DIY Projects

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.

We recently launched a new evaluation of marine adhesives and sealants. There is no single caulk that works in all of these cases, so its impossible to declare a single Best Choice adhesive, but we decided to at least put some numbers on paper to guide you in your choices.

It’s been a few years since Interlux (Akzo Nobel) discontinued the popular VC17 and VC17m antifouling due to environmental and safety concerns. However, it...

Many coastal cruising production sailboats designed during the heyday of the 70s and 80s emerged from the factory with plexiglass cabin windows. These larger-than-standard...

Are the tapered plug seacocks on your boat difficult or impossible to close? If you tighten the adjustment nut enough for them to stop weeping all over the inside of your boat, does it take two hands and a hammer to operate them? If so, it's time for an overhaul. Even if they worked well last season, a little care while the boat is hauled can save you a lot of grief in the future. As part of your boat's routine maintenance, tapered plug seacocks should be disassembled, cleaned, lubri­cated, and reassembled on a regular basis.

There’s nothing worse than getting or giving yet another ugly sweater or never-to-be-worn tie. Why not try up-cycling old boat parts to give new...

One of the little luxuries many sailors treat themselves to is great canvas. I just went sailing on a brisk, cold and windy day...

Simple ferrous-metal oxidation is a process in which iron, oxygen, and water chemically react, and it can cause rust to seemingly weld fasteners together. This unyielding grip often turns disassembly into much more of an ordeal, but with a few, regularly available products and a good set of wrenches, the big battle becomes a minor squabble.

For many seasonal sailors, the winterizing routine is already well underway. But there are more than a few diehard sailors in the mid-Atlantic regions, on the West Coast, and even in New England, who plan to spend all or part of the snowy season afloat. Some, we daresay, look forward to the quiet of winter. If youre toying with the idea of keeping your boat in the water during the winter, heres a short rundown on some of the more important steps to take.

It was snowing and I needed a project. Ever since the article on cross sheeting, “Where Winches Dare Go,” I’ve been wanting to add...