one. This post gives you the facts you need to trailer safely and legally.
Continue reading “Do it Yourself Trailer Surge Brakes”
Whether or not you’ve replaced your standing rigging, you may be wondering how to adjust it. How tight should the rig be? How can you measure it? After all, what good is great rigging if it isn’t tensioned properly to perform its best?
Continue reading “How To Measure Standing Rigging Tension”
The first mate didn’t care much for the original water pump in the galley of Summer Dance. She uses a lot of water for making coffee in the mornings, sponge baths, or to wash her hair. Pumping that much water by hand with the tiny, manual pump was more trouble than she wants to take when we’re cruising. And she let me know about it. Every cruise.
Continue reading “Upgrade Your Galley With An Electric Water Pump”
Is the propeller on your outboard motor looking a bit worse for wear? Is the paint chipped and is corrosion setting in? It could be time to refinish it before it’s too far gone.
Before I continue, a bit of legal housekeeping. This post contains affiliate links. That means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase using those links. Those commissions help to pay the costs associated with running this site so that it stays free for everyone to enjoy. For a complete explanation of why I’m telling you this and how you can support this blog without paying more, please read my full disclosure.
When we purchased Summer Dance, she had an odd assortment of line colors, mostly the original equipment, run of the mill white with a blue tracer. But the main sheet was white with a red tracer, the jib sheet too, and the genoa sheet was white with a black tracer. None of the colors gave you a clue as to what a line was used for. The halyards in particular were difficult to tell apart unless they were in their proper places.
After you know your sailboat so well that you can sail her in the dark, colors don’t matter, of course. But when you have crew onboard that don’t know your sailboat so well, they need all the help they can get to identify your lines.
Continue reading “Choose Your Running Rigging Colors Logically”
Is there ever enough storage space on our little boats? Maybe if you only day sail. But if you anchor out much, particularly over long holiday weekends or longer, no. Your first mate will probably let you know about it like mine. Often. Yet there is a lot of useful, if difficult to get to space, for example, under the galley. The challenge is to make it easier to use. No doubt, Catalina Yachts left out access doors to this and other spaces in the cabin to keep costs down.
Continue reading “Make a Door for More Storage Under the Galley”
The $tingy Sailor 