Bulletproof Sailboat Deck Hardware
Rock-solid deck hardware installation begins with a tightly sealed core.
Installing new hardware on a cored deck means sealing the core around every penetration. Skip...
Bottom Paints for Brackish Water
Prior PS bottom paint testing focused on saltwater locations in Florida and Massachusetts. This time we’ve moved our testing racks to the brackish waters...
PS Seeking Reports of 3M 4000 UV Failure
Six years ago (“Marine Sealant Adhesion Tests,” published November 2016) Practical Sailor began exposing samples of marine sealants to weather and sunlight to compare...
Binos and Aging Eyes
A dockside expert told me that larger objectives made binoculars brighter, and that his optical view was actually brighter than ambient conditions. The problem...
Folding Kayak Field Trials
Small boat sailors are plagued by a lack of storage space, and nowhere is this pinch felt more dearly than dinghy storage. Transportation to...
Deck Core Repair, from Underneath
One of the “never-evers” of boat building is to use high density polyethylene (HDPE) as a backing plate or load bearing spacer, but the...
Scrubbis Test Defies Skeptics
We like premium multi-season paints, particularly for sailors who sail year round. The copper leaches into the water more slowly than single season paints...
Is Azek the New Starboard?
I’d heard Azek described as a low cost alternative to Starboard, but never paid much attention. I’d used a few boards around the house,...
Sailing Gear of the Year 2021
What a difference a year makes! Last year, Practical Sailor testers were holed up in their home workshops, garages, basements, and home offices, meeting...
Non-Skid Ten Years After
Boat decks take a beating from sun and salt that eventually take their toll on factory-molded nonskid. Once nonskid loses its grip, resurrecting it...
This 24 Foot Sailboat Can Cross Oceans… Seriously
Can you really cross oceans or even live aboard a 24-foot sailboat? In this deep dive on the Pacific Seacraft Dana 24, we break...
Latest Sailboat Review
Cabot 36 Used Boat Review
The Cabot 36 is a sought-after, medium-displacement, 36-ft. cutter from the 1970s that can provide security and comfort for a budget-conscious sailor willing to...