The Sailor’s Boot Dryer
I like the outdoors. I sail year-round, and I can endure as much heat and cold as my passions demand. But whether it is...
Mailport: Dustless Sanding
Regarding your recent Waypoints article about making your own dustless sander (see Dustless Sander, PS April 2016 online) I added a Dust Deputy (~$50...
Heat-Seal Connectors
A typical cruising boat has thousands of electrical connections. The consequence of failure range from a light that doesn't work to a fire that...
Mailport: Marelon Seacocks
Regarding your recent report on Seacocks (Beneteau Responds to Seacock Query, PS August 2018) I owned a 1987 Catalina 30, Mark II. It had...
Steering Equipment Inspection
They were off the coast of Bequia in the Grenadines, near the end of a breezy passage on a 34-foot cruising sloop. Just as...
Fixing the Storm-Damaged Boat
With $655 million dollars marine vessel insurance claims from the 2017 hurricanes Harvey and Irma, there is no shortage of broken boats accumulating in...
Wrapping Stainless Steel for Better Grip
The very first project tackled on my new-to-me catamaran a decade ago was to wrap the helm wheel with line. Our delivery trip home...
Welds on Your Boat Require Special Care
The irregular shape of welds makes them difficult to inspect using ultrasound technology. Visual inspections can also be deceiving-especially with new welds. The prettiest...
DIY Materials Testing
While many potential failures are easy to spot, some flaws are hidden under paint or within the structure, or are so small that a...
How to Tap and Rivet Into A Sailboat Spar
Tapping holes is a skill that requires some practice. Start with a piece of scrap metal, because mistakes in a spar are impossible to...