Boat Maintenance

Penetrating Epoxy—Another Marketing Gimmick?

In “Stopping Wood Rot,” December 2023, Practical Sailor busted the myth that you can reliably seal wood with epoxy. Some sailors have suggested that...
Practical Sailor’s online archives features dozens of bottom paint tests.

The Best Tools for Bottom Painting

In the quest for speed, sailors endlessly debate sail trim, the best cloth, the hottest cut, and which folding prop will do everything. In...
The top stanchion was treated with stainless steel cleaner Citrisurf 77, while the bottom part is untreated and is rusting.

The Hidden Maintenance Problems That Can Ruin Your Day: Part 1

What jobs can push down on your ‘to-do’ list for later, and will there come a time when you really regret doing that? Sometimes...

Bottom Paint 30-Month Update

The Chesapeake Bay is known for brown water and rapid fouling, so any paint that can hang in there for 30 months is doing...

Battle of the Teak Cleaners — Snappy Teak-Nu vs. Star Brite

Aboard our Privilege 435 catamaran Confianza, we are teak oilers, not varnishers. Accordingly, our teak needs regular elbow grease. In our (seemingly never-ending) quest...

New Seacocks for the Offshore Sailor

Are you having trouble with your boat’s critically important seacocks? Maybe the handle is frozen and attempts to free it using penetrating oil, a...

Bottom Paint Care

Modern anti-fouling paints promise a hull free of marine growth for one to several seasons. But in nutrient-rich water and as the paint becomes...

Quick and Safe Sail Cleaning

It can be a rust stain caused by a loop of chain that spent the winter lying on a sail. Perhaps a bird crawled...

Simplifying Your Cleaning Chemicals Kit

Instead of requiring 30 random cleaning products, you need only four or five with carefully targeted chemistry. That's it-no more than five cleaners to...

Taking Care of Your 12-Volt Lead-Acid Battery Bank

Marine boat batteries can fail due to various reasons, and understanding these potential failure modes is crucial for ensuring their reliability. Here are some...

X Yachts X43 Sailboat Tour

Are you interested in a 40 foot performance cruising sailboat? Looking for an X-Yachts sailboat? Join us today for a sailboat tour of the...

Latest Sailboat Review

Island Packet 350 Used Boat Review

The current tally of Island Packets—"More than 1,800 sold"—is impressive for any boatbuilding company. Just over 20 years ago the first boats in the...