Days on the water are often great, but things can go wrong. When they go wrong, your ability to get help is determined by your communication ability, and it’s important to know  the gear and co

Help! My AIS is stuck in the supply chain Dear Boat Doctor, I have a complete Raymarine system in my boat, and I want to add AIS. Unfortunately, the supply chain for Raymarine AIS units is blocked

Dear Boat Doctor, I just bought a Hylas 46, and I am assessing my ground tackle. The boat came with 120 feet of 3/8-inch chain and a 55-pound Mantus anchor. Both seem a little undersized for the boat

Dear Boat Doctor, We’re finally able to do some offshore passages on our Baba 40 and we’re looking to expand the sail inventory to get better downwind performance. We’re looking at an asymmetri

A protected and fair boat bottom looks good, but it’s the performance-related benefits that make a good bottom job worth the work, and the price.The first step in any bottom job is choosing the

Dear Boat Doctor, I just got my first big boat and I am facing a new problem. My boat has a keel-stepped mast and I am struggling to seal the mast to the deck. The boat came with a rubber strip b

Quetzal is ready for thousands more miles of ocean passages following a standing rigging refit.Standing rigging is not set it-and-forget-it equipment; it requires maintenance. All that shiny stainless

The best way to attach three-strandline to chain is with a thimble and screw-pin shackle. The shackle provides a large, smooth radius for the rope, as well as providing chafe protection. A shackle can

Dear Boat Doctor, I need a new genoa furler on my Passport 40 and I am not sure where to start. I have looked through a couple catalogs and they seem to be sized to the length of the boat, but it fee

Dear Boat Doctor, I have quite a buildup of paint on the bottom of my boat. In some places, it’s worn away, in other areas, it’s thick and peeling. I want to get it all off and start with a fresh

Dear Boat Doctor, I have a 1982 S2 5.5 Grand Slam. It’s stored on a trailer and has the original hull paint. I want to paint the bottom of it to freshen it up and to cover up the very fine spider c

Is my autopilot right for my boat?Dear Boat Doctor, I am installing an autopilot in my Compass 47, and I have some questions. I chose the Raymarine Evolution autopilot, specifically the EV400 core pac

Dear Boat Doctor, I brought my boat from the Great Lakes to the Caribbean for the first time this year and now the corrosion on my boat’s stainless steel is making me crazy.  It has gone 20 ye

Dear Boat Doctor, I am having some problems with my Raymarine autopilot. It’s an older unit and worked great right up until it didn’t. It’s a ST6000+ control with a Type 300 computer and a Typ

Dear Boat Doctor, I am setting up my boat for long-range cruising and trying to be as self-sufficient as possible. I can cover my electrical needs with solar panels. My watermaker produces all the wa

Dear Boat Doctor, I sail my Sabre 34 Mark II in an area where I very often sail directly upwind or on a very deep reach. My boat is not set up well for either point of sail, with a roller furling 125

Marine paint has come a long way. Modern paints are amazing, they are shiny and colorful, abrasive resistant and survive many years under the punishing rays of the sun. They stand up well, but over ti

Dear Boat Doctor, I have had a few close calls with accidental jibes, and I now typically use a preventer when sailing downwind. I just use a spare line and tie the boom down the to rail at the point