Repair & Maintenance
See KKMI at the Boat Show
See KKMI in Booth BU1 April 4-7
Hidden Boat Maintenance Issues
Do you know boatyard discharge has to be cleaner than drinking water? The water coming out of the hose going into the Bay is illegal. The same water from the same tap going into our water bottle is deemed safe for human consumption.
The Gennaker Tack, Part 2
Resourceful sailor Joshua Wheeler was looking for an easier way to handle his gennaker while sailing shorthanded. “I reinserted the D-shackle into the chain splice lead I had carefully kept intact and reinstalled the shackle to its original point on the cranse iron. More »
The Gennaker Tack, Part 1
I had been sailing Sampaguita, my 1985 Pacific Seacraft Flicka 20, for five years with a tedious setup for the gennaker, which meant I would rarely use it. The question I eventually asked myself was, “How do I modify the cranse iron on the bow to accommodate the gennaker tack for efficient flying and jibing of the sail?” After crewing on a few race boats, I picked up some ideas on how to improve Sampaguita’s setup. More »
Answers to Two Questions
Latitude Nation — Two things:
Mystery (Boat) Solved!
On the mystery boat ID, the consensus seems to be that it’s a Lyle Hess-designed Balboa 20. There were certainly a few other guesses — a Cal 20 and O’Day among them — but using a majority-rule standard, and after seeing some pictures of multiple vessels, we are calling it for the Balboas. More »
Synthetic Standing Rigging. Why Not?
We want to re-rig our 30,000 lb. Kelly Peterson 46-ft sloop Esprit with synthetic — yes, plastic — standing rigging, but almost everyone we talk to (except ‘young sailors’ and ‘old sailors’ who have it already) are telling us not to! More »
It’s the Question that Drives Us
The problem is not severe. It can barely be called a problem at all. But if you're sitting down and helming on a long, slow run on my boat, you'll find that you have to hunch over — almost imperceptibly — to steer. You might even notice a little cramping creeping into your shoulders and back. The tiller seems as if it's just a little too low.
Sailors Strive to ‘Save Our Working Waterfront’
A core issue has been maintaining marine jobs, services and facilities for the boating community. This led to the formation of SAWW (Save Our Working Waterfront).
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