Boat Maintenance

Used boat buyers beware. Some potentially serious problems turn up with discouraging frequency during a routine search for bargains in the used boat market.

Whether it is, as the iceboaters say "soft water" or "hard water," the principles are exactly the same. However, because when iceboating the apparent wind behaves so much more radically, the sailtrimming techniques are considerably different. By the way, an airplane wing is just a sail turned horizontal; thats why so many airplane pilots own sailboats or iceboats.

Bronze portlights, even those coated with a thick layer of patina, give many sailboats a salty appearance, but if you want your portlights to look shiny, what is the best bronze polish? We apply the top products in our stainless steel polish test to some bronze portlights that had not been cleaned since the Carter Administration. Our test field features 19 different products, including: Miracle Cloth, Nevr Dull, Noxon 7, Prizm Polish, Flitz Metal Polish, Collinite No. 850 Metal Wax, Star Brite Chrome and Stainless Polish, 3M Metal Restorer and Polish, Turtle Wax Chrome Polish and Rust Remover, Meguiars Mirror Glaze, and more.

No matter what brand outboard engine you have Yamaha, Suzuki, Mercury, Tohatsu, or Johnson youll want to be wary of ethanol fuel. Owners of older sailboats with gasoline inboards like the Universal Atomic 4 should also be on alert. Ethanol fuel presents a wide range of problems for owners of gasoline engines. The new blend of fuel can attack tanks, hoses, seals, and can gum up your engine if you don't take certain precautions. We examine the issues surrounding ethanol fuel and offer some tips for safely storing a boat that runs on ethanol fuel.

With the rising awareness of the new lead-acid battery "Desulfator/conditioner" products that are currently hitting the market, we tested the claims of two leading products to see if they are worth the money.

Fill your bucket with these favorites for a boat that shines from the bilge to the bow.

MARINE INSURANCE REDUXI have been reading with much interest your articles about marine insurance this year (April and May 2006).

It was mid-July 1990 on the Caicos Banks, a stretch of shallow, gin-clear water extending for about 70 miles east to west in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Along with a dozen other cruisers whod chosen to thumb our noses at hurricane season (ah, those were simpler times), we were pausing in Providenciales before heading south. …

A 52-paint checkup: Antifoulants 12 months later.

Testers search for the perfect teak caulk - or at least one that doesn't incite acts of rage.