Repair, Tools & Materials

Mildew-resistant Caulks for Boats

Choosing a marine caulk for use above the waterline comes down to which product offers the best resistance to weathering, dirt, mildew, and ability...

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...

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...

Bottom Paint Removal Decision Time

However you choose to use your scarce time, we’ll wager that you’d rather not spend it removing bottom paint. If you are an owner of an older boat with a decade of accumulated hard bottom paint that is flaking and cracking, now is a good time to start weighing your options for removing the old paint. Should you do it yourself, or hire the professionals—or a bit of both? Our experts break down the different approaches to removing old antifouling and the compare the estimated costs of each.

Why the Catalina 42 Took Over the Caribbean

You see them everywhere — the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, all across the Caribbean. The Catalina 42, especially the Mark II, has quietly become...

Latest Sailboat Review

Dragonfly 25-2 Boat Review

If you’ve ever dreamed of blasting across the water at 25 knots with the wind in your hair and the spray in your face...