Crimp Connections: AMP Super Champ and Ancor Our Top Picks
One of the most nettlesome areas of boating electronics is making dependable wire connections that will last for years. Because marine elements are conspiring...
Offshore Log:Life With The Little Wonder
The search for potable water is the bane of the long-distance cruisers existence. In the US, we take cheap, easily accessible water of decent...
Offshore Log:Life With The Little Wonder
The search for potable water is the bane of the long-distance cruisers existence. In the US, we take cheap, easily accessible water of decent...
Offshore Log: The Bottom Line
When Calypso was hauled at New England Boatworks last September for bottom painting, we decided to switch from Micron CSC Extra to Pettit ACP-50...
Odyssey: A Lightweight 12-volt With Punch
The first thing we can tell you about the 12-volt Odyssey battery is that it came in the mail—UPS to be exact—which is an...
Offshore Log: Full-Service Caribbean Chandlery
If you are a sailor living in the US, you don't know how spoiled you are when it comes to finding bits and pieces...
Poli-Glow & New Glass Still Shine
Last spring, we took nine badly weathered, dull, and splotchy fiberglass panels and brought back their gloss and appearance (to varying degrees) with a...
The Holes That Wouldnt Close
Viva, our 1975 Tartan 44 test boat, has, like most fiberglass boats, a hollow fiberglass rudder and skeg. The rudderstock is solid stainless steel,...
PS Advisor 08/01/98
Repairing Non-Skid FiberglassThe deck on our 1979 fiberglass boat has areas of molded-in non-skid with a textured pattern. The surface works very well; no...
Hawkeye Scope: A Bird’s Eye View of Your Pistons
Ever wish you could see what the parts inside your engines combustion chamber look like? Now you can with the Hawkeye borescope. Whenever you...
Lithium Batteries on Sailboats: The 3 Mistakes Everyone Makes
Lithium batteries are one of the most popular sailboat upgrades today—but they’re also one of the most misunderstood. In this Practical Sailor Saturday episode,...
Latest Sailboat Review
Island Packet Estero Used Boat Review
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.