Boat Maintenance

Irwin Vise-Grip Wire Stripper. (Photo/ Adam Morris)

Best Crimpers and Strippers for Fixing Marine Electrical Connectors

If you own a cruising boat, you will have to learn to be an electrician (in addition to a painter, a detailer, a mechanic,...
When water seeps into a balsa wood core, it eventually rots and needs to be replaced. Photo courtesy of Epoxyworks.com

Seepage or Flooding? How To Keep Water Out of the Boat

Boats are made to live on water, but that does not mean they are impervious to the stuff. Some systems, like the  electrical system...

Painting a New Bootstripe Like a Pro

Have you been wanting to add a bootstripe to your boat but aren’t sure how to do it? Perhaps you have a bootstripe already...

Penetrating Epoxy—Another Marketing Gimmick?

In “Stopping Wood Rot,” December 2023, Practical Sailor busted the myth that you can reliably seal wood with epoxy. Some sailors have suggested that...
Practical Sailor’s online archives features dozens of bottom paint tests.

The Best Tools for Bottom Painting

In the quest for speed, sailors endlessly debate sail trim, the best cloth, the hottest cut, and which folding prop will do everything. In...
The top stanchion was treated with stainless steel cleaner Citrisurf 77, while the bottom part is untreated and is rusting.

The Hidden Maintenance Problems That Can Ruin Your Day: Part 1

What jobs can push down on your ‘to-do’ list for later, and will there come a time when you really regret doing that? Sometimes...

Bottom Paint 30-Month Update

The Chesapeake Bay is known for brown water and rapid fouling, so any paint that can hang in there for 30 months is doing...

Simplifying Your Cleaning Chemicals Kit

Instead of requiring 30 random cleaning products, you would need only four or five with carefully targeted chemistry. Thats it-no more than five cleaners to serve most purposes. Here are the basics to building your own kit.

Taking Care of Your 12-Volt Lead-Acid Battery Bank

Marine boat batteries can fail due to various reasons, and understanding these potential failure modes is crucial for ensuring their reliability. Here are some...

Waste Not is the Rule. But How Do We Get There?

Along with sustainable sailing, green boating, and ocean conservation, you've probably heard the term "zero waste." And on the surface, for me, at least,...

CATAMARAN SHOWDOWN – Outremer 52 vs Lagoon 52: It’s Not Even...

Get ready for one of the most entertaining catamaran reviews we’ve done yet. Today we’re looking at the Outremer 52, a lightweight, high-performance bluewater...

Latest Sailboat Review

Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 32 Used Boat Review

The Sun Odyssey 32 and Sun Fast 32i are two versions of the same boat, designed by Philippe Briand. The attractive combination may well capture a good share of the market in this size slot.