This completed cardboard dodger cover pattern has all of the marking elements indicating where different snaps and straps need to be sewed on. (Photo/ Marc Robic)

How to Make Dodger Cover Canvas Pattern

For those of us with dodgers, we know how truly practical they can be. They protect the crew from wind and water splashes and...
If you're looking to tie up and explore New York City on foot, there are various small marinas and moorings. However, there are more options across the river in New Jersey where you can dock and take a short ferry to NYC. (Photo/ Kim Saylor)

How Much Does It Cost to Keep a Boat on the Hudson River, New...

I have a pocket dictionary I keep in the navigation desk of our 1978 Catalina 30 called Sailing: The Fine Art of Getting Wet...
1978 Islander Bahama 30 that we’ve owned for just over 20 years. We keep her in good condition and therefore she is relatively easy for us to insure. (Photo/ Bert Vermeer)

Insurance For Older Sailboats

In our modern, risk-adverse world there is seldom the opportunity to stand alone, to be self-insured as it were. Gone are the days that...

What Are the Best Options in Hose Clamps and Barbs?

In “Stainless Steel Hose Clamps,” February 2016, we reviewed hose clamps by testing corrosion resistance and clamping security. Not a lot has changed; cheap...
The author's Catalina 270, Aquaholic, on slings. You can easily see where the slings are properly set. Even the crane seems happy! (Photo/ Marc Robic)

Haul Out Tips to Avoid Confusion and Delays

Every fall, we sailors living in the colder, wintery parts of the world, must haul out our beloved boats and set them gently onto...

Refurbishing the Inflatable Dinghy

Inflatable tenders have become the family car for many cruisers. They haul groceries, take us to snorkeling spots, shuttle guests, haul out second anchors,...

The Best Gloves for the Boatyard

We choose our sailing gloves and deck shoes with great care, because they are our interface with the boat. The same goes for work...
With Weiman Glass Cooktop Cleaner and a red Scotch-Brite pad, the author restored yellowed gelcoat in the cockpit to a near-new white shine. (Photo/ Marc Robic)

Gelcoat Cleaning and Restoring Hack

How does the saying go again? “Necessity is the mother of invention,” or something along those lines? And so it was earlier this week...
Examples of glass filler (microspheres) and glass material (cut fibers and two fabrics) for plastics reinforcement: glass microspheres (or glass beads); diameter: about 300 µm, specific gravity: 2.5. Mineral filler mainly used to increase the stiffness of a thermoset resin and to make road safety markings; 5 mm length chopped strands of fiberglass used to reinforce thermoset resins; fibrous reinforcements for thermoset resins: two glass fabrics with different area density; fiber orientation: 0 and 90° (most common): weave pattern: taffeta (down left, area density: 550 g/m2), and 2x2 twill (down right, area density: 280 g/m2). Credit: WikiCommons/CC BY-SA 3.0

A Brief Modern History of Fiberglass

Fiberglass, also known as glass-reinforced plastic (GRP), has been an integral material in modern engineering and design, especially within the marine industry. Its lightweight,...

Another Look at ‘Dustless’ Sanding

In “Dustless Sanding,” (see PS April 2016), we described a simple modification to a 5-gallon bucket that would make collecting dust from bottom painting...

Deep Keel vs Shoal Draft – Which Should You Buy?

Deep keel or shoal draft: which should you buy? In this episode, we look at one of the biggest sailboat buying decisions cruisers face....

Latest Sailboat Reviews

Endeavour 37 Used Boat Review

Rob Valdez and John Brooks founded Endeavour in 1974 using the molds from Ted Irwin's 32-footer to launch the business. The company built about 600 32s in all. Spurred by this success, Valdez and Brooks began looking around for a larger sistership to expand the line. Just how they "developed" the 37 is a tale best left untold until the principals pass away or become too senile to read the yachting periodicals. Brooks calls the 37 a "house design," and that is generous. The total number of Endeavour 37s built is 476 a lot for a boat that size.