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The Solent Has Its Own Stay!

A stay that gets its name from a strait separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland of southern England, the Solent. This traditionally windy place with strong currents can cause rough sea conditions and can make for some interesting sailing, to say the least. This body of water is also famous for hosting one of sailing’s largest events known as Cowes Week. These…

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How to Tune a Sailboat Mast

Here are some general guidelines for tuning your mast’s standing rigging. Please see our blog on how to properly adjust a turnbuckle before you begin. As always we recommend seeking the advice of a professional rigger for more specific tips and tricks regarding tuning your boat’s rigging. Your boat must be in the water. Begin by just slacking off all of…

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Winches

The three big winch  players are Harken, Lewmar, and Andersen. Selden is also trying to make a splash in the production winch market. Almost all of these manufacturers offer different drum finishes from anodized aluminum, stainless steel, and chrome plated bronze (even unchromed bronze upon special request). So what are some of the other differences? One of the number one companies in…

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A Whisker Pole System

Using a whisker pole that is sized and configured properly, can make sailing by the lee stable and comfortable. Usually downwind sailing, specifically in light air, can feel a bit sluggish and sloppy. Some of us feel that flying a spinnaker is too much work and that a lot can go wrong quickly.  So what can we do when we have to do…

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Schaefer Furlers, Quality…..

……and reliability, that has withstood the test of time. Schaefer Headsail Furlers are definitely in a class of their own. Boasting some of the similar features of the Harken units, but to only improve upon them (see our archives). Don’t get me wrong I love Harken furlers, but if you want to spend some extra bucks for heavy…

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The Integral Backstay Adjuster

Integral backstay adjusters can play a big role in how a boat sails. Being able to adjust the backstay tension from the pump of a handle can be useful on cruisers just as much as racers. We all need to make general changes to the boats trim depending on wind and wave conditions in order…

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Spar Finishes

Today’s spars are usually made of composite carbon fiber or aluminum extrusions. Both of these mast materials, just like old wooden masts, require a finish. Whereas wooden masts were typically coated with a clear varnish, they could also be found painted. These more traditional finishes were typically brush applied or rolled and tipped. Spray finishes became…

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Boat Rope

The vast U.S. cordage market allows us to have several competitive options including; Robline, New England, Samson, Yale, and Marlow Ropes, just to name a few. Each one of these manufacturers provide various rope constructions utilizing different materials to allow the consumer to achieve different functions based on application. All of the jargon like Spectra, Dyneema, Vectran, Kevlar, Technora, Dacron, Double Braid, Single Braid,…

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How to Service Your Winches

Some winches are more difficult to service than others. If you do not know what to expect, certain parts, depending on manufacturer, can come sliding out at inopportune times and jump overboard! I happen to know this from personal experience and if you are really unlucky (like I was) then it may be a part from a vintage…

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How to Stow Your Inner Fore-Stay

Stowing the inner stay appears to be quite the challenge sometimes. All too many times I have seen systems that are either over complicated, under engineered or are just plain ineffective. Below I describe a method that is very straight forward, simple and effective.  Almost in every case imaginable, the inner stay storage bridle, is the key…