Repair, Tools & Materials

Lessons from the World’s Cruelest Tool

  Sometime around 2.4 million years ago, the first hammer was created. It may have been used to crack a piece of bone for supper...

Getting Rid of Mold and Mildew Onboard

Among the marine maintenance products Practical Sailor evaluated recently were 14 pump-spray mildew cleaners to find out which one was the most effective at...

Practical Sailor LED Lightbulb Test

In this LED cabin light test, Practical Sailor looks at 17 light bulbs from seven manufacturers. The LEDs were tested to see which was...

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...

The ZERO KEEL and ALPHA RUDDER – Are Kraken Yachts Really...

If you're looking for a blue water ocean going family cruising sailboat where the keel wont fall off, Kraken Yachts has you in mind...

Latest Sailboat Review

Island Packet 440

For nearly 30 years under the direction of designer and CEO Bob Johnson, Island Packet accomplished what few modern boatbuilders have been able to...