Two Good Sailing Books About Shallow-draft Sailboats
The January issue of Practical Sailor has been up on the home page for a while, and inside the issue you'll find a rather...
Whats Happening in the World of Owners Manuals?
Were seeing several errors creep into owners manuals. Many of the mistakes seem to be the lost-in-translation variety, but others seem to be just...
Custom Catamaran Loaded with PS Picks
Our favorite PS pick aboard Ice Wars? Serving as a backup to the two electric, freshwater-flush Tecma heads (one with a hot/cold bidet) is...
Navigating by iPad Using eSeaChart and ActiveCaptain
Before a short cruise I took last week, I was pretty skeptical of the idea of user-generated, or crowd-sourced, navigation data. The idea that...
The Fundamentals of Mainsail Trim
The article on selecting a cruising mainsail coming up this month (August 2011) offers plenty of advice on choosing a main, but nothing on...
How Do You Cleat a Line on a Boat?
A couple of photos in the July issue of Practical Sailor prompted a deluge of emails regarding the proper way to cleat a line....
PS Repeats Tether Release Warning in Wake of Chicago-Mackinac Race Fatalities
While there is no evidence yet that the fatal sailing accident in the Chicago-Mackinac Race this week is linked to a safety tether problem,...
Manual vs. Automatic Inflatable Life Jacket / Safety Harnesses
As a follow-up to last weeks blog post on safety tethers, it is important to note that these devices are just one component in...
Small Boats with Full-batten Mainsails Have Few Options for Reducing Luff-slide Friction
One of the key improvements made to the mainsail featured in the August 2011 article on choosing a mainsail was the addition of...
West Marine Issues Notices on Rocna Anchors
In the wake of questions about the tensile strength of steel used in the shafts of Rocna anchors, West Marine has issued product specification...