Save-A-Boat - The Forum for Plastic Classic Rebuilds!

This is more of a rant than a rambling (and maybe a cautionary tale for some). So anyway, I have a 14' Beetlecat which, fot those who do not know, is a small wooden catboat. I moor her in a protected cove near my parent's house on a small 50 pound mooring. This mooring has always been sufficient for...

Jim: Thanks for the link. That is really the kind of design I need and I had not found that page in my previous web browsing. I love the M22 and did speak with the folks at Marshall when I was last in South Dartmouth. They were very helpful but they were certain from prior experience that I would ne...

Larry: My boat is a Herreshoff Eagle which is 22' LOA and 18' LWL. The mast is 32'6". I want the mast to hinge at 12-18" above the gooseneck so that the hinge is above the gaff throat jaws and mast hoops when the main is down. That way, I can drop the mast using the hinge and haul the boat...

I have been thinking of putting a hinge in the mast of my gaff-rigged sloop to make it easier to trailer the boat if I want to. By hinge I mean a hinge that is about 12-18" above the gooseneck and not a hinge at the mast step (this is a gaffer after all). After doing some searching on the net, ...

I did use the Peel Away product a few years ago when my question started this thread. I cannot say it is terrible but given the mixed results I had with it and the expense of the product I would not use it again. If you do choose to use it, test a few small areas first to get a sense of how much you...

That is the greatest. I recently had a similar occurrence with my son -- that is, one where he made me feel good that he loved boats as much as I do. We were at my parent's house and my 2.5yo son and I were looking out onto the bay when someone sailed by in a Hinckley B-40 Yawl. I am not joking when...

An elevator to a crow's nest ....

Tim, maybe you could add that feature to Pixie?!

You might try these folks. I do not know much about them but I know a guy on Cape Cod who says they are a good source of wood for him.

http://www.deepwaterventures.com/

I agree with Tim. I own a traditional catboat (a Beetle Cat) and a gaff-rigged sloop (a Herreshoff Eagle) and I do love the look and sailing characteristics of my gaff-rigged boats for day sails around the bay. However, if I were looking for a boat to do some serious cruising on, a Marconi rig would...

I concur with George; Brion Toss' book is excellent. I also would recommend his video for learning to splice double braid. I believe we are both located in the Portland, ME area and I am happy to loan my copy of the video to you if you like (assuming I can locate it). As far as tools go, for most sp...

Robert has it absolutely right. I purchased the spout because I felt badly that I would spill gasoline in the water every time I filled the 2HP outboard on my dinghy. It really works well.

They need to build jerry jugs with a little 1/4 turn valve at the end of the spout, so that one could actually place the spout in the tank fill before any fuel started pouring out. This seemed so simple...why does such a thing not exist? Tim: As much as I agree that West Marine is the absolute wors...

In my experience, every season I seem to get the rig tuned to what I deem "perfect" about two weeks before hauling out for the winter! Admittedly, I probably fuss over it too much. I have also seen the Brion Toss video on tuning your rig and found it helpful (although, maybe too much infor...

I am not completely clear as to the differences between the two. However, I use a Wichard hook on my tether. I always (okay, almost always) use it when sailing alone and have no complaints. Most importantly, it is very easy to hook and unhook quickly with one hand. I would recommend it.

As you all know from reading this forum, we have had some dreary Spring weather here in Maine. To get excited for the sailing season despite the weather, I recently re-read Joshua Slocum's book Sailing Alone Around the World . It was so great to revisit such a classic that I started thinking about p...