Varnish Exposure Update (and Coatings Recap)
Paint and varnish shouldn't be too difficult to understand: They're coatings you apply with a brush, roller or pad to protect or beautify the...
Gelcoat Repair Kits: Bondo Best
In the beginning, there was paint, and for a long time the repair of scratches and gouges was relatively simple.
Update: Honey Teak Has Staying Power
Last March, we reported the initial results of a new long-term varnish exposure test. What a difference a year makes!
Varnish Exposure Test
20 different brands are brushed on teak panels and put out to weather in the sun, rain and snow. Here’s a 6-month report.
Our 10th Annual Bottom Paint Test
Micron Optima rates best at preventing growth on hulls, but its short pot life makes runners-up Trinidad SR, ACP Ultima and Micron CSC Extra look equally good.û
Offshore Log: In Search of the Magic Finish
Most varnishes don’t last long in the tropics and, unfortunately for Nick, Calypso has a laminated captrail that requires protection.
Spring Maintenance:Smith & Co. CEPS and Honey Teak Best Gloss Teak Treatments
A trend in recent years has been the gradual elimination of exterior teak on boats. This is understandable, given the amount of time and...
Spring Maintenance: Antifouling Tests ’99
There are many rites of spring-trees bud, houses are cleaned, young mens fancies turn and boaters get ready for a new season on...
Spring Maintenance:Smith & Co. CEPS and Honey Teak Best Gloss Teak Treatments
A trend in recent years has been the gradual elimination of exterior teak on boats. This is understandable, given the amount of time and...
Antifouling Paints: Year Seven
The summer of 1997 was the seventh consecutive year weve been running tests on antifouling bottom coatings. It was a year that saw an...
$40,000 for a 40 Foot Cruiser? The Bristol 40 Reality Check
You can find Bristol 39s and Bristol 40s for around $40,000 — and at first glance, that sounds like one of the best deals...
Latest Sailboat Review
Tartan 33 Used Boat Review
In 1978, Tartan brought out the Tartan Ten, a 33', fairly light, fractionally-rigged "offshore one design." The boat was a huge success: fast, easy to sail, and unencumbered by the design limitations of a rating rule. But the Tartan Ten had one big problem: limited accommodations with stooping headroom, an interior most kindly described as spartan. A hardy crew could take the Tartan Ten on a multi-day race such as the Mackinac, and you might even coax your family aboard for a weekend of camping out. But cruising or extended racing in comfort? Forget it!