The remote control Darren ordered came as two components: the hand-held transmitter and a control box to mount beside the windlass controls, at top of page. Darren liked that this remote had a recessed on/off switch (red button) and an indicator light that shows it is on. The small control box for the remote fit neatly to the left of the larger windlass control box, at right. The yellow and white control wires that pair to the original green and white wires from the windlass control switch are easy to see.

Anchor windlass remote

Marital harmony restored at a bargain non-marine price Issue 105 : Nov/Dec 2015 After our first summer in our Benford 40 schooner, one of the items high on the refit list was upgrading the control for the windlass. Although raising the anchor with the electric windlass was luxurious compared to hauling it manually, the only...

Darren Bos

April 28, 2026

Sailing downwind driven by her square sail, Britannia rules the waves, at top.

Rollaway square sail

April 28, 2026

Industrial sewing machines are made of metal and have few, if any, plastic parts, top of page. Leslie’s machine is fitted with a portable motor, cogged monster wheel and hand crank, and a strong wooden case. For sail work, it must be able to sew straight and zigzag stitches, above left. Different materials and fabric assemblies are best accommodated by a variety of presser feet, above right.

Sail-repair essentials

April 28, 2026

Even in her least favorite conditions, light air, Mug Up strikes an eye-catching stance in Gloucester Harbor, above. Give her some heavy air and sea room, Mark says, and she’s off like a thoroughbred. The name is appropriate to the hailing port, at right. “Mug up” was the Gloucester fishermen’s break for coffee — perhaps with a dollop of rum on cold days.

Mug Up, a 46-foot Bowman yawl

April 28, 2026

Speaker? What speaker? top left. Jim had already glued his cover over it and couldn’t take a “before” photo, but the founding editors have a similar protruding speaker back on their C&C 30, also in the head, above. Luckily for them, it’s in a locker and not in plain view on the bulkhead, and the unsightly speaker and wire that Jim so expertly covered on Sundew are less obvious.

Disguising a speaker

April 27, 2026

Thirty-something years of cruising fills a yard or so of bookshelf in Ed and Ellen’s pied-a-terre in Arizona, at top. Entr’acte’s ship’s log is a simple 10 1⁄2 x 8, hardbound, lined office journal. Ed and Ellen buy several at a time to ensure uniformity and make certain they do not run short. Their inside pages, at right, are filled with details of every day that passed on board.

The Ship’s Log

A daily duty records a lifetime of memories Issue 105 : Nov/Dec 2015 I am sitting in front of the fire doing research for an upcoming ocean passage. I like to study the passages of others. What routes did they take? Which months? Did they make good choices and, more important, did their planning result...

Ed Zacko

April 28, 2026

Slither me timbers!

April 27, 2026

Even when Cyndi and her husband, Scott (standing on the right), far left, owned her, Barracuda was rebellious, though she taught Cyndi to sail, near left. A previous owner had been Gerry Speiss, above and below left, who was famous for sailing east across the Atlantic in his homebuilt 10-foot plywood boat. His wife, Sally, sent the photos of Gerry and of Barracuda in her unmistakable tan livery, at right.

BARRACUDA’S last breakout

April 27, 2026

The Caledonian, a scaled-down replica of a Revolutionary War-era vessel, is a reenactor ship. Her website listing says she made $20,000 taking part in celebrations in the Great Lakes that marked the bicentennial of the War of 1812.

Can Sailing Pay Its Own Bills?

April 24, 2026

For reaching and downwind courses or for heaving-to, Ed and Ellen sheet the trysail off centerline using one sheet for each tack, top of page. The sheets must be long enough to cross over the boom. Lazy-jacks, if fitted, would require them to be longer.

The storm trysail

April 23, 2026

Hometown sailor or commuter sailor?

April 23, 2026

A boat acquires its characteristic aroma over the years, from the materials its built from — paint, varnish, fuel, the meals cooked on board, and the people who’ve lived aboard. Michael’s daughters, Eleanor (12) and Frances (9), know the sweet smell of home.

Scent of a good old boat

April 23, 2026

A cheap plywood sailing dinghy built on deck in the lagoon at St. Martin gave Ben the knowledge to manage his own small boat, yet an empty aluminum dinghy could have taken his life in the Bahamas.

Dinghy drama

April 22, 2026

Double your pleasure

April 22, 2026

Cliff stows the downhaul line on a stanchion cleat at the cockpit, far left. The downhaul leads through stanchion blocks, inset, all the way to the bow pulpit. He clips it to the head of the sail with a snap shackle, above.

Taming a hanked-on headsail

A downhaul is a singlehander’s foredeck crew Issue 105 : Nov/Dec 2015 A friend of mine told me about an incident he witnessed in which the jib furler on a 54-foot sailboat jammed. “You haven’t laughed until you’ve been on a big boat in a rising wind with a jammed furler,” he said, grimacing with...

Cliff Moore

April 28, 2026

A simple slab-reefing system has a reef hook for the luff cringle and a line for securing the clew. A straight reef hook can be fastened at the gooseneck, for a two-line system, or used in conjunction with a block to haul down the luff cringle in a single-line reefing system. A ram’s horn reef hook on the gooseneck is more secure than a straight hook.

Mainsail Reefing 101

Variations on taking in a slab of sail Issue 105 : Nov/Dec 2015 A sail is reefed to reduce its area so it will not overpower the boat in stronger winds. Of the many reefing systems used, slab or jiffy reefing is the most common and most traditional for a sail set on a boom,...

Don Launer

April 28, 2026