Random Orbit Sanders for Bottom Paint Prep
More than a century has passed since Art Emmons, a visionary young engineer at the 15-year-old Porter Cable Company, launched a technology race in...
Deep Cleaning the Supremely Dirty Boat
One reason for my aversion to scrubbing is that a Corsair F-24 trimaran is a folding trimaran, making it a nightmare to clean. Comprised...
Making Sense of Plywood Choices
With the myriad ways to combine resins and wood into layers to create plywood, it is no wonder we can get confused when selecting...
Uses for Medium Density Overlay in Boats
Medium Density Overlay, abbreviated as MDO, is a pre-surfaced plywood product developed to make highway signs, so it’s about as weatherproof as you can...
Real World Antifouling Testing
In addition to our panel testing of dozens of paints, we applied six different antifouling paints to our test boat, a Corsair F-24 trimaran....
Antifouling for Brackish Water
For two years, we’ve been soaking both our test boat and 11 test panels with 30 different antifouling paints in Rockhold Creek, a brackish...
PS Advisor: A DIY Bucket with Perfect Fit
Perhaps one reason our buckets keep cracking is that we have to compress them a bit to fit them through the 10-inch rectangular hatch...
F-24 Portlight Replacement
The windows on our Corsair F-24 trimaran were obviously damaged by UV radiation. All we could see through them were shapes of objects that...
PS Advisor: Combatting Mildew on a Moored Boat
In your recent report “Understanding Dew Point to Prevent Mildew,” (see Inside Practical Sailor blog) there is the comment, “curiously, the best way to...
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...
Latest Logbook
Practical Sailor Logbook – September 2026
In September we tour the Hans Christian 48T — the offshore cruiser many sailors call the holy grail — walk the custom Antigua 60...
Video: Why Are Tartans So Expensive? Inside the Tartan 3700
If you’re researching Tartan Yachts, looking for the best traditional cruising sailboat, comparing premium used sailboats, shopping for a bluewater cruiser, or considering a...
Latest Sailboat Reviews
Morgan 38/382 Used Boat Review
In 1977, the Morgan 382 was introduced, designed by Ted Brewer, Jack Corey and the Morgan Design Team. According to Brewer, the boat was loosely based on the Nelson/Marek-designed Morgan 36 IOR One Ton. The most obvious difference between the 38 and 382 was the elimination of the centerboard and the addition of a cruising fin keel (NACA 64 012 foil) with skeg-mounted rudder. They are two completely different designs from two different eras in yacht design.
