Fair Through Hull Fittings: Essential to a Smooth Bottom
"She's not very fast in light air. After all, she's a cruising boat." Are you still using that excuse for the poor light air...
Keep Seacocks Working Smoothly
Are the tapered plug seacocks on your boat difficult or impossible to close? If you tighten the adjustment nut enough for them to stop...
Caring for Clear Plastics on Your Boat
There are three basic types of transparent plastics used on boats: clear vinyls, acrylics (the best known is Plexiglas), and polycarbonates (the marine standard...
Professional Advice for Do It Yourself Boat Blister Repairs
Earlier this year, reader and occasional contributor Fred Hatch found himself facing a quandary common among boat owners. The topsides of his 32-foot sloop...
Sparkling Brightwork: Careful Attention to the Details
It takes practice to produce a perfect, mirror finish on varnished wood, but it is not so much a difficult task as an exacting...
Do-It-Yourself Fender Boards
Without fender boards, no matter how you position and secure your boat and fenders, the movement of the tide and the boat will invariably...
Checking and Replacing: Keelbolts, Part 1
Nevertheless, this safety margin does not guarantee eternal life for keelbolts. Corrosion takes its toll, sometimes more quickly than you might think. It is...
Boat Clinic: Minor Repair to Cored Decks
As long as the areas are small-no more than one or two square feet-repairs are quite simple and can usually be accomplished by injecting...
Maintenance of Interior Teak
With resistance to weathering as its primary virtue, however, teak makes less sense for use as trim below. Nevertheless, the simplicity of finishing teak,...
Stop That Leak!
The trick is to choose the right one. Some sealants get hard enough to sand or drill, and others stay supple. Some will stick...