Boat Maintenance

A few years ago while sailing my PDQ catamaran, we struck something hard and bent the rudder so badly that the top of the...

The first use of the word kludge is attributed to Jackson W. Granholm in 1962, describing an ugly programming solution that was “an ill-assorted...

Cosa board is a closed cell panel that is reinforced with glass fiber, giving it both shear strength and compression strength. Compared to the...

Solid fiberglass is strong and durable, but it weighs a ton. Even boats with solid hulls generally have cored decks, cabins, stringers, and bulkheads....

Probably the biggest takeaway from our report is the surprising prevalence of deteriorating foam oil filters on sailboats. More than one-third of the sailors we...

Ahesion was a key characteristics we sought in a sail paint, but we were also interested in opacity.

Tape seems like simple thing to manage. How complicated can it get? But as webe found in multiple past tests at Practical Sailor, the type of tape you choose, and how you use it determines the quality and durability of your work.

What's that they say about the 10-foot paint job? Sure, if you look closely, it is clear that something is different with the genoa aboard Tech Editor Drew Frye's F-24 Corsair. Battleship gray is not a common color for the suncover on a recreational sailboat, and the sheen is more reflective than normal. But unless you are aboard the boat, the laminate sail looks like any other genoa with a stitched on suncover. The original suncover exists, only now it is painted.

Paint will stick to anything-for a while. But the real test comes over time. Fabric, because it is a flexible surface that can absorb water, presents multiple challenges for a coating. Our biggest concern was flogging. If we can't prevent the varnish on our grab rail from cracking after eighteen months, how can we expect any coating to adhere to a stretchy, pliable surface that is exposed to the elements-storms, high summer temperatures, freezing cold-year in and year out? To answer this question, we fit the test rack to the top of our vehicle and drove at highway speeds for 20 minutes.

[IMGCAP(3)] Anti-Bird StrategyFlorida is hard on boats from sun damage, mildew, bottom blisters and birds. I keep the ospreys from perching on my tricolor light by fitting a clear plastic container over it with tacks on its bottom. I have sunbrella deck covers that keep poo from the smaller birds off the deck and also shade the boat to keep it cooler, the paint protected and mildew free. Then, for the pelicans that pooped on my…