Boat electrics made easy; Restoring a £1 boat; Easy ways to revive your canopy; How to find the perfect crew; How to lower your mast…
Practical Boat Owner
February 2026 issue – out 18 December
Outboard SOS: how to fix common engine problems; How to set up and get the most out of your chartplotter; The build of the 100cm…
Boats 2020 show at Southampton’s Mayflower Park announced
News just in from British Marine, on a replacement event for this year’s cancelled Southampton Boat Show: ‘British Marine is delighted to announce that Southampton International Boat Show Ltd will…
September 2020
The September issue of PBO has an extra special mix of boat maintenance advice – focussing on the rig checks you can do yourself – plus amazing adventures and boat…
10 of the best Youtube boat restorations
Boat restoration projects on Youtube never get old – for a start: the boats are often older than the people restoring them! But for anyone considering taking on a project,…
DIY anti-surf device for towing a dinghy
I’ve owned my dinghy for 30 years and the friend who sold it to me was killed in a motorcycle accident not long after. I’ve given my son sailing lessons…
How to restore a 22ft trailer-sailer in 10 easy steps
I’ve been hooked on boats since before I could walk, and have spent over 30 years repairing and sailing them. My experience has taught me how to manage a yacht…
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…