Hidden Maintenance Problems: Part 3 – Gremlins in the Electrics
The final area for hidden maintenance problems that I want to cover is the boat’s electrical system. Most modern boats rely heavily on their...
Best Crimpers and Strippers for Fixing Marine Electrical Connectors
If you own a cruising boat, you will have to learn to be an electrician (in addition to a painter, a detailer, a mechanic,...
Seepage or Flooding? How To Keep Water Out of the Boat
Boats are made to live on water, but that does not mean they are impervious to the stuff. Some systems, like the electrical system...
Painting a New Bootstripe Like a Pro
Have you been wanting to add a bootstripe to your boat but aren’t sure how to do it? Perhaps you have a bootstripe already...
Penetrating Epoxy—Another Marketing Gimmick?
In “Stopping Wood Rot,” December 2023, Practical Sailor busted the myth that you can reliably seal wood with epoxy. Some sailors have suggested that...
The Best Tools for Bottom Painting
In the quest for speed, sailors endlessly debate sail trim, the best cloth, the hottest cut, and which folding prop will do everything. In...
The Hidden Maintenance Problems That Can Ruin Your Day: Part 1
What jobs can push down on your ‘to-do’ list for later, and will there come a time when you really regret doing that? Sometimes...
Bottom Paint 30-Month Update
The Chesapeake Bay is known for brown water and rapid fouling, so any paint that can hang in there for 30 months is doing...
Battle of the Teak Cleaners — Snappy Teak-Nu vs. Star Brite
Aboard our Privilege 435 catamaran Confianza, we are teak oilers, not varnishers. Accordingly, our teak needs regular elbow grease. In our (seemingly never-ending) quest...
New Seacocks for the Offshore Sailor
Are you having trouble with your boat’s critically important seacocks? Maybe the handle is frozen and attempts to free it using penetrating oil, a...
Hunter Legend 35.5 – Behind the Curtain
Are you interested in a 32-36 foot sailboat that's small enough to sail as a couple, big enough to sleep on comfortably, fast enough...
