Repair, Tools & Materials

Best Boating Knives

Hold the Redi-Edge on a flat surface and lightly draw the knife edge through the 20-degree edge angle formed by two small, hardened cutting...

Wera: Stainfree with Stainless

According to German toolmaker Wera Tools, much of the corrosion we find in the cross-hairs of our Phillips-head and other stainless-steel fasteners is a...

Diddy Bagg is More Than a Tool Bag

Practical Sailor testers are constantly schlepping tools between the Practical Sailor workshop, our own garages, and—of course—our boats. So we’re always on the lookout...

SteriPEN Portable UV Water Purifier

Cruising sailors who venture to the fringes of civilization, or to attractive but perhaps unsanitary foreign ports, or even to unfamiliar marinas, often have...

Plastic Razor Blades

Plastic scrapers have been around for a while. They are popular among painters, woodworkers, and auto detailers. For boaters, they make sense for jobs...

Power Tools for Restoring Gelcoat

In our test of acrylic-type gelcoat restorers, we polished one panel on a 1972 Oday Javelin with 3M Finesse-It II and waxed it.Practical Sailor...

Ocean Tested: A Professional Carpenter and Cruiser Tells Practical Sailor What’s in His Power-tool...

In the last decade, tool manufacturers have drastically improved their standard products. Today, all of the major manufacturers offer professional-grade power tools at reasonable...

Wave Survives Alinghi Challenge

One of our campaigns over the last several years has featured knives and multitools as personal emergency tools that maintain and implement a sense...

Quickline Takes a Load Off

Using an elastic nylon riding stopper (aka snubber) is always recommended when deploying an all-chain rode. Snubbers act as shock absorbers between rode and...

Multitools Revisited

The expense of a good multitool—a specialized apparatus containing small tools that most sailors already own individually—is justified by the increased convenience and efficiency...

Bavaria C42: What You Should Know | Boat Tour

Looking to buy a 40-45 foot sailboat? Considering a Bavaria C42? See a Bavaria 42 for sale? What are the pros and cons of...