Wood Ash Absorbs Odors Best
The media serves several purposes in a desiccating toilet. It provides visual cover, draws moisture away from the solids (good wicking and coating are...
DIY Desiccating Head Options
No standard dry toilet, even the CHead Shorty, would fit the available space on our Corsair F-24, so we decided to build our own....
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...
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...
Latest Logbook
Practical Sailor Logbook – September 2026
This month we tour the Hans Christian 48T — the offshore cruiser many sailors call the holy grail — walk the custom Antigua 60...
Video: Morgan 44 Review – The Catalina Cruiser Everyone Forgot
The 1989 Morgan 44 is a big center-cockpit cruising sailboat with Catalina DNA—but it may be one of the most overlooked boats of its...
Latest Sailboat Reviews
Bayfield 32 Used Boat Review
At first glance, the Bayfield 32 looks less like a fiberglass production boat from the 1980s and more like somebody shrank a traditional sailing...
