Repair, Tools & Materials

The fastest way to attach light hardware to a cored deck is a self-tapping screw. It is also the fastest way to have hardware rip out of the deck and end up with a wet core and delaminated deck. But how to replace screws that have gotten loose or prevent a wet deck in your future? One method is to drill and over-sized hole, remove some core, fill the enlarged hole with epoxy, and then replace them with small through bolts (see Spreading the Load Practical Sailor, August 2016). But what if the backside is inaccessible? Can we create an improved repair by filling and reinstalling a self-tapping fastener, without major surgery? What sealing and filling material is best?

Sunbrella does not shrink. That is the mantra, and for covers and dodger that are left in place, it seems to be the true. It stretches a little when wet, and so long as it is maintained under tension while it dries, it retains it shape. So says Sunbrella. While this seems true for tensioned cloth (our dodger still fits) and it hardly matters for a sail cover, our real world experience with removable Sunbrella window covers has been different, shrinking as much as 5 percent over a period of years. The problem, no doubt, is that these are worst case scenario, repeatedly removed while still wet with dew and allowed to dry. The end result was that the covers became difficult to install and some of the snaps were being ripped out by the excessive tension.

Spider cracks can indicate impact damage or serious structural problems that will need to be addressed to prevent spreading, but most often they result from relatively inflexible gelcoat that is too thick. Stress by thermal expansion or when bulkheads and liners were installed can cause minor flexing. Cracks from larger issues-a winch, for example, that was inadequately mounted-will need to be fixed before cosmetic repairs begin.

Im trying to determine the cause of erosion of the centerboard pivot pin from Arcturus, our 36-foot Soverel keel/centerboard cutter. It is a -inch diameter silicon bronze pin installed new in 2004. I removed the centerboard a few weeks ago and was surprised to see that the pin was heavily corroded. Ive attached a few pictures of the pin. The boat has a fiberglass encapsulated lead keel, with the lead bedded in a resin/sand mixture. The pivot pin fits in a hole drilled through the keel and centerboard trunk (which has encapsulated lead on both sides).

Each year, just prior to the fall boat show season, Practical Sailor editors consult with our testers to come up with a select list of Gear of the Year from the previous 12 months of testing. For most of the 2016-2017 testing season we focused on essential everyday products that owners of boats of all sizes-with a few exceptions-rely on. While our testers appreciate new technology, they recognize that a safe passage often depends on the reliability of the weakest link, and that weakest link is often a seemingly minor component that gets little attention. In short, our Editors Choice list is not the sexiest product roundup, but if youre serious about keeping your electrical connections corrosion free, making professional repairs on a blue-collar budget, maintaining a safe speed in a steep following sea, or looking for a way to manage a big genoa without upgrading to an electric winch, youll appreciate it.

Theres little debate over the adhesive quality and toughness of epoxy resin-just look at where its being used. We hear about its presence in crucial structures such as aircraft wings, race car bodies and high-end custom racing yachts. But it takes a little familiarity with engineering lingo to help us understand why epoxy trumps its ester relatives.

Every fall, as the hauled-out boats are sardined into boatyards, a walking tour reveals the casualties from the underwater war. Saildrives are deeply pitted and shedding paint. Bottom paint is burned near seacocks. Folding props no longer fold. Most often, these losses are blamed on the zinc anodes-or lack of them.

The anodes were cleaned, weighed, and installed on 2-foot lengths of 3/4-inch, copper pipe (type M), which were also weighed. We hung the samples between slips in the mid-Chesapeake Bay near Rockhold Creek for one year, cleaning quarterly to mimic light use. At the end of the test period, the samples were cleaned with a plastic scraper and scrub brush, and their interiors were scrubbed with a snugly fitted multi-knotted rope. Testers gave them a light acid cleaning to loosen barnacle residue and scrubbed them again before weighing them. We also measured potential driving force and current for each anode before and after exposure. Salinity at the test site varied from brackish to seawater salty. We will be testing in full-strength salt water for a followup article.

In the January 2012 issue, we evaluated the application ease and traction performance of do-it-yourself nonskid options. A few months prior to the report, a Practical Sailor tester applied the tests Best Choice pick, Durabak, to the coachroof of his Chesapeake Bay-based 1978 Union 36; this served as a real-world test of the coating systems application ease and coating longevity. That field test has reached the five-year mark, so we wanted to offer an update on the coatings long-term performance.

When it comes to most mechanical things-like wheel bearings on a car-its miles that wears em out, as my grandfather used to say. And while there are many reasons why 200,000 miles on a modern car is less remarkable than 75,000 miles was in his day, improvements in lubrication rank high on the list. Lubes of old would oxidize to sludge, stop circulating, wash out, fail to suspend dirt, and drop in pH from acid buildup-or all of these.