Boat Maintenance

My wife Amanda has often asked fellow cruisers the question: Would you prefer to sail with an experienced mechanic who knew little about sailing,...

Preserving a clear view through clear plastic on dodgers or enclosures is one of the most challenging tasks in boat maintenance. Restoring a vinyl window is almost impossible, but that doesn't stop the tide of products that claim to make this job easy. Practical Sailors eisenglass cleaners test looks at 27 products touted primarily as cleaners or treatments for vinyl windows. The test products were divided into type: cleaners, scratch repairers, polish protectants, and UV protectants. After a week of testing, we found Imar Strataglass Protective Cleaner and Imar Strataglass Protective Polish, distributed by Defender Industries, to be the Best Choice. Collinite No. 845 Insulator Wax and Mer-Maids Plexiglass Plastic Cleaner and Polish were the Budget Buys. The test also included products from the following manufacturers: 303, 3M, Aquatech, Armada, Davies, Marykate, Meguiars. Mothers, Novus, Plexus, Sailors Solutions, Star brite, Turtle Wax, West Marine, and Yacht Brite.

Poking a ⅜-in. bit into wood is simple enough. Place the bit on the mark, sight the drill from two directions at 90 degrees...

Were not naturally bug phobic, but when they eat our food, clothes, or boat, something needs to be done. Since we don't like heavy doses of pesticides in a space as small as a boat, lets first look at low impact approaches that focus on specific pests. After that, well look at the more potent approaches

At first I thought that standing on the V-head toilet and climbing awkwardly into the chain locker was funny. I tried not to think...

Historically, the cook has always enjoyed a privileged position on board a boat. And no wonder, since the cook almost always works the hardest, whether the boat is underway or at anchor. While the navigator and helmsmans job is no less critical, the nerve-wracking labor of maintaining a steady course and plotting an accurate DR position has nearly evaporated in recent years, thanks to GPS, chartplotters, and autopilots. The cooks job, on the other hand, hasn't gotten a whole lot easier. So, in honor of the hardest working crew, Ive put together a list of five items that can help make a cooks life easier underway. Id be interested in hearing what other suggestions our readers have.

How do you manage major sail repairs in remote locations? By using whatever you have onboard to get you home—or beyond. After an easy three-day...

As with all things in life, everything goes well until it doesn’t. It is an inevitable truth that something will go wrong eventually and...

Just weeks ago, a fellow Corsair 24 owner dismasted due to a seizing wire failure. More than once I’ve had stainless seizing wire fail...

Sometimes as a sailor you are learning to run before you can walk or even crawl. If the auto bilge pump isn’t working, maybe...