Paul Vellacott discovers that making cockpit cushions saves money and is comfortably within everyone’s capabilities
In the workshop
DIY at home: a selection of PBO articles about projects that can be completed in the workshop at home.
Make your own boat boarding step
A DIY project for the big day! For his wedding photos, Thomas Parker built a smart boarding step for getting safely on and off the pontoon.
Repairing an inflatable dinghy: fixing holes
Paul Diamond repairs a dinghy that was chewed by rodents
Rubbing strakes refurbishment: step-by-step guide
Rubbing strakes take a lot of abuse, so it is important to pay them some attention. Ben Meakins shares how he made the ones on his boat as good as…
Fitting a new toerail or grabrail on your sailboat or motorboat
Rupert Holmes explains the techniques for the removal and replacement of toerails and grabrails on our your boat
Hull plank repair on a boat: step-by-step
With a few practical woodworking skills anyone should be able to replace a plank on a carvel-built wooden hull, as Richard Johnstone-Bryden discovers
How to fit a new cam belt on your boat engine
Stu Davies explains how he fitted a new cam belt to the diesel engine in his 1999 Beneteau 381
How I built a galley box for my boat
Ben Russell adds basic cooking facilities to his motorboat
How to make boat feet to keep you level
Charles Beddingfield finds a way to stay level on a drying mud mooring
How to clean tarnished brass
John Tylor brings some cast-off tarnished brass light fittings back to shiny life
Replacing vinyl with maple strips in a forecabin
Faced with his 30-year-old Konsort's knackered vinyl dforecabin, Richard Hare renovated it with 12mm insulation and maple strips
The art of veneering: step-by-step
Face up to the task of applying veneer with the help of boatbuilder Tony Davies
DIY GRP repair: step by step guide
Guide to achieving a professional finish with a do-it-yourself GRP hull repair to fix boat damage using West System's glassfibre repair kit
How to lay EVA foam decking on your boat
With the eye-watering cost of teak, Andy Pag decides to lay bargain EVA foam decking in the cockpit of his catamaran
How to fit a removable mainsheet track
When your boat’s mainsheet arrangement doesn’t quite do the job it’s not difficult to improve upon it yourself. Here’s how Bob Goode devised his own
How to get a mirror finish on you boat
Lyndon March explains how to get the perfect mirror finish on your wooden or GRP hull
Cutless bearing replacement: step by step
Stu Davies explains how to fit a cutless bearing on your boat
How I made a specialist tool to repair my dinghy
Paul Diamond creates a specialised valve removal tool from a socket spanner in order to repair his inflatable tender
How to make a DIY bilge alarm switch
Zoran Gloznic builds a budget bilge alarm switch
Boat instrument panel and helm refit: step-by-step
Tony Davies shows how he rebuilt the helm position and instrument panel on a 1970s Reinell V-204 sports cruiser