Mailport: Winch Maintenance, Painting Jib, DIY Mainsail Cover
BLANKET WINCH SERVICE
Regarding your blog post “Simple Tips on Servicing Your Sailboat Winches,” I do my winches every two years when the boat is...
PS Advisor: Tacking and Jibing with a Tiller Pilot
In very light winds the tiller pilot will make corrections that are too small and the boat will not turn quickly enough to complete...
Mailport: Charley Morgan, Locker Safety, Fast Bottom Paint
SALUTE TO CHARLEY MORGAN
Regarding your memorial to Charley Morgan and his enduring boat designs (see “Eight Bells for Charley Morgan,” PS February 2023), your praise for...
PS Advisor: Staying Safe in Confined Spaces Onboard
Does the locker have a self-locking latch? Would you ever crawl inside? Even with the l id open, the inside of a locker can...
Mailport: Propane Hose Chafe, Multihull Prices, Farrier F33XC
WATCH PROPANE HOSE CHAFE
Another boat owner told our owners’ group that he discovered his LPG hose at the stove went almost to the point...
PS Advisor: Tank Monitor and Camera Mount Hacks
Fuel tanks typically have a mechanical gauge, but water tanks can cause corrosion and waste tanks will foul the typical mechanical flat mechanism. As...
Mailport: Dinghy Rollers, Prop Paints, Bosun chairs
DINGHY BEACH ROLLERS
Regarding your Inside PS blog, “Building a Better Boat Fender,” inflatable dinghy beach rollers also work great as fenders. They serve two...
Mailport: Headsets, Factory AC, Cowboy Coffee
PRAISE FOR EARTEC
A few months ago we purchased the Eartec UL2S UltraLITE Wireless Microphone System. We tested them at home and detected a slight...
Dyneema Short Splice Versus Lashing
Have you ever experimented with, or tested, an Amsteel splice going both directions through the core? The photo below is of 7/16” Amsteel. I...
PS Advisor: North-up Versus Heading-up Navigation
When a vigorous debate broke out recently at a local boat show over the ideal orientation of a chartplotter (north up vs. heading up),...
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: The BEST Sailboat You Can Buy for $35,000 – Catalina...
If you’re searching for a mid-30-foot sailboat, affordable cruising sailboat, liveaboard sailboat, first sailboat, or a capable used sailboat for coastal cruising, the Catalina...
Latest Sailboat Reviews
Cal 2-27 Used Boat Review
Our story begins in 1970, with the introduction of the Cal 29. Looking for something similar but a bit smaller, the company asked designer Bill Lapworth for a 27-footer, which at first was the Cal 27, a fin keel, spade rudder design with a convertible pop top; another incarnation of this basic hull was the T/2. But the concept of the 29 found its full expression in the Cal 2-27, which began production in 1975 and continued to 1977, after which it was again modified and called simply the Cal 27...again. Production of it ceased in 1986.
