Repair, Tools & Materials

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...

Historically, fiberglass boat hulls and decks were molded separately, and then bonded at the deck seam. Bulkheads were added either with polyester or epoxy...

Any time I start researching glues, I can hear the voice of Old Man Parker from the classic film “A Christmas Story,” ringing in...

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...

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.

Boat decks take a beating from sun and salt that eventually take their toll on factory-molded nonskid. Once nonskid loses its grip, resurrecting it...

Caulking guns might seem like simple implements— lever, a spring, a notched shaft, and a few extra flourishes and what was once a slab...

The media serves several purposes in a desiccating toilet. It provides visual cover, draws moisture away from the solids (good wicking and coating are...

Here we go again. Apparently enough time (32 years) has passed since I last bought a 50-plus-year-old boat and began restoring it that I’ve...

In our recent test of waterproof epoxies for making underwater repairs, we also looked into making underwater patches. Obviously, your success in this effort...