How do you step the mast on your trailerable sailboat, with a gin pole? With the trailer winch? With the help of friends or family? With your fingers crossed? No single system works for every sailboat or for every skipper. If you’re new to mast stepping, you don’t like your current method, or you just…
Tag: mast
Beware of Galvanic Corrosion!
Galvanic corrosion is what happens when dissimilar metals are in contact within an electrolyte and an electrical current is applied. That’s the technical definition. The practical description is it’s the white stuff that grows around your stainless steel fasteners in your aluminum mast and boom when you are around salt water.
Product Review: Loos Tension Gauge
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?
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…
Build Your Own Mast Gates
In order for any mainsail reefing system to work correctly with a mast that has a slug opening for bending on the mainsail, there should be a way to prevent the sail slugs from falling out of the opening when you reef the sail. If they fall out, somebody has to guide them back in when you let the…
