Anti-Seize Coatings for Spars

If you’ve ever been humbled by a single impossibly stuck fastener, or plan on adding hardware to your spar, running gear, or deck, this report on anti-seize protectants is right up your alley.

If you own a boat, you need a corrosion-fighting regimen. We’ve tested a boatload of products to protect your boat, but each case is a little different, sometimes calling for a different treatment (see adjacent story). Perhaps you just smear some waterproof grease or lanolin and hope for the best? Or perhaps you’ve bought into the advertising puffery that anti-seize products fight corrosion by isolating dissimilar metals? (Oddly, some of these same products also advertise their conductivity in electrical connections).

Personal Gear & Apparel

Knee Pads and Braces for Sailors

Battered sailors make good test subjects, especially when we are talking about gear to preserve our joints and appendages. That is why we sent technical editor Drew Frye and his surgically repaired knee out into the world of orthopedic accessories for sailors.

Anchoring & Mooring

Fenders and Lines for Seawalls

To the lubber, tying-up to a bulkhead seems like the simplest of all docking situations. Perhaps with floating docks this is true. You just throw in a few fenders and tie a few lines. Simple. But in the world of tidal bulkheads with pilings or rough concrete facings, it is often a...

Boat Maintenance

Cetol Versus Teak Sealer

I own a 42-foot Pearson 424 with lots of bright work. I’ve absolutely had it with Cetol! There must be something that is easier to use than this. It forms a dark coating after a few years and begins to peel in splotches. Then you have to remove it, clean the teak, and start...

Rethinking Anchor Shaft Strength

June 20, 2018

One topic often overlooked in any anchor discussion is shaft strength. Yet, as anyone who has spent any time around boats knows, bent anchor shafts are hardly rare. Sure, sometimes the anchor gets wedged into a crevice where bending might be excused, but we’re hearing about more and more anchors bending under what would be considered normal use. In the upcoming April issue of Practical Sailor, contributor Jonathan Neeves explores this topic in great detail. In his view, the reasons behind bent shafts are many.

July 2018

Back Issue Archive

Resources

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Which of the following best describes your approach to bottom paint?

I choose my own paint, but I let a professional apply (521 votes): 19%
I let a professional apply the paint that he (or boatyard) recommends. (329 votes): 12%
I choose my own paint and I apply it. (1639 votes): 60%
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