Essential skills, planning and kit for your best summer afloat, Bonding & sealants guide, How to sail tidal estuaries, Yacht handing on rivers, Silicone antifouling…
Practical Boat Owner
May issue – out 13 March
Tune your rig so your boat points higher and sails better, The ultimate cruising guide to Britain and Ireland, Essential propeller care, How to check…
Pip Hare races Vendee Globe rival Costa towards Cape of Good Hope
Pip Hare should cross the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope early tomorrow, her first of the Vendée Globe’s three Great Capes. Lying in 20th place, onboard Medallia, she’s…
Studland Bay wildlife protection orders may lead to complete boating ban in the bay
One of the South Coast’s most popular boating areas, Studland Bay, just outside the entrance to Poole Harbour, is likely to be the subject of further restrictions in order to…
Stay with the boat or take to the liferaft? Escoffier’s impossible decision
Could you describe what happened? It’s still hard for me to believe it; to believe that I broke the boat inside the wave at 90 degrees. I should have taken…
Vendée skipper Escoffier rescued from liferaft
Kevin Escoffier, the 40-year-old skipper of PRB, was rescued by fellow competitor Jean Le Cam this morning, after spending 12 hours in his liferaft off the coast of South Africa.…
Alone at sea with whooping cough
What could be safer than being alone in the middle of the ocean during a pandemic? This has been a frequent response to the news that this year’s Original Singlehanded…
How to fit a rode counter to make anchoring from the helm a reality
I often sail single-handed and after using a rode counter on another boat, I decided to fit one to my Nimbus 365. I already had markers on the chain at…
January 2021
This month we get aboard three new outboard-powered day boats – inland and coastal – plus we deconstruct the calculations that define the limits of your sailing boat's performance. And…
Self-isolation comes naturally for some of us…
Self-isolating has never been a problem for me. In fact, I’ve been following government guidelines ever since 2005, when I bought my Sailfish 18, and two months later the sheet…
How to: replace a halyard
Halyards need taking out of the mast if you’re unstepping the mast or the line needs replacing. It is pretty straightforward, but there are a few steps to follow to…
Yacht maintenance not ‘essential activity’ during second COVID-19 lockdown
Government officials have said private individuals visiting their boats for maintenance or winterisation purposes is not an essential activity, and should not be a reason for people leaving their homes
Pip Hare – from folkboats to five oceans
“It’s not hard being on your own. Or even being in the middle of the ocean. It’s learning to sleep that’s so tough,” confides British sailor Pip Hare, ahead of…
What use is a chart table? 4 new ideas that won’t stand the test of time
Useless thing, these days, the chart table. Once, the navigator crouched over it, tensely twiddling the wheel on his Breton plotter, dividers at hand, pencils rolling to the swells, drenched…
How to repair instrument gauges
Every boat has a number of gauges for water, fuel and waste tanks. Every so often, one of them will stop working properly – giving no reading at all or…
Nav equipment and electronics: how to set up your boat on a budget
Marine electronics have come a long way since the days when a log, depth sounder, VHF and GPS, or even Decca, were the norm for many boats. It’s now possible…
Pre-order the PBO Small Craft Almanac 2021, out Nov 26
The Reeds PBO Small Craft Almanac may be more compact and concise than the Reeds Nautical Almanac but it contains a wealth of indispensable navigational data specially tailored for small…
Long term UK cruisers in Europe face paying VAT twice on boats
UK sailors who have cruised continually in Europe for over three years without returning to the UK have until the end of 2021 to bring their vessels home or face…
December 2020
The type of tender you own says a lot about the boat you have and the boating you do. A boat for rowing out to a mid-river mooring and back…
Ocean Film Festival in your living room
This October sees the very first virtual edition of the Ocean Film Festival World Tour. This annual collection of short films has been a hit with PBO staff since it…
Safety video aims to reduce RNLI call-outs to broken down boats
The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) and Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) have joined forces to produce a new series of ‘How to’ videos with advice and tips on how to…
How to: moor a yacht alongside
When it comes to mooring your boat alongside, it helps to know which lines do what, what type of rope to use and how best to arrange them so that…