Mirka’s Andy Mierau shares trade tips on how to prepare surfaces for polishing or varnishing
woodwork
Boat wood: a complete guide for yacht owners
Boatbuilder and finisher Lyndon March explains which types of wood work best for different repairs and modifications on board
Why plywood boats are making a comeback
A wonder material in the 1950s and 1960s, plywood is making a comeback. Rupert Holmes analyses what lies behind a new wave of plywood boats
How to make an emergency boat step
Trevor Martin makes a simple boat step for getting out of your vessel in an emergency
Replacing a rotten companionway step
James Wood gets to grips with epoxy when repairing a rotten step support on Maximus's companionway
DIY boat ladder: how to make one on a budget
Zoran Glozinic shares how he made a safe and sturdy DIY boat ladder on a minimal budget
A new build nesting dinghy for a newlywed couple
In the days before inflatable dinghies it was common to have a hard dinghy, to be left on the mooring or hoisted onto the foredeck of your yacht, or atop…
How to build a Baby Tender – the miniature clinker boat baby cradle
I first saw a cradle boat at a wooden-boat show years ago, and thought to myself: ‘When I have kids, I’ll build one of these’. Fast forward a decade, and…
How to make a customised plywood-epoxy box – no screws or nails
On any boat, particularly smaller craft, the stowage of more delicate objects is always a challenge and for expensive items some sort of protective casing is required. Metal cases (when…
Don’t let the sun shine in! Making a hatch shade board
You can keep cool in hot weather without resorting to amp-chewing fans and air-conditioners. Richard Hare shows how to make a simple hatch blanking plate
How to cut rounded corners with a hole saw
How to cut rounded corners with a hole saw
Using a router
A power router can make light work of jobs that would otherwise take ages by hand. Julian Peckham has some tips for its use
Sharpening chisels and plane irons
Blunt tools a problem? Razor-sharp chisels and planes produce a much better job and are easier and safer to use. Julian Peckham shows how it’s done
Using a wood plane
There’s more to using a simple hand wood plane than first meets the eye. It’s not just a case of screwing a knurled knob in or out to adjust the…
8 quick tips for varnishing
Some tips and tricks to get the best finish possible when varnishing your boat's woodwork
How to improve your emergency tiller
A boat move in the marina required me to go astern the full length of a narrow fairway between two long pontoons and turn 90° to port at the very end.…