Boat Maintenance

Brinkmann, LSI, Optronics Shine Bright in Spotlight Test

If you've ever tried to locate a channel marker on a dark night, or to read the number on an unlit buoy in the...

Gelcoat Repair Kits: Bondo Best

Today, we have gelcoat, in which cracks, chips, and scratches are a constant problem for owners who want to keep their vessels looking good....

Update: Honey Teak Has Staying Power

While Smith & Co. Five-Year Clear has not suffered a film failure, we do note some white blotches under the surface, which, according...

Hull Blisters: Know the Enemy

In 1990 Practical Sailor published Comtex Development's definitive findings about the causes of blisters on fiberglass hulls. The author was Rick Strand, then president...

PS Advisor: July 2001

Lexan vs. PlexiIm planning to replace my wooden companionway boards with translucent plastic. Is there a difference between Lexan and plexiglass? Can both be...

Personal Rescue Lights: Less Than Brilliant

If theres a lesson to be learned about personal rescue lights -the kind you have strapped or pinned to your PFD for when...

Sandpaper: Carborundum’s Premier Red Shines For The Price

Dillinger, the Depression era’s Public Enemy #1 destroyed his fingertips with acid... but was led to slaughter in a Chicago alley in 1934...

Sandpaper: Carborundum’s Premier Red Shines For The Price

Dillinger, the Depression era’s Public Enemy #1 destroyed his fingertips with acid... but was led to slaughter in a Chicago alley in 1934...

Varnish Exposure Test

In recent years we have forsaken the testing of traditional varnishes for what might generically be called “teak treatments”—mostly oils, urethanes like Honey Teak,...

Our 10th Annual Bottom Paint Test

Practical Sailor has been testing bottom paints for 10 years now, though it sometimes seems like forever. It’s been a lot of work, but...

40-Footer Boat Tours – With Some Big Surprises! | Boat Tour

Join us at the Miami Boat Show as we get on four 40-footers for boat tours! A Beneteau 37.1, Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 410, Dufour...