I wanted to change my main halyard with the mast up. The halyard is inside the mast, exiting at the base and then enclosed under the hatch garage before leading…
Practical Projects
Sticking on a new cove line
David Witton replaces his coving line witha 'third hand' to hold the reel of tape
Cheap chain pipe cover
To reduce the amount of water that runs down my chain pipe, I have a two-piece cover cut from a scrap piece of plastic, square-section downpipe. Each piece has two…
How to cut rounded corners with a hole saw
How to cut rounded corners with a hole saw
Straightening a bent mast
When I bought my new boat a couple of years ago I was very disappointed to find that her mast was bent. It took up an elongated ‘S’ shape when…
Turn a storm jib into a trysail
A storm jib came with my second-hand 23ft (7m) Hunter Duette, but it couldn’t be run up the forestay because of the roller reefing headsail gear. Also, as I’m getting…
Make your own fids for splicing
Tony Nield makes his own fids from copper pipe and the cork from a bottle of port
Replacing a broken screw in wood
Shipwright Alan Campbell passes on a useful tip to help deal with a broken screw
Make a boom tent for your cockpit
Bob Goode shows how you can increase your accommodation by making a custom boom tent
Cheap but effective anchor light
John Macdonald makes a low-wattage anchor light from odds and ends – plus an outlay of 99p
‘It’s over there!’
Ron Sykes adds numbers to help avoid confusion when identifying ships and marks
A cure for leaky chainplates
The illustration shows the only way I have been able to stop through-deck chainplates from leaking. The ‘bonnet’ is made of ¼in (6mm) canvas Bakelite, also known as Tufnol or…
Ikea wine rack makes a great boat bookcase
David Taylor adapts an Ikea wine rack to build a serviceable bookcase
Loose locker lids? Strut right this way
PBO reader Tim Marsden shares a practical project to ensure the smooth closure of locker lids
Pushpit gate
Peter Crick makes a gate in his pushpit - which then goes on to save a life!
Anchor light and emergency VHF antenna
Paul Newton mounts an anchor light and emergency VHF antenna on his pushpit
Simple small boat shower
Rick Allender goes back to basics with a low-cost and simple way to shower on a small boat
DIY engine cooling water alarm
DIY engine cooling water alarm
Remote control for a small auxiliary outboard
Derrick Grover makes a remote throttle and steering control for a small outboard
Whisker pole from a Laser topmast
The spinnaker pole that came with my Jeanneau SO34.2 is stout and reasonably strong, but is a little short to use as whisker pole when goose winging the genoa. More…