Battery management made simple, Plastic vs metal seacocks: which is best? Anchoring with shore lines explained, Tips for replacing curved windows; The appeal of the…
Practical Boat Owner
July issue – 8 May
Navigation and your fingertips: an easy guide to digital charts, plotters and MFDs, How to sail around headlands, races and overfalls, 10 ways to save…
How to launch a trailer sailer (and the key mistakes to avoid)
George was helping to launch his friend’s boat and asked if Paul and I could give them a hand. My friend George knows nothing about boats, his involvement was as…
How sailing gear has changed over the decades
Peter Poland reflects on pulling out the lead line, lobbing a Walker log over the stern and unpacking a sextant versus modern sailing gear
“Just as I was thinking about cutting the engine, the decision was made for me”
Sailing, with the wind, sea and tides, is a sport ever ready to reward complacency with challenge. From an estuary dinghy sailor to an ocean voyager, there are endless opportunities…
EDZ Merino wool leggings and top: tried and tested
Ali Wood tests EDZ Merino wool leggings and top over the winter and is impressed
Red Original beanie and headband: tried and tested
Ali Wood tests Red Original's beanie hat and headband to find out if it keeps her warm from the elements
The VMG 40 – a 40ft kit boat for bluewater cruising
VMG Yacht Design's VMG 40 can be built from a modular kit and is aimed at the offshore cruising market
Securing mast cable on our Maxi 84
With the help of ACM Marine, Ali Wood goes about securing mast cable on the Maxi 84 PBO project boat
How to choose the right project boat
How do you distinguish a real bargain boat from one that’s not worth restoring, even if it’s free? Rupert Holmes has some sage advice
First look: the new Oyster Punt by Falco Boats
The new Oyster Punt by Falco Boats can be either rowed or driven by electric engine, and has been hand built at the boatbuilder's yard in Cornwall
Seadog of the Month: May the clementine thief
Standard Poodle May claimed a coveted 'Seadog of the Month' slot in Practical Boat Owner magazine – and now she's using her buoyancy aid prize on a circumnavigation of Britain
Calor Gas alternatives for boat owners
With Calor discontinuing some of its gas cylinders, Barry Pickthall looks at the options available for boat owners with older vessels
Sailing the Northwest Passage in a wooden replica Victorian cutter
Plymouth shipwright Will Stirling is attempting to sail through the notorious ice-bound Northwest Passage in a 43ft wooden ‘gentlemen’s cutter’ that he designed himself.
Sprinkling sand ‘deters orcas’ according to Cruising Association
Sprinkling sand around the rudder is now a recommended deterrence of orca – which have damaged more than 250 yachts and sunk three – in the Strait of Gibraltar since
Channel Hopping: Why the Golden Globe Race is a yacht race like no other
"I worried the film might be a hagiography of Don McIntyre"... our resident YouTube aficionado reviews The Voyage of Madmen
Navigate Your Way to Financial Freedom
In sailing, keeping a steady hand on the tiller and staying on course is important. Racing sailors train to focus so they can manage pressures – and win. You can…
Keel types and how they affect performance
Peter Poland looks at the history of keel design and how the different types affect performance
Berth holders hit back at ‘restrictive practices’
Berth holders at some Aquavista coastal marinas are angry over boat selling rule changes introduced by management
Squatter onboard: ‘Rather than heading out on a perfect sunny day we set about sanitising the boat’
Rory Church’s much anticipated visit to his beloved boat doesn’t go quite as planned when he discovers evidence of a squatter onboard
Jimmy Cornell: “How I’ve coped with almost every type of emergency at sea”
Perhaps it is inevitable in my long and eventful sailing life that I’ve faced a number of emergency situations. In every case I was able to deal with them successfully.…
The proposed PFAS ban and the implications for the marine industry
Both the European Chemicals Agency and the UK's Health and Safety Executive are examining proposals to ban the use of the synthetic chemicals PFAS, which could have implications for the…