Random Orbit Sanders for Bottom Paint Prep
More than a century has passed since Art Emmons, a visionary young engineer at the 15-year-old Porter Cable Company, launched a technology race in...
Deep Cleaning the Supremely Dirty Boat
One reason for my aversion to scrubbing is that a Corsair F-24 trimaran is a folding trimaran, making it a nightmare to clean. Comprised...
Protecting Against Boatyard Fire
The 1666 London Fire. The 1871 Chicago Fire. The 1906 San Francisco Fire. Common factors shared by all of these disasters were inadequate spacing...
Dodging the Marine Chandlery Trap
The marine environment is demanding, so sacrificing quality is often a mistake. But marine supply stores, and even online “discount” marine retailers can feel...
Bungee Lanyards Take the Shock Out of Tools Dropped from the Mast
Iput a nice dent in the deck several decades ago when I dropped a wrench from the masthead. It scared the crew too.
I haven’t...
Shock Cord Hardware for Sailors
Every rope we have on board has its quirks when you’re trying to form a knot that won’t slip or come untied.
Dyneema is a...
The Best Gloves for the Boatyard
We choose our sailing gloves and deck shoes with great care, because they are our interface with the boat. The same goes for work...
Boat Repair in the Age of Plexus
Historically, fiberglass boat hulls and decks were molded separately, and then bonded at the deck seam. Bulkheads were added either with polyester or epoxy...
Choosing the Right Boat Glue
Any time I start researching glues, I can hear the voice of Old Man Parker from the classic film “A Christmas Story,” ringing in...
Are Boatbuilders Expecting Miracle Glues?
Don’t ask an adhesive to do more than it can. If a bolt breaks, we accept it as deterioration or faulty design, not a...
The Cheap Big Cruising Sailboat – Endeavour 42
Interested in a 40-45 foot cruising sailboat? Sailing Florida or the Bahamas and need a shoal draft sailboat that’s big enough to be a...
Latest Sailboat Review
Cheoy Lee Clipper 36 & 42 Used Boat Review
Cheoy Lee Shipyards of Hong Kong has been a commercial builder since the early 1900s and is one of the first molders of fiberglass...