How to Handle the Head

Many pumpout facilities are actually dumped in municipal wastewater treatment facilities that can be overwhelmed by the addition of treatment chemicals. Spring is boat prep...

Cockpit Drains on Race Boats

The ability for an enclosed cockpit to drain rapidly has long been a concern among yacht designers, and safety guidelines have been in place...

Rhumb Lines: Livin’ the Wharf Rat Life

Named after the enterprising expat who “developed” the former Navy boat repair basin on the island of Guam, Gerberville barely qualified as marina. Our...

Wintering Afloat

Insurance and hurricane risk may require a layup. But I’ve been quite happy wintering in the mid-Chesapeake, snow, ice and all. Over 35 years,...

Bruce Kirby Memoir Tops The Reading List

Writer, raconteur, polymath, and Olympian, very few have touched the sport of sailing in all its facets as thoroughly as Bruce Kirby. Yes, he...

Better Living with USB

Standard power on cruising sailboats is 12 volts, and since the beginning of time, the standard low-voltage outlet, as a consequence, was a 12V...

Feeling the Breeze

There are really three reasons we ventilate; in summer to beat the heat, in the off-season to fight moisture build up from cooking and...

Rhumb Lines: Beating the Heat at Anchor

This month’s article on ventilation got me thinking about how the current situation will impact living aboard in marinas. During 10 years of living aboard,...

A Trash Compactor and a Drip Guard

It seems anomalous, but whether at home or on the boat, when we bring X volume of goods in, they expand to X+20 percent...

A Little PS Winter Reading

With winter upon us, and boats sitting on the hard in many places, its a good time to troubleshoot or update systems, and to make a to-do list for the off-season and pre-season.

Bayfield 32 Boat Tour – The Canadian Cruiser That Crossed the...

In this Bayfield 32 boat tour, we explore the deck, cockpit, cabin layout, galley, sleeping accommodations, construction and sailing characteristics. We also look at...
Catalina 25 Sailboat Tour video from Practical Sailor

Catalina 25 Sailboat Tour

Latest Sailboat Reviews

Nicholson 31: A Project Boat Story

"If I'd known then what I know now," laughs Matt, "I'd have covered it in petrol and walked away." It's not quite the endorsement you'd...