Why I listen to Maine Sail

[Bene505]

Mainesail has a free dinner should he ever sail down to Montauk or Block or wherever we happen to be.

Maybe we should have a "Sail to Mainesail" gathering and toast him properly.

Regards,
Brad

[bljones]

Alright, before y'all swell his head to the point that he has to write an exhaustively researched and fully photodocumented article on how to enlarge the companionway on a CS 36T...

[eherlihy]

MS is the guy that got me interested in working on boats through his well written tutorials. I am very much in his debt, and have contributed a small donation at his website as a token of my gratitude. If you have benefited from his advise, I encourage you to consider doing the same: Help Support This Site Photo Gallery by Compass Marine at pbase.com

However, and I believe that he would agree that, he is not perfect. I figured out that I needed to heat the coupling before trying to slide it on the prop shaft on my own...

His assistance to the sailing community by paying it forward through his many, many well thought out articles and seemingly endless patience (except with the Smiths - but he's right there too!), makes us all owe him - big time...

[xort]

MS I did not know you went full time. Hope that works out extremely well for you.

[Southcoasting]

Indeed! As a rookie sailor myself, I felt overwhelmed at first but knew I would eventually get it...but when I stumbled upon his website tutorials, it was as if I found gold!!!

Through his tutorials/tips, I have re-bed my deck hardware (bought his butyl), polished my hull with the right products/tools, rewired most of my electrical with proper hardware/tools, and installed a solar panel! That's besides being the source of knowledge that allowed me to understand the systems of a boat that are difficult to understand as a newbie in just words...His pictures and explanations say it all!

His tutorials are what gave me the confidence to learn everything I can about my boat!

[Strait Shooter]

Ya ya, I guess I could help support his site. I definitely use it enough to warrant some support on my part.

Damn you people...........

[arisatx]

Originally Posted by eherlihy

...If you have benefited from his advise, I encourage you to consider doing the same: Help Support This Site Photo Gallery by Compass Marine at pbase.com...

Thanks for the reminder and highlighting that, couldn't agree more. Maine is pretty low key about taking donations... c'mon everyone let's show him some support. It's a small way we can thank him.

FYI - Maine also is a featured contributor over at SaillboatOwners.com and moderates a forum known as Musings With Maine Sail.

[PBzeer]

All the expertise in the world, is only as good as one's ability to share it. To me, that is MS's real strength. It's his ability and willingness to communicate his knowledge that make him a valuable resource to this community. If anyone could do "Boat Repair and Maintenance for Dummies", he could. Not just because he's knowledgeable and smart, but because he's a damn good person, with or without his knowledge.

[LakeSuperiorGeezer]

Originally Posted by midlifesailor

Maine Sail's greatest attrubute (besides being a "do it right" kind of guy) in my opinon is his willingness and skill at DOCUMENTING the steps he takes in doing a project.

I know of lots of sailors that have done excellent repairs and neat upgrades to their boats. Some have even tried to explain what they did, usually with not much success. However, Maine Sail's clear, step by step tutorials impart the knowledge it would take years of trial and error to aquire.
Have any of you ever considered how much longer a project would take if you took the time to document it as clearly as one of Maine Sails tutorials? That is his gift to us and I am among the many, many people he has helped.

I did not know of the documentation MS has done, so when someone here posted the link for his tutorials Compass Marine's Photo Galleries at pbase.com I had a look at his instructions on servicing seacocks. I just choose a tutorial at random and was impressed by the careful explanation and annotated pictures. I do not work in a boatyard where I can observe and ask questions, so what I have to use are shop manuals and books describing repair procedures, some of it poorly written. However, MS makes it look easy, but he has to put a lot of though into it to make it look easy for me.

[arf145]

Man, how did I miss this thread for two days! I need to at least chime in with my thanks to MaineSail for his generosity in sharing his knowledge and research, and with my concurrence on every good thing said here about him.