Get a Survey, Set Priorities
Here we go again. Apparently enough time (32 years) has passed since I last bought a 50-plus-year-old boat and began restoring it that I’ve...
Packing Extraction Tool Tested
The packing material encircling your shaft and tucked out of sight inside the packing nut is truly your boat’s Achilles heel. Installed improperly it...
Making Underwater Hull Repairs
In our recent test of waterproof epoxies for making underwater repairs, we also looked into making underwater patches. Obviously, your success in this effort...
Remote Inspection Cameras
The most valuable inspection tool will always be 20/20 eyesight combined with experience. But there are times when you can’t lay eyes on the...
Revisiting Odor & Tank Treatments
Sodium percarbonate (Na2H3CO6 ) is a hydrate formed between sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide, and is more properly written 2 Na2CO3 + 3 H2O2...
Substitutes for Just in Case
We get a lot of chemistry questions, and a common thread lately seems to be the use of replacement solvents and green alternatives. While...
Products and Tips to Stop Wood Rot
Wood has lot going for it. It is strong and stiff per unit weight, easy to work with, attractive, and economical. Teak decks provide...
Digital Diagnostic Tools
In addition to a considerable inventory of tools, materials, parts, and old test inventory, we’ve collected a variety of laboratory and field testing equipment....
Even 2020 Yielded Some Great Gear
Once more, the bulk of the past year’s testing focused on maintenance products, safety essentials, and do-it-yourself substitutes for higher priced marine gear. Part...
Making Sailing Affordable
Every sailboat occasionally needs to leave the water. Sometimes it’s more of an emergency room visit, caused by a grounding, collision or rigging failure....
Why Sailors Love to Hate the MacGregor 26
The MacGregor 26 might be the most controversial sailboat ever built. Half sailboat. Half powerboat. Water ballast. A 50-horsepower outboard. Capable of sailing… and...
Latest Sailboat Review
Catalina Morgan 440 Used Boat Review
The Catalina Morgan 440 is a massive ocean-capable design from the drafting board of Gerry Douglas, a prolific designer for Catalina Yachts for over...