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…
Get ready for the season with AkzoNobel’s International®
Spring Maintenance Look after the boat, and it’ll look after you. After a winter ashore, there are some spring tasks to schedule before your boat ‘swims’ once more. It’s a…
Running aground in a motorboat: a cautionary tale
Gilbert Park runs aground in a tidal river and tells the story of what happened to him and the boat at the time and later
Dinghy cruising: 30 ways to experience the ultimate small-boat adventure
Ben Lowings shares his tips for dinghy cruising around the UK and further afield
Coating a GRP deck with SoftSand coating
Genevieve Leaper and Aleko Stephan remove the old teak deck on their Nicholson 32 and renovate the original GRP with a new coating
How to make boat feet to keep you level
Charles Beddingfield finds a way to stay level on a drying mud mooring
Ultraflare Daylight: A Breakthrough in Marine Distress Signalling
For decades, handheld pyrotechnic flares have been an essential component of maritime distress signalling, alongside radios, EPIRBs, PLBs, and rocket flares. However, they present significant drawbacks: Limited burn time –…
How to clean tarnished brass
John Tylor brings some cast-off tarnished brass light fittings back to shiny life
Next stop Fiji! Mini Globe Race skippers start Leg 2 amid gear issues
13 of the Mini Globe Race entrants are now racing towards Fiji in their 19ft plywood boats, a further two skippers are expected to be underway by next week
Big worries over new MCA Sport and Pleasure Code of Practice
Sail training providers across the UK are warning the cost of proposed changes to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) ‘Sport and Pleasure Code of Practice’ could have a ‘devastating’…
Want to build a stitch and glue boat? Get your design plans and start now!
Due to popular demand, Tim Owen shares his stitch-and-glue design ideas for a rigid 8ft plywood rowing dinghy. He built his 50 years ago in 24 hours – it’s still…
Open weekends announced for Portland Marina
Next month, Portland Marina will be hosting two boat buying open weekends
Improving a heads pump installation
Trevor Martin shows how he replaced the pumps and modified the installation of his vacuum heads for easier servicing in the future
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
Saildrive maintenance: a boat owner’s guide
Stu Davies shares his tips for making sure your boat's saildrive runs smoothly
Fouled propeller fix: top tips for solving the problem at sea
What should you do when you catch a line or fishing net and your prop becomes fouled? Ali Wood looks at the options
Have your say on boat licensing via the Canal and River Trust survey
Share your experiences and suggestions for improvement via the Canal and River Trust's boat licensing survey – are changes needed for the network’s future?
Elan Impression 43: a spacious interior & satisfying sailing performance
High, wide and thoroughly modern, Elan’s new Impression 43 offers a remarkably roomy interior and more performance than you might expect, as David Harding discovers
Where to recycle old sails and end of life kit – drop off points across the UK and Europe
Got old sails and old rope that you don't want to put into landfill? The ReSail platform allows sailors to find free drop-off points to give new life to end-of-life…
Cornish Shrimper 19: the popular traditionally-styled cruiser + alternative boats to consider
Rupert Holmes looks into why this small, traditionally-styled cruiser remains so universally popular – and suggests some alternative boats that fulfill a similar brief
Thames tidal lesson – getting stuck in the mud motorboating in central London
Faith Merrett gets stuck in the mud while cruising from Teddington to St Katharine Docks Marina in Central London aboard her Haines river cruiser