Breaking Out the Anchor Without a Bow Roller
One of the challenges we faced when testing the Chesapeake Anchor, even at the 3-pound scale, was that once any anchor is set to...
How to Choose the Right Canvas for Your Sailboat
Every season, for as long as I’ve owned my current boat, I’ve had people compliment me on my canvas and inquire about who made...
10 Years Under the Hull: Epoxy Barrier Coat Test
There’s more than a little irony in the need to keep a fiberglass boat away from water. The reason revolves around chemistry and the...
John Campbell’s North Pacific Rescue
Clip on your safety tether. Far out in the North Pacific, solo sailor John Campbell was about to face the kind of ordeal most...
Best CARB-Compliant Gas Cans: SureCan vs. Scepter
Everyone hated the first generation of CARB gas cans. While they were intended to reduce volatile emissions by recovering vapors and reducing spills, they...
Running a Sailing Charter Business in British Columbia: One Captain’s Adventures
After nearly three years of sailing the Pacific in the 1980s with my family, land life in British Columbia became a placeholder—by 1999, the...
Assessing the Anchor Kellet
One of all-chain rodes most popular features among cruising sailors has little to do with anchoring-and everything to do with stowing. With a well-designed bow roller, windlass, hawse hole, and chain locker, your rode and anchor will deploy and stow belowdecks faster and with far less effort than nylon rode requires. But for a smaller boat without a windlass or deep chain locker, an all-chain rode is often impractical. Even cruising sailors who are perfectly equipped for all-chain anchoring often find that their nylon secondary anchor better is suited for some anchoring situations.
In Search of the Ultimate Boat Hook
The basic design of the humble boat hook hasn't changed much over the years, but it has seen upgrades in construction and materials, along with some minor design tweaks. For this report, we set out to determine what constitutes the ideal boat hook. We evaluated boat hooks currently on the market and took a look at some old models still in service.
Ground Tackle Inspection Tips
Your anchoring system is only as strong as its weakest component, which includes not only the rode, but also shackles, splices, mooring bitts, cleats - in short, any gear used to secure your boat while at anchor. Proper maintenance includes inspection of these as well as laying the rode out for thorough examination at least annually.
Taking Starlink Offshore: What the Gen 2 and Mini Can Really Do
Sailing used to mean disconnecting from the everyday—for some, it still does. Days were spent watching the waves roll by, adjusting sails, reading books,...
Latest Logbook
Practical Sailor Logbook – September 2026
In September we tour the Hans Christian 48T — the offshore cruiser many sailors call the holy grail — walk the custom Antigua 60...
Video: If You See This on a Used Sailboat, Walk Away
If you’re searching the used sailboat market, comparing sailboats for sale, or learning how to inspect a sailboat before buying, these are the red...
Latest Sailboat Reviews
Cal 2-27 Used Boat Review
Our story begins in 1970, with the introduction of the Cal 29. Looking for something similar but a bit smaller, the company asked designer Bill Lapworth for a 27-footer, which at first was the Cal 27, a fin keel, spade rudder design with a convertible pop top; another incarnation of this basic hull was the T/2. But the concept of the 29 found its full expression in the Cal 2-27, which began production in 1975 and continued to 1977, after which it was again modified and called simply the Cal 27...again. Production of it ceased in 1986.
