Making Engine Oil Changes Easier
Some boat manufacturers have no concern for simplifying things, like changing the auxiliary engines oil, once the boat leaves the factory. But the process...
Marine Sealant Adhesion Tests
We expect a lot from adhesive sealants for the marine environment. They must stick to a wide variety of surfaces, including gelcoat, aluminum, wood,...
Heat-Seal Connectors
A typical cruising boat has thousands of electrical connections. The consequence of failure range from a light that doesn't work to a fire that...
A Beach Plastic Disposal Dilemma
Ninety percent of micro plastics generation comes from laundry fibers. Fortunately, standard primary, plus secondary wastewater treatment removes 88-94 percent of this, lowering laundry’s...
Bottom Paint Stripping
My husband, Ken was in the fiberglass business for over 25 years. We intend to take off all of our boat’s bottom paint (about...
Nonskid Test Update
Practical Sailor recently tested a nonskid mat from Soft Deck Inc. as a followup to our January 2012 report on do-it-yourself options for replacing...
Make Your Own Over-the-Boom Riding Sail
Delighted with the performance of the over-the-boom riding sail, we decided to make our own.
To measure, we outlined the proposed sail area with -inch...
Six-Month Checkup: Long-Term Boat Wood Finish Exposure Test
Do you ever wonder why its called "wood finish?" Youre never "finished" with it. Unfortunately, that rings true for most boat maintenance tasks. With...
Practical Sailor Tests the Alado Jib Furler
Practical Sailor finds the Alado Nautica headsail furler to be easy to install and a worthwhile sail-handling tool. One feature that sets the Alado...
Removing 3M 5200
Our recent test of caulk removers, (PS Tests Caulk Removers, Practical Sailor, January 2017), focused primarily on silicone caulk remover because these caulks can...
The Great Loop – The Basics
Join us this week as we discuss taking a sailboat around North America's great boating adventure - The Great Loop. We discuss advice from...
