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...
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...
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...
Going Up the Mast Alone
A certain appeal of sailing is its seeming limitlessness. One can spend a lifetime perfecting navigation skills. Remember Marvin Creamer, who circumnavigated by the...
Yet Another Motor Hoist-the Kato
Lifting the outboard motor from the dinghy to its mount on the stern rail (or pushpit as the Brits say) has always been a...
Offshore Log:Winch Maintenance – Do It Now, Not Later
Maintenance aboard a cruising boat is truly never-ending. Twenty years of preparation for offshore racing have left us with an absolute fetish for the...
Offshore Log:Winch Maintenance – Do It Now, Not Later
Maintenance aboard a cruising boat is truly never-ending. Twenty years of preparation for offshore racing have left us with an absolute fetish for the...
Sticky Business: Duct Tape Tested
Theres probably not a handyman (or woman) in existence who hasn't had experience with duct tape. The universal holder-together, duct tape has been used...
Small Boat, Big Keel Why This 27 Footer Works
What makes a small sailboat truly seaworthy? In this video, we take a deep dive into the Pacific Seacraft Orion 27, a rugged, long-keel...
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.