How I Used Ospho to Stop Rust on a Working Tug One of my first real seafaring jobs involved a quick, hands-on rehabilitation of a small tug used to push propane barges from a Mississippi River port down to a terminal in Corpus Christi, Texas. As a deckhand on that welded-steel workboat, I learned to … Read more
Upgrade Your Boat’s Freshwater System: Replace Polybutylene and Qest Fittings with PEX and SharkBite Many older boats still rely on original freshwater plumbing made from polybutylene tubing and Qest-style fittings. These systems are notorious for developing cracks and leaks over time. Repairs are often temporary: fixing one coupling or a short length of polybutylene can … Read more
Exhaust Temperature Alarms: Early Warning for Raw-Water Cooling Failure Imagine you are helming through a long, dark night and a floating plastic bag or other debris gets sucked into your raw-water intake. That obstruction can quickly reduce or stop the flow of cooling water to one or more engines. While there are many possible outcomes, … Read more
A simple, strong way to bond King Starboard: a real‑world test of Chem‑Set 6105 The talk around the docks has long been the same: bonding King Starboard—a popular marine-grade polyethylene sheet used by today’s boat builders and restorers—to itself or to other materials is difficult. Traditional approaches have required a sequence of demanding surface preparations: … Read more
A Bubbly Solution to Rust If you keep chrome-plated box-end wrenches and other hand tools aboard, you know how quickly salt, humidity and a stray splash of seawater can leave them looking ugly with rust and discoloration. Before you toss a set of otherwise serviceable tools or hide them away out of embarrassment, try a … Read more
America’s Cup Hall of Fame to Open in Newport Through New Partnership The National Sailing Hall of Fame and the Herreshoff Marine Museum & America’s Cup Hall of Fame have announced a strategic partnership to establish an America’s Cup Hall of Fame presence in Newport, Rhode Island. By joining forces, the two organizations aim to … Read more
How I Cleared a Clogged Marine Air Conditioner Without Buying Expensive Parts At first I noticed a thinner-than-usual stream of cooling water draining from my self-contained marine air-conditioning unit. I shrugged it off, assuming it was a temporary glitch. A few days later the stream was noticeably weaker, but I convinced myself that repairing it … Read more
How I Enlarged a Hole in My Boat’s Steering Console to Fit a New GPS Plotter When I installed a new GPS plotter on the flybridge, I ran into a small but real installation challenge: the cable connectors on the new unit were too large to pass through the existing hole in the steering console. … Read more
Prepare Your Boat for the 2020 Hurricane Season: Forecast and Practical Steps The 2020 hurricane season begins today and runs through November 30. Forecasters at the Colorado State University Tropical Meteorology Project are predicting an above-average season, calling for 16 named storms, eight of which are expected to become hurricanes and four of which could … Read more
Essential Offshore Medical Kit and Training for Boaters Picture this: you’re offshore, enjoying a day on the water, when a crewmate slips climbing to the flybridge and sustains a deep wound. Bone is exposed and blood is flowing. You reach for the inexpensive $29 “first aid kit” you keep on board and find only small … Read more