Avoiding Fuel Trouble
Diesel problems usually begin at the tank. Most fuel tanks more than 5-10 years old have accumulated a mix of water, live, or dead...
Polishing Solar Panels
After years in the sun, even the best quality plastic begins to take on some surface roughness and hazing. The diligent boat owner immediately...
Pump Out Attention Extends to the Head
Although head maintenance is low on everyone's fun task list, working on functioning head that has been flushed clean (flush with lots of clean...
Caring for Seacocks
Considering the excitement a failed seacock can generate, the lack of attention they typically receive is almost criminal. Tucked away in the dim recesses...
Folding vs. Feathering Props
For the past 40 years we've sailed an average of 10,000 miles annually between Australia, Alaska, Antarctica and Spitsbergen motoring or motorsailing between 400...
Test Compares Insulation Below Waterline
The following is the test protocol for our report on cost-effective insulation for boats.
First, we set up an R-value test rig, exposing sample materials...
Jerry Can Storage Tips
Jerry cans are a fact of life when cruising on small to mid-size cruisers. When fitting out our 37-foot cruiser for an extended trip...
The Worry-free Bilge Pump
Due the lack of maintenance they receive from the average sailor, I often refer to bilge pumps as the Rodney Dangerfield of boat equipment,...
Bilge Pump Basics to Keep Your Boat Afloat
Our research into bilge pumps and associated equipment stretches back several decades with the most recent bilge pump tests taking place in 2010 (See...
How to Measure Boat Humidity: Psychrometric Charts Do It Right
Insulation is a greater energy-saving expedient; if our heater or air conditioner is undersized, fixing drafts, shading or insulating windows, and insulating non-cored laminate...
HOW TO BUY A CHEAP SAILBOAT – $20,000 or less!
Buying a sailboat on a budget of $20,000 is easy! Today we’re looking at a Pearson 31, a Hunter 31, a Bristol 29.9, and...
Latest Sailboat Review
Cal 2-27 Used Boat Review
Jack Jensen formed one of the country’s most successful fiberglass boatbuilding companies in 1959—Jensen Marine—when it introduced the Lapworth 24 centerboarder. Not long after,...