Boat Maintenance

I was wondering if you folks have ever evaluated the various kinds of plywood for use in marine environments. Needing to replace a bulkhead, I went plywood shopping with a friend. Its his belief that theres little difference between regular plywood and marine plywood, other than the price. He says its all the same glue, and that different glue wouldnt matter because wood is wood and it all delaminates the same when exposed to water. What are your thoughts?

My wife and I have owned our boat since 1985. We now keep it in the British Virgin Islands, where the Caribbean sun is tough on finished wood and fiberglass. The reason I am writing you is to get your true feeling about novices handpainting our decks. We want to keep the nonskid and the white border design we currently have. The decks were Awlgripped by the factory in 1992, but this has turned chalky and shows tremendous wear. Is it feasible to try such a project? Or should I just pony up the money to have it done? We have time and plenty of elbow grease and a willingness to try.

Practical Sailor applied 29 topside fiberglass paints from nine manufacturers to fiberglass panels and rated them on handling, coverage, and gloss. Paints will be evaluated for long-term durability and gloss retention over time. Seven of the paints are alkyd enamels; 12 are one-part urethanes; and eight are two-part linear polyurethanes. Two paints were classified as "other." Paints tested included alkyd enamels from Kirby, Sherwin-Williams, and Pettit Z-Spar; one-part urethanes from Epifanes, Insignia, Interlux, Pettit, and West Marine; and two-part polyurethanes from Epifanes, Awlgrip, Fabula, Insignia, Interlux, and Sherwin-Williams. Two Crab Coat paints from CrystaLac also were tested. Looking for tips on painting topsides yourself? PS also takes a look at the tips, tools, and techniques of do-it-yourself topside painting.

When youre tight on storage space but still want to be prepared to protect your hull when docked in a blow, consider inflatable fenders. They often offer the same protection as conventional fenders without the storage headaches. Practical Sailor inflatable boat bumpers from three manufacturers: StowAway Boat Fenders from DACA Innovations; Aere fenders from Pratek; and Easystow Fenders from Seoladair. All were subject to abrasion tests and compression test. Long-term testing is under way to determine resistance to UV, chemical, and biological deterioration. Stay tuned to see which of these docking aids is the toughest inflatable fender.

Plastic scrapers have been around for a while. They are popular among painters, woodworkers, and auto detailers. For boaters, they make sense for jobs that need to be done quickly without scratching a delicate surface. However, for a fine cut and a lasting edge, metal blades remain the best choice. We tested the new ScrapeRite plastic razor blades on a variety of surfaces and found them handy for removing vinyl, cleaning dried paint on varnished wood, and trimming sealant. The blades come in three levels of hardness: red, general purpose blades for delicate surfaces like paint or varnish; blue, a polycarbonate blade for use on fiberglass and gelcoat; and yellow, acrylic blades for use on hard flat surfaces.

For a control in our soon-to-be-published test of acrylic-type gelcoat restorers, we polished one panel on a 1972 Oday Javelin with 3M Finesse-It II and waxed it. PS has long prescribed Finesse-It II ($20, www.defender.com) for polishing, and the final gloss matched the panel with the best acrylic "miracle cure." We also tried various polishing tools fitted with wool buffing pads: the Waxmaster ($30, www.westmarine.com), the drill-mounted 3M Superbuff wheel ($17, www.defender.com); and a 7-inch variable-speed polisher from Chicago Electric ($30, www.harborfreight.com).

As Practical Sailor carries out a series of structural and cosmetic repairs on our various test boats, well have the opportunity to test several different brands of epoxy products in real-world situations ranging from bonding to laminating and sealing. Recently, a couple of small bonding projects allowed us try a relatively new product from West System, G/flex. The two-part epoxy system comes two ways: pre-thickened in squeeze-tubes or bottled in a liquid form that can be used for laminating or thickened to a desired consistency for bonding.

The number of marine wax products on the market is staggering, and Practical Sailor has commissioned a series of projects to help readers make sure they get the best and longest wax protection for their money and effort. Our most recent full-fledged wax test ran for little over a year, with the results posted in the Nov. 15, 2004 issue. A test of cleaner-waxes-a different animal-was carried out in 2006-2007, with Star brite Heavy Duty Cleaner Wax and Restructure Marine Cleaner Wax coming out on top (Practical Sailor November 2007). Prior to those tests, a series of articles dealing with gelcoat protection were published. Two are posted online at www.practical-sailor.com under the "Tools and Techniques" section: "Plastics Versus Weather: The Nature of a Losing Battle," an interesting read for those curious about the chemical battles between your boat and the environment; and Nick Nicholsons "Offshore Log: Gelcoat Maintenance," some hard-earned how-to-tips on gelcoat maintenance.

Headlamps compliment rather than compete with traditional hand-held flashlights. Lighting of more than one kind is invaluable on board, and headlamps have the advantage of freeing up the two hands of the sailor who always seems to need a third. Our test focused on LED headlamps that claimed water resistance and featured a crosshead strap for comfort, and did not require a battery recharge. We tested 17 headlamps from six manufacturers: Icon from Black Diamond, a rock-climbing and skiing gear maker; the HeadsUp Recoil 2680 from Pelican, maker of all things watertight; and Vizion from Underwater Kinetics, along with four headlamps from Petzl, five from Princeton Tec, and five from Streamlights. Our top picks were based on wearing, testing and using these headlamps for months. Best Choice honors go to the Black Diamond Icon, a lightweight lamp thats versatile and loaded with features. Recommended products include the feature-laden red-filter-equipped Petzl Tactikka and the lightweight, Lithium-powered Streamlight Argo HP. The Pelican outshone others on pure brightness.

Practical Sailor tests products touted as environmentally friendly and compares the shades of green of some of the best performing products on the market. Previously, we have looked closely at power generating and power saving equipment such as solar and wind generators, and we will continue to test these in future articles. This article focuses on pollution, waste, and proactive measures that reduce the impact of the foul things that are sluiced, rinsed, or sanded off our boats, or pumped out of them. Products reviewed in this article include copper-free bottom paints: E-Paints zinc-based EP-2000, E-Paint EP-21, E-Paint ZO; Sea Hawk ablative Mission Bay CF and Mission Bay CSF; Pettit Alumacoat SR, and Vivid Free; and Interlux Pacifica. Water-based copper paints Pettit Hydrocoat, Flexdel Aquagard, and Interlux Fiberglass Bottomkote Aqua were also examined. Next up we look at biodegradable paint strippers including Back-to-Nature Ready Strip and Aqua Strip; Pettit Bio-Blast; Franmar Soy Strip; Bio-Blast; Dumond Chemicals Peel Away Smart Strip; EcoSolve; and CitriStrip. We compared the effectiveness and shades of green of Descalers including: Barnacle Buster from Trac Ecological; Rydlyme Marine from Apex Engineering; Star brite Zebra Mussel and Barnacle Remover; and MaryKate On & Off. Finally we looked at waterline stain removers and hull cleaners including: Spray Nine Boat Bottom Cleaner; Captain Johns Boat Brite Algae and Waterline Stain Remover; Rydlyme; Prime Filters Mineral-O-Magic; and Nautical Ease Nonskid Deck Cleaner and Black Streak Remover.