Boat Maintenance

A lot of water has rushed over the bridge since we last looked at synthetic teak decking materials—eight years' worth. Since that last report—see...

Wood is strong, stiff per unit weight, easy to work with, attractive, and economical. And it rots. A few special types of wood, such as teak, are highly resistant to rot, but these woods are generally heavy and almost always expensive. Pressure treated lumber is an option, but it’s ugly, warps, does not take coatings well, and is not always very rot resistant. Western red cedar, on the other hand, has long been used in canoes, and cedar fence posts have a deserved reputation for durability. We started our rot resistance testing eight years ago in 2015, and we finally cleaned out our accelerated rot test box in July 2023. Results ranged from abysmal (untreated samples of fir have nearly disappeared) to astounding (our teak samples are still just like new). Let’s see what we learned.

A reliable autopilot is great to have onboard because it gives you opportunities to rest your arms and/or eat while under way while still...

Have you ever been sailing along and thought to yourself, something just doesn’t feel right. That is what happened to me with our steering...

The crud that is clogging my filters are microrganisms, primitive creatures that live in water and feed on oil, informally called “HUM-bugs.” The HUM stands for Hydrocarbon Utilizing Microorganisms. There are many kinds of HUM-bugs—bacteria and fungus (mold, yeast, algae, etc.). Some need oxygen, some don't. Many are airborne. Some thrive best in freshwater, some in salt. They all create thick slime, which helps them stick to surfaces and protect themselves from attack. It's unlikely that you can buy diesel fuel without getting some.

When I started sailing, navigation gear consisted of a paper chart, a few drawing instruments and a compass. Instruments usually consisted of a single...

Depending on the size of your fuel tanks, having a professional clean your tank and dispose of the dirty fuel can cost more than $1,000. But for the careful, competent do-it-yourselfer there is another option. For those sailors whose tanks have reached the contamination point-of-no-return, heres a helpful article on DIY tank cleaning that accompanied our July 2009 test of diesel biocides.

Early in the sailing season, the things we overlooked during winter storage can come back to haunt us. And with regard to our boat's...

One of the aspects of safety on a voyaging sailboat that I am most concerned about is that objects stay stowed where they're supposed...

The purpose of chainplates on a sailboat is to transfer the enormous loads from the standing rigging into the hull structure safely. Without chainplates,...