Archives
Murrelet is a very endearing little boat. I was fortunate enough to help her owner, Bertram, step and unstep her mast this summer. It is accompanied by a different video approach than past Resourceful Sailor pieces. It is about using a tripod to step Murrelet‘s mast in the launch ramp parking lot. Thank you to Monica and ‘Lectronic Latitude for publishing The Resourceful Sailor: Stepping a Small Boat Mast With a Tripod… Read More
Thanks to Sugar Flanagan from Alcyone, Erik Brown from Left Coast Charters, and Bertram Levy from the neighborhood for helping make this happen. And thanks to Monica and ‘Lectronic Latitude for ACTUALLY making this happen. It is a charming story of a big boat helping a small boat remove its mast in Port Townsend. One classic and one neo-classic, both are well-cared-for wooden boats and pleasant to look at. But it’s not… Read More
Have you ever skyed a halyard on your sailboat? Not yet? Give it time. Here we go again…‘Lectronic Latitude, the online version of Latitude 38, was kind enough to publish another Resourceful Sailor article called The Resourceful Sailor: Skyed Halyard Retrieval Made Easy for their September 13, 2024 issue and I really appreciate it. And there’s a video to boot. It discusses how I retrieve a skyed halyard on Sampaguita, a Pacific… Read More
I decided to climb the mast in the North Pacific Ocean. There were light seas and wind. I was under full sail. Here is some video and the lessons learned. It was harder than I expected. I’d done it in a rolly anchorage, but this was a whole other level of sway and swing. (It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing, right?)
Greetings fellow humans, There is something called the La Paz Waltz. It’s a cheeky way of describing how different boats swing at anchor here in La Paz, Mexico. The music starts when strong wind and current oppose each other. While dancing is fine, kissing is a bit more risque. My neighbors this past Sunday were at it. They may have been smooching. It was a little difficult to tell from my angle,… Read More
Thank you to Monica, ‘Lectronic Latitude, and Latitude 38 for publishing the latest Resourceful Sailor installment, The Resourceful Sailor Makes Rigging Alignment a Top Priority, on January 23, 2023. Also a thank you to Port Townsend Rigging for all of their support on the overhaul of Sampaguita’s mast in 2021. Click below for the full story. Thanks for reading. https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/2023/03/27/#resourceful-sailor-adding-propane-tank-small-boat
A new Resourceful Sailor Series installment is here! After a rig refit, the mast of Sampaguita, a Pacific Seacraft Flicka 20, needed to go back up. Could it be done at the dock? Could it be done single-handed? You betcha. Latitude 38‘s online magazine, ‘Lectronic Latitude, has published “Raising the Mast of a Small Sailboat with the Resourceful Sailor – The Solo Version” on December 17, 2021. This article and video go… Read More
More Video! Check out the new Resourceful Sailor Series piece, “Lowering The Mast Of A Small Boat,” published by Latitude 38’s online magazine, ‘Lectronic Latitude. In this one I highlight an advantage to going small by lowering the deck-stepped mast of Sampaguita, a Pacific Seacraft Flicka 20 at the dock. No cranes, no fees, and if you are really ambitious you can do it single-handed. It does take some set-up, research, and… Read More
After lowering the mast on Sampaguita, my 1985 Flicka 20, disassembly was next. All was well until the shroud and stay tang assemblies. Even installed, I could see there was galvanic activity where the stainless steel tangs met the aluminum mast. Since the tangs share the same loads as the chainplates, and I would be removing and inspecting those, it made sense to do likewise with the tangs. The mast was 34… Read More
It’s time to do some work on the Sampaguita, starting with the mast. I had the mast down in 2014 for some minor work, but there will be a bit more going on this time around. The last time I lowered it, I had to ask for some help when it was about halfway down. This time I was able to do it by myself thanks to Bruce Bingham’s, The Sailor’s Sketchbook…. Read More
sailingwithjosh
Sailing With Josh 