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…
What is AIS Class B+ and do I need it for my boat?
I ’d been thinking about buying an AIS transceiver for my Merry Fisher 855 for some time. I use my boat mainly in the Solent, where avoiding other vessels is…
Plastic boats – how should we dispose of old boats when they reach the end of their lives?
Steve Franklin is on a mission. He’s made it his business to deal with the increasing numbers of boats in the UK reaching the end of their useful lives, too…
Survey completed
The information you have provided is very valuable to us and will help us shape PBO in 2021 and beyond. We are enormously grateful for your time, and please rest…
How to: troubleshoot your diesel engine electrics
Even when you’ve done all your normal pre-departure checks, sometimes the engine still just won’t start. If you have ever faced this problem, there are going to be two main…
August 2020
Let the summer commence! The latest issue of Practical Boat Owner extolls the virtues of buying second-hand. Ken Endean describes the way to eliminate doubt when buying and restoring a…
ColRegs refresher – 12 videos every skipper should watch
Are you windward or leeward? Starboard or port? Do you know Rule 12(iii) and how do you cross a shipping lane? This neat series of ColRegs videos we filmed back…
Norway to Scotland on a Nicholson 32 – a true North Sea passage
In 34 knots of wind and a North Sea swell nearing mast height, our Nicholson 32 is beating with a momentum most modern cruisers lack. In a sense it isn’t…
How to: check and change an anode
Galvanic corrosion is a phenomenon that affects the majority of boats. If you have two dissimilar metals, such as stainless steel and bronze, the water will act as an electrolyte…
Summer 2020
Boat electronics on a budget is the big story this month in the Summer issue of PBO. Rupert Holmes highlights the difference between what you want and what you need…
How to remove a marine diesel cylinder head step by step
During the summer of the 2019 our Bavaria 39 Tessa Jane began producing black exhaust smoke and suffering a reduction in power from her 2005 Volvo Penta MD2030. Initial investigations…
Youtube sailing: 6 of the best episodes about learning lessons at sea
A hallmark of a great sailor is the ability to keep calm in a crisis, deal with it, and bounce back. I write a monthly column all about the latest…
PBO Small Craft Almanac updates 2020
The official updates for the PBO Small Craft Almanac can be downloaded from the Adlard Coles website – updates for your almanac section. Or you can view the updates and…
Overboard in the Atlantic – how I fixed a broken rudder
When my wife Teija told me she had a surprise for me one Christmas, little did I know how valuable her gift would turn out to be. “Bring your swimming…
How to: service your lifejacket
Attitudes to wearing lifejackets have changed slowly but surely says offshore sailing instrucor and Rubicon 3 founder, Bruce Jacobs. As with car seatbelts, lifejackets are something that we automatically wear…
Coronavirus update England: “All watersports can go ahead”
All watersports, including the use of privately owned motorised craft, can go ahead in England from today (May 13) as the coronavirus lockdown restrictions are relaxed. In a statement this…
Coronavirus lockdown: English marinas and sailing clubs allowed to open today
English marinas and sailing clubs are permitted to open today following a change in Government guidance which allows people to travel to the coast and use the water. The Government…
Port hopping the north coast of Cornwall in a small boat
My wife, Sue, and I had been thinking about cruising the north Cornish coast on our trailer-sailer for the last decade, despite Mark Fishwick’s opinion in his West Country Cruising…
Slow boat around Wales – coastal and inland circumnavigation in a Vivacity 20
When we first moved to Deganwy I saw a programme on Welsh television with a couple of guys from Aberaeron who had circumnavigated Wales in a Drascombe longboat. That looks…
Wild about sailing in the wonderful Whitsunday Islands
Do you want to experience a new cruising ground, something exotic, visually stunning, an adventure with crystal clear water, interesting flora and fauna… and no crowds? I have the answer.…
Planning your next adventure? Here’s some inspiration from the crews of ARC 2019
Have you ever crossed the Atlantic? This month at PBO we’re focusing on Amazing Adventures. If you’re planning a passage, or just fancy a bit of armchair sailing, take a…