Dad, Boo Boo, and I pose with the dinghy he built in the living room.

My dad, the boatbuilder

Not every child is raised alongside a yawl Issue 97 : Jul/Aug 2014 My brother, Boo Boo, materialized in a crib in the dining room in 1964 about the time Dad birthed a boat in the living room. Dad had to take the boat apart to get it out the front door. After reassembling the...

Ann Lee Miller

May 14, 2026

“Simpy elegant” describes the Oxford Dinghy, on facing page, and it’s not hard to understand how even non-sailors would be drawn to it, especially upon seeing the richly varnished woodwork, at right. With its trailer, it’s ready to sail on any inviting patch of water, below.

Roadside seduction

May 14, 2026

Learning the ropes 2.0

May 12, 2026

Stars in the water

May 12, 2026

In the early days of the Neenah Yacht Club, members raced sandbaggers, top two photos, a class that evolved from the oyster boats of New Jersey. The races drew large numbers of spectators, many of them aboard steamboats, at left. Sandbaggers were a “development” class, and building new boats to stay competitive was expensive. To reduce the cost of sailing, a group formed the Nodaway Yacht Club and sailed “one-design” boats, the first of which was the Nodaway Class cat yawl, above, introduced in 1894.

Pioneers of Lake Winnebago

May 12, 2026

Finding Heidi

May 12, 2026

Once she discovered sailing, Lisa, here at the helm of Escape, found it brought back fond memories of time spent on the water with her father.

Falling in love with sailing

May 11, 2026

A heavy-weather lesson

May 11, 2026

Labels can divide us

May 8, 2026

Lanyard step by step Start with a length of line 12 times the finished length of the lanyard and cut it in half. To begin the knot, pass the two lines through the ring in opposite directions (PHOTO 1). The most difficult part of the lanyard is tying the first knot (PHOTOS 2 and 3). Tie it as shown and pull it tight (PHOTO 4). Once this knot is done, repeat the process until the lanyard is complete. Note that one of the lines always passes over the top of the two center lines while the other always passes beneath them. (Normally, the lines won’t be different colors as in the photos, and it is not always easy to keep track of which line passes on top. I tie a small knot at the end of the top line to keep them straight.) Work the knots tight and stop knotting when the lanyard is the right length (PHOTO 5). To finish, cut the ends off each of the lines, leaving about 1⁄8 inch, and use a cigarette lighter to melt the remaining ends (PHOTO 6). (While they are still hot, I press the ends flush with my finger. Alternatively, I sometimes put a drop of clear glue on each end and trim them once the glue has dried.)

Lanyards: the sailor’s keepsafes

Use them for handles, tethers, and tie-downs Issue 97 : Jul/Aug 2014 We have dozens of lanyards aboard Nine of Cups. We use them on pelican hooks, zippers, key rings, flashlights, and even USB flashdrives. I’ve used a lanyard knot with very fine line to make jewelry. I once used a variation of it to...

David Lynn

May 14, 2026

Sextant Reflections

Celestial bodies have lost their star appeal Issue 97 : Jul/Aug 2014 I was in my early twenties when I first learned about celestial navigation. I had an interest in astronomy as a kid, was a fairly knowledgeable amateur astronomer as a teenager, and majored in astronomy in college. So when I joined the Navy,...

Henry Cordova

May 14, 2026