Boat Maintenance

Bowsprits are a common feature on traditional boats as a way to extend the sail plan beyond the boat’s length over deck and create...

As I approach twenty years of surveying boats, most issues that I encounter are repetitive. The root causes for these repeat problems usually involve...

In the midst of discussing bridles, snubbers, and rigging multiple anchors, ten years ago we introduced the idea of an improved bridle plate—see “Adjustable...

Dorade vents are the best solution to keep the cabin fresh in bad weather or offshore. They let air in but keep water out...

The wood samples we varnished in late 2015 finally went into service three years after they were varnished. They'd been boxed and stored as...

Athough falling off a ladder or cutting yourself with a sharp tool are the most common boatyard injuries, damage from the foul air we breathe is more insidious. Marine paints contain solvents that can make you dizzy at best or increase cancer risk at worst. Dust from sanding wood is usually only a nuisance, but sanding bottom paint or grinding fiberglass presents serious health risks. Fortunately, theres a wealth of industrial experience with contaminated air…

It starts with a small leak around a piece of deck hardware or even a pinhole in a resin-starved layup. Water seeps between the...

On Natasha, our 1978 Islander Bahama 30, the Barient two speed sheet winches were showing their age—a dull chrome surface and the drum were...

Many boats constructed during the heyday of production in the 70s and 80s, both power and sail, emerged from the factory with aluminum deck...

Many years ago, one of our editors had an old wooden boat with lovely wooden handrails just inside the companionway that his sailing partner decided could use new varnish. The original coat, which was peeling around the base and worn where hands had gripped it, was sanded smooth and meticulously coated with varnish. Subsequent coats were applied according to the process that had served well for years-varnish, scuff, wipe, varnish, scuff, wipe . . . repeat.