Practical Sailor

The Caliber is a peculiar blend of tradition and innovation, of security and performance, of practicality and pizzazz. All of the owners we heard from were "satisfied." One called the 33 his favorite boat over six decades of sailing.

In the article “Is All-Electric Propulsion Practical on Small Sailboats?” we explored the current state of technology for all-electric marine propulsion. We concluded that range remains too limited for the vast...

It starts with a small leak around a piece of deck hardware or even a pinhole in a resin-starved layup. Water seeps between the layers of fiberglass, rotting balsa and plywood...

In our ongoing study of ways to compare, and hopefully improve the way our anchors set, weve learned that it takes time and slow, delayed setting to make best advantage of very soft mud. However, firm sand and weeds can have the opposite character-making it hard for the anchor to penetrate.

On Natasha, our 1978 Islander Bahama 30, the Barient two speed sheet winches were showing their age—a dull chrome surface and the drum were worn quite smooth. It was getting difficult...

Florida-based Island Packet targets a relatively narrow niche, so the toughest competitors to its new boats are often older Island Packets. Introduced in 2010, the 36-foot, shoal-draft Estero is the company’s latest attempt to introduce a distinctive model that doesn’t stray too far from the company’s proven formula for success: moderate displacement, full-keel cruisers designed to be lived on, sailed far and in comfort, and endure the bumps, scrapes, and storms that cruising boats inevitably encounter. After sailing the Estero on Florida’s Sarasota Bay and inspecting its interior, construction, and systems, Practical Sailor testers noted that the shoal-water cruiser will appeal strongest to Island Packet fans who’ve been waiting for a shoal-draft, easy-to-sail boat that compares to the IP37 in terms of interior space. These strengths will be most apparent on intracoastal or riverine adventures like the Great Loop.

Many boats constructed during the heyday of production in the 70s and 80s, both power and sail, emerged from the factory with aluminum deck hatches. While some of those hatches were...

“Is everything okay? Your EPIRB was set off.” It’s a call no sailor wants to receive. For Josh Verstoep and Sierra Grant, that call set off an extraordinary chain of events that eventually...

The 18th century was the age of sail. The 19th century saw the introduction of steam propulsion and the 20th century witnessed the introduction of diesel (and gasoline) propulsion. Will the...

Many years ago, one of our editors had an old wooden boat with lovely wooden handrails just inside the companionway that his sailing partner decided could use new varnish. The original coat, which was peeling around the base and worn where hands had gripped it, was sanded smooth and meticulously coated with varnish. Subsequent coats were applied according to the process that had served well for years-varnish, scuff, wipe, varnish, scuff, wipe . . . repeat.