Tools & Gadgets

I doubt there is a sailmaker out there who doesn’t have a few shop-built tools in daily use. Here are five of my favorites:...

Pulling hoses is generally low on the fun list. They are in bad places, jammed onto crusty hose-fitting barbs, and have stiffened over the years. As part of our 2016 update on long-term tests, we needed to wiggle loose a few of the sanitation hoses were testing to see how they were looking on the inside-a job much less pleasant than new installation.

In “Dustless Sanding,” (see PS April 2016), we described a simple modification to a 5-gallon bucket that would make collecting dust from bottom painting...

Point me to any boat, anywhere, anytime and I can guarantee you I will find a few tricks or particular set-ups made by its...

My wife Amanda often asks fellow cruisers the question: Would you prefer to sail with an experienced mechanic who knew little about sailing, or...

Historically, the cook has always enjoyed a privileged position on board a boat. And no wonder, since the cook almost always works the hardest, whether the boat is underway or at anchor. While the navigator and helmsmans job is no less critical, the nerve-wracking labor of maintaining a steady course and plotting an accurate DR position has nearly evaporated in recent years, thanks to GPS, chartplotters, and autopilots. The cooks job, on the other hand, hasn't gotten a whole lot easier. So, in honor of the hardest working crew, Ive put together a list of five items that can help make a cooks life easier underway. Id be interested in hearing what other suggestions our readers have.

As a full-time live-aboard, you learn to make some sacrifices. You ultimately become your own little island so you must learn to ration your...

A hot knife is a luxury item, but nothing is better for cutting and sealing synthetic rope and fabric. We find ourselves reaching for...

To hold a line upstream of a winch you need a jammer or clutch. Rope sizing is important. Small lines slip, big lines won’t...

A dockside expert told me that larger objectives made binoculars brighter, and that his optical view was actually brighter than ambient conditions. The problem...