Boat Maintenance

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....

Epoxy Barrier Coat Update

There’s more than a little irony in the need to keep a fiberglass boat away from water. The reason revolves around chemistry and the...

Boat Disposal Options

Once upon a time, old wooden boats had the good sense to rot away. Not that I’m anti-wooden boat—there are some lovely examples in...

Mailport: Alexseal Topside Paint

Caution Aloft Regarding your recent “PS Advisor” on going aloft (see PS July 2020, “Simple Tricks on Going Aloft”), I don’t go aloft without a...

Step-by-Step Deck Core Repair

Last month we looked at the effectiveness of injecting resin to repair damaged core sections (see “Can Glue Injection Fix Rotten Core,” PS July...

Can Glue Injection Fix Rotten Core?

It starts with a small leak around a piece of deck hardware or even a pinhole in a resin-starved layup. Water seeps between the...

Brazing Repairs

Unless you’re a welder by trade, mechanical fasteners are the best bet for repairing metal failures on a boat. This includes through bolts, taping...

Building a Faster Rudder

We’re cruisers not racers. We like sailing efficiently, but we’re more concerned with safety and good handling than squeezing out the last fraction of...

Bottom Paint Update

I’ve been aware of Propspeed (a New Zealand product) for many years having been based in Auckland off and on since 1979. Propspeed, is...

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...