Ask Sail

when first pushing the start button, I sometimes get no response. Releasing and pushing the button a couple of times finally engages the starter.

The drawers have never been painted before and are made of plywood. What kind of paint should we use?

This past summer I purchased a used Valiant 40 with rod rigging. Though the rigging is about 20 years old, the seller assured me he recently had it reheaded and that it should last several more years.

I own a 1987 Catalina 27 with a Universal M18 diesel engine. I’ve had the boat for just over two years, but because the hour meter is broken, I don’t know how many hours are on the engine.

My docked vessel has lately been attracting dead fish! I seem to be the only one around who has this smelly problem. I recently had my corrosion-control system refurbished. Could this be the cause?

One of the stainless steel chainplates on my Olson 911S is tinted green both above and below deck. The fasteners that bolt the plate to the internal bulkhead do not show the same condition.

“Can you give me some ideas on what might cause excessive white smoke in the exhaust of a 2-year-old Yanmar diesel?” Nigel Calder replies.

I am racing an ultralight sailboat in a three-day regatta. I am counting every ounce that comes on board, and a conventional wet-cell or AGM battery will put me over my weight limit. Is there any new battery technology I can use?

Can Pump N Seal be used to suck air out of a varnish can to stop it from skimming over?