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SAIL magazine is America’s largest sail-only magazine, witha subscription base of 170,000 and a staff that includes topwriters in sailing how-to.

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Expert guidance for the hands-on sailor--whether you’re varnishing a handrail or replacing bulkheads

With contributions from leading how-to experts, this wide-ranging collection of projects from BoatWorks magazine ranges from structural, mechanical, and electrical projects to plumbing and cosmetic repairs and improvements. Much of this full-color guide’s information cannot be found in any other book. Nigel Calder, Don Casey, Mark Corke, Peter Nielsen, Charles Doane, Paul Esterle, Charles Mason, Aussie Bray, and other sailboat experts show you with step-by-step photography how to:

• Buy and survey an older sailboat
• Replace bulkheads
• Fix below-the-waterline holes
• Repair gelcoat, portlights, or rotten cores
• Paint, varnish, spray polyurethane, mark a waterline, or rebed deck hardware
• Choose a mainsail system, install a headsail furler or an inner forestay, assemble rigging terminals, or build a spinnaker or even a new aluminum mast
• Pamper an Atomic 4 gas engine, replace a Cutless bearing, maintain your diesel, and know when it’s time to repower
• Install a new fuel or water tank, upgrade to wheel steering, replace a propeller or deck hardware, or install seacocks
• Troubleshoot electrical problems, install cockpit speakers, or rewire your boat
• Replace lifelines, install a forehatch, secure your cabin sole, and much, much more

Brought to you by the editors of SAIL magazine, America's leading sail-only magazine, BoatWorks is a treasure trove.

“We’ve cast our net widely to come up with a mix of hard information, step-by-step improvements, uncommon solutions to common problems, and the odd project that’s just wacky enough to keep life interesting.”--from the Introduction by Peter Nielsen, Editor, BoatWorks and SAIL magazines

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BoatWorks

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Contents

Chapter One

Here's a chicken-and-egg question for you: Does a good knowledge of boat design and construction help you plan and carry out work on your boat, or does working on the boat improve your knowledge of boat design and construction?

Whichever angle you approach this from, the answer is yes. The more you play with your boat, take things apart, replace odd bits and pieces, and make cosmetic and even structural repairs and improvements, the more you learn about how your boat was designed and built. Similarly, if you study the elements of design and construction—the way a hull, appendages, systems, rig, and sails work together, and how different construction techniques and philosophies affect strength and longevity—you will soon acquire a growing appreciation of the kind of maintenance and the sorts of problems that lie ahead of you.

No one is better at explaining these relationships than Nigel Calder, so it's not surprising that he figures so prominently in this section. He takes an in-depth look at hull design that will be of great value to those of us looking to change our boats or just better understand why they behave as they do. He also provides some great hints and tips about how to avoid trouble with older boats.

Things to Watch for When Buying an Older Boat

Nigel Calder

I recently heard about what should have been a routine delivery up the eastern seabord on a newly purchased secondhand sailboat. Before setting sail, the crew noticed that the rig had no cotter pins, which could easily have brought the mast down. They replaced the pins. Also missing was the hardware for the staysail-sheet leads, so they jury-rigged them. Once out at sea the boat got caught in nasty weather. The crew dropped the staysail while cranking the engine, and the sheet got loose and wrapped around the propeller. Smoke began to pour out of the engine room. The skipper got thrown across the boat and was injured. The VHF radio, it turned out, did not transmit properly. Luckily, the boat was close enough to the New Jersey coast that the crew was able to call for assistance on a cell phone.

It's amazing how, in the wrong conditions, a number of relatively minor problems can cascade into a major crisis. In this case, the crew had to struggle with rigging, mechanical, and electronic issues—all common problems on older boats.

Old rigs

Sailing rigs, like anything else, get old and wear out. The principal culprits are flexing and a steady increase in the number of "fatigue cycles" the rig is subjected to. If a rig is set up properly, toggles and similar fixtures absorb much of the flexing and the rig lasts a long time. But often the aging process is accelerated by improper installations that result in "hard" spots. Other issues include the wear on moving parts, notably clevis pins and the holes through which they pass, and, above all else, corrosion.

Most corrosion results from the nearly universal use of stainless steel in end fittings and the hardware to which they are attached (chainplates, tangs, and the fasteners holding these in place). Wherever this stainless steel is in contact with stagnant water, corrosion is a possibility. The warmer the climate, the more likely it is to occur, and the faster the rate at which it will continue. The two most common trouble spots are the lower terminals on wire rigging (moisture wicks down the wire into the terminal) and the chainplates or fasteners where they pass through decks, especially cored decks (moisture gets trapped in the deck). With terminals, the corrosion is generally self-evident (you'll see rust stains and hairline cracks); with chainplates and through-deck fasteners, it generally is not.

Some things on a 10-year-old rig should obviously be checked. All clevis pins should be withdrawn, and both the pins and the holes through which they pass should be checked for wear and deformation. Look for hairline cracks around the holes, for cracking and other signs of damage to the rigging terminals, and for any loose strands where wire exits rigging terminals (this is the most likely place for a wire failure). In particular, look for signs of corrosion.

The points where tangs contact the mast are also potential trouble spots.

All bolts should be withdrawn and the bolt and mast wall carefully inspected. Also spin the sheaves at the masthead to make sure they are running freely and that the bushings are not worn. If the mast is keel-stepped, check for corrosion of the mast heel. If the mast track is external, inspect every one of its fasteners to ensure they are tight (a single loose fastener can cause the whole sail to hang up). Spend some time on the gooseneck fitting—look especially for excessive play, signs of deformation, cracking, and damaged welds.

The hard questions on old boats are whether the through-deck chainplates and fasteners should be pulled and whether the standing rigging should be be replaced regardless of its apparent condition. The safe answer is always yes, but it depends somewhat on where the boat has been kept (corrosion is far less likely in a cold climate than in a hot one) and on how catastrophic suddenly losing the rig over the side might be. For a weekend cruiser on a limited budget who never strays far from support services, it is strictly a judgment call.

Old machinery

Modern diesel engines are incredibly reliable. An engine that has been properly cared for should be good for anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 hours of running time. So always look first for evidence of consistent maintenance—a log of some kind and, in particular, regular oil and fuel-filter changes.

Assuming good maintenance, the principal concern is that the engine has aged prematurely as a result of being repeatedly run for short periods of time, so that it never warms up properly. Or it may often have been run for long hours at low loads, such as when charging batteries at anchor. Both practices may foul valves and pistons with carbon, resulting in a loss of compression. If an engine is hard to start when cold, this often indicates compression problems. When inspecting an older boat, try to get to it on a cold day before the owner has cranked the engine and warmed it up. If it is slow to start, remove the exhaust from the water-lift muffler and look for carbon accumulation. There should be no more than a light film. This is the easiest way to get some idea of whether there is carbon fouling elsewhere.

You might also pump a sample of diesel from the very bottom of the fuel tank (I carry a small pump just for this purpose when inspecting boats). The fuel system is the single most expensive component of a diesel engine, and if it has been receiving dirty fuel there is some risk of damage. The sample will give a good idea of the state of things. If it is filthy, check both the primary and secondary fuel filters. If the secondary filter is really dirty, you should be concerned. On your own boat, it is a good idea to sample the bottom of the fuel tank at least once a year and remove any water and sediment that you find.

Often the engine itself is in good shape, but the peripheral systems—the cooling system, the exhaust, and the mounts—may be showing their age. The expensive items here are the heat exchanger and, to some extent, the mounts. If the heat exchanger has a zinc anode (not...