Boat Maintenance

Practical Sailor tested four types of topside paint with different characteristics: traditional alkyd enamels, single-part urethane modified enamels, two-part linear polyurethane coatings and water-cleanup VOC-free finishes. The panel test comprised dozens of paints from Awlgrip, Crabcoat, Epifanes, Signature Finishes, Insignia Specialty Coatings, Interlux, Kirby’s, Pettit, Sherwin-Williams, and West Marine. Choosing the right topside paint has as much to do with matching paint characteristics with the applicator's needs and skill level as it does with the paint itself. While this test focuses on topside paints that are well-suited for DIY application, many are often used in pro applications as well.

Earlier this year, reader and occasional contributor Fred Hatch found himself facing a quandary common among boat owners. The topsides of his 32-foot sloop were well faded, and small blisters were beginning to show along the waterline. Would he be in for an ambitious haulout and big yard fees, or might there be other remedies?

It takes practice to produce a perfect, mirror finish on varnished wood, but it is not so much a difficult task as an exacting one, where attention to detail and no short cuts are the secrets to success. Whether you are finishing new wood, refinishing old wood, or maintaining a finish in good condition, the basics are the same.

For hull bottom and topside repair, we love our Porter-Cable random orbit sander and WEST System Microlight Fairing Compound.

Galleys on American production sailboats have come a long way in the last 20 years. We particularly remember one 40' cruiser-racer by one of the country’s most famous designers, whose galley consisted of a two burner countertop alcohol stove, a miniature sink, a few lockers, and an icebox: if you put 100 pounds of ice in it, it managed to keep small quantities of food at slightly below outside temperature for a few days at a time. Today, thank God, you’d probably find a better galley on any 30-footer.

There are three basic types of transparent plastics used on boats: clear vinyls, acrylics (the best known is Plexiglas), and polycarbonates (the marine standard is Lexan). Each has advantages and disadvantages, which is why most boats include some of each. Vinyl is actually plasticized, stabilized polyvinyl chloride (PVC). It’s the plastic of choice for any window or clear screen that rolls, folds, stretches or needs to be sewn to fabrics.

Beyond the text and photos contained in a sailboat manufacturing company’s brochures, and the words of a dealer or salesperson, and absent an understanding of yacht design, discerning the actual capabilities of today’s production boats is a major task. Gone are the days of Herreschoff et. al., when the conventional wisdom held that a long, deep keel was the best method of producing good tracking, displacement produced a seakindly ride, and performance (straightforward speed) was a simple matter of adding sail area. Prior to the age of fiberglass, most yachts used similar raw materials (wood and metal), and construction methods, so those variables were not generally a consideration.

Fender boards are practically a necessity when lying along side pilings. They are designed to ride outboard of two fenders, protecting a larger section of the topsides than the two fenders could provide alone.

On my 40’ wood boat Daybreak I had a stuffing box problem. The gland leaked worse and worse, especially when motoring. It is very inaccessible, and could not be further tightened. The stuffing box needed to be repacked, but this couldn’t be done without major effort because of insufficient space between the gland and the shaft coupling at the transmission. The Lasdrop shaft seal looked like it might solve several problems at the same time.

On most trailerable boats, when the mast is stowed for travel it is lashed to the bow pulpit and stern rail with no support at all in the middle.