The Cape Dory Board

For most of the time I have been sailing a Cape Dory cutter, I never paid much attention to their pointing ability (it's a cruising boat, gentlemen don't sail to windward, and all that...) However, yesterday I raced her in the local club PHRF event. Conditions were excellent: sunny skies, wind 18-20...

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Reese Palley's book, "Call of the Ancient Mariner," or "Reese Palley's Guide to a Long Sailing Life." He wrote it after turning 80, having done three trans-Atlantics and a circumnavigation in his 60's and 70's. The book deals only with sailing i...

There is a popular anchorage in front of the naval academy in Annapolis. On a fairly crowded weekend we were fortunate to find a large empty space and proceeded to drop the 45 lb CQR and its largely chain rode. The water in that area averages about 15 feet, but under that empty space it's about 45 f...

When I installed my chart plotter, I was able to snake the require wires up through the binnacle with no problem. However, when we installed the bow thruster control we drilled a hole in the underlying steel plate for the wiring. My next projects will be to move the autopilot and radar from the cabi...

Troy: Two years ago I installed 4 GC batteries as my house bank. They are wired as 2 units in series, and the 2 series are wired in parallel to each other, to give a 12 volt bank. They are installed under a settee in the cabin. I have had no problems with corrosion at the terminals, nor have I had a...

Dave: I have two units, a 182C at the helm of my sailboat, and a 76 on my fishing boat. If you are interested in the charting feature, color is your only option. It is much easier to see in daylight. I have to hold the monochrome rather close to my face to see the chart features. On the other hand, ...

The word "yacht" is used to describe your boat to someone who has never seen it, and probably never will.

There are lots of decent AM/FM units on the market. Just about any one will do what you want, IF you have a decent antenna. Stay away from units that only use a built in antenna, unless you sail in an area where the signals are very strong, e.g., near a large city. There are many sailors out there w...

Sorry to hear all the tales of woe regarding exhaust risers and water backing up in to the cylinders. I had it happen...twice. Both times were directly attributed to the total incompetence of the installers. The first one required an engine rebuild, the second did not because I recognized the situat...

I won't repeat all the above arguments about Loran as a backup to GPS, but I'd like to make two points. First, using a chart and compass is a great backup for GPS if the weather is clear enough and you are close enough to landmarks to see and identify them. At night it is all too easy to confuse lig...

I installed a Mermaid, 16,500 BTU. I have only one air delivery duct, and we use a small fan to circulate air into the V-berth where we sleep. The system is very effective for both cooling and heating. The relay click does not bother us. I did the installation myself, easily saving an amount equival...

OK, here we go again. It's time to refinish Mintaka's external brightwork. I've agonized over the varnish vs. everything else, and am coming down on the Cetol side of the argument. But wait! Cetol contains pigment (ugh!), Cetol Lite contains less (?) pigment (less ugh!), and West Marine Wood Pro con...

Rodney: There are very few boats I admire as much or more than Cape Dory's, but the Vineyard Vixen is one of them. I had a chance to tour one several years ago, owned by a lovely single woman who was looking for crew. I probably could have let my CD go, but not my beautiful bride. So I stuck with wh...

Boyd: I installed a Frigoboat refrigeration system using the keel cooler option in 2003. I kept it on all the time Mintaka was in the water until last year when I moved to Oriental. Now I only turn it on a day or two before we are going out. So the bronze plate has seen both continuous and intermitt...

I can't get either of the links to work. Any suggestions from the techies among us?