Practical Sailor

Like many sailors, Bill and Cathy Norrie had dreams of sailing the warm waters of the southern oceans, particularly when winter snows beat against their prairie home. They made those dreams...

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, and sharing happy hours with fellow cruisers....

The crud that is clogging my filters are microrganisms, primitive creatures that live in water and feed on oil, informally called “HUM-bugs.” The HUM stands for Hydrocarbon Utilizing Microorganisms. There are many kinds of HUM-bugs—bacteria and fungus (mold, yeast, algae, etc.). Some need oxygen, some don't. Many are airborne. Some thrive best in freshwater, some in salt. They all create thick slime, which helps them stick to surfaces and protect themselves from attack. It's unlikely that you can buy diesel fuel without getting some.

VHF radios are not included among the minimal safety equipment required on pleasure craft by the US Coast Guard, but they should be. VHF radios can be used to contact nearby...

As the forecast for this season calls for much cooler temps and more frequent higher wind speeds and gusts, thanks to the effects of a Super El Niño, reefing has become...

The Luders 33 was designed by Bill Luders and built by Allied Yachts of Catskill, NY, from 1966 to 1974. The builder of the Luders 33, Allied Yachts, had a troubled existence, struggling for survival from the early 1970s until the firm finally succumbed for good in 1981. Throughout its nine year production run, a bit more than 100 Luders 33s were built. Still, like such similar boats as the Alberg 30, the relative scarcity and traditional styling have made it a bit of a cult object.

When I started sailing, navigation gear consisted of a paper chart, a few drawing instruments and a compass. Instruments usually consisted of a single instrument that showed speed and depth. That...

Marketing literature does a good job of promoting the primary advantages of lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP or LiFePo4), such as life expectancy, weight, usable capacity etc. What is generally under-appreciated,...

Again we speak heresy! Practical Sailor has published at least four articles explaining why stretchy nylon bridles and snubbers are vital. But if the rode is nylon instead of chain, this no longer applies. The rode provides all the impact absorption we need, perhaps more than we need. By analogy, a bridle should function like an anti-sway bar on an automobile, keeping the boat centered.

Depending on the size of your fuel tanks, having a professional clean your tank and dispose of the dirty fuel can cost more than $1,000. But for the careful, competent do-it-yourselfer there is another option. For those sailors whose tanks have reached the contamination point-of-no-return, heres a helpful article on DIY tank cleaning that accompanied our July 2009 test of diesel biocides.