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Whether you want to cruise the higher latitudes or extend your sailing season this winter, youll need to think about clothing. Over the years, Practical Sailor has published a number of tests and reports on garments that we can count on to keep us warm when the wind chill dips toward freezing. In this report, well take a broader look at the essentials, focusing on the first principles; under layers, accessories, how to wear them, and what materials stay dry.

If youve followed the first two installments in this three-part series on ensuring safe, fresh-tasting drinking water onboard, youve cleaned your freshwater tank, pre-filtered all water going into the tank, screened the vent, and disinfected the contents. Now that the water has sat in the tank, its time for one more filtration process; this time, focusing on improving taste and eliminating micro-organisms.

Off season sailing, and even sailing and kayaking in cold water climates, presents the very real risk of hypothermia. Some MOBs experience a gasp...

Unlike other C&Cs, whose interior and deck layouts are designed for racing as well as cruising, the Landfalls are geared toward cruising, with more comfort, a slightly higher degree of finish detail, and deck layout concessions to the cruising couple.

When we read about a sailor lost overboard in the storm, we think about PFDs and personal locator beacons, and accept the sea is unforgiving. When we read of novice boaters drowning in a local lake, were sad, but say that will not happen us because we wear PFDs. But when we read of a PFD-equipped sailor falling overboard and dying within minutes its a real eye-opener.

After living in Florida for so many years, it is easy to forget the risks associated with colder waters, as the video on cold-water survival that I have included in this weeks blog post demonstrates. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the risk of drowning increases nearly five times if the water temperature is below 59 degrees. That puts many sailors in the Northeast, West Coast, and Great Lakes areas at risk for most, if not all of the year.

Man overboard gear standards are behind the times because the sample size is tiny and the facts surrounding an accident are often clouded and disguised by difficult circumstances. But fixing this is pretty simple; piggyback on standards that have been developed for climbing and industry. The following are just some of the steps that a sailor can take to improve his chances of staying on board.

The Ranger Yacht division of Jensen Marine was created in 1969 to build performance-oriented boats designed by Gary Mull. Jensen's Cal division had been successful with both racer/cruisers and pure cruisers, but the Ranger line was racier, with consistent styling and appearance throughout the series. Ranger stopped building the 33 in 1978, after 464 boats had been turned out. Many minor changes were made over the years of production, and boats built after 1974 are generally more desirable, with restyled interiors and a diesel engine option.

When I received a message about surveying a 1989 Freedom 45CC, I knew there was something unique about this sailboat, but I couldn’t remember...

Fire extinguishers are a U.S. Coast Guard requirement, and every boating instruction manual starts by telling you how many you need, where to mount them, and how to use them. Unfortunately, the manuals never go beyond that simplistic guidance, even though most fire-prevention authorities agree they are often not the best first response.