PS Advisor: Trucking Your Boat Home for Storage
If COVID-19 has delayed your fitout, and yard costs are exceeding your original budget, storing your boat on your own property while you complete...
Mailport: April 2021
Crimping Small Wires
Regarding your recent reports on joining small wires, I have a Perry 59-foot sailboat with 12V DC, 24V DC and 110V AC...
Outboard Tiller; Multihull Steering Tips
When we purposely destroyed a few boathooks during testing I saw an opportunity to make a new tiller extension for my outboard (see PS...
Mailport: March 2021
Lifesling Cautionary Tale
I want to add to the comments about Lifesling web failures (see PS August 2016 “Lifesling Webbing Beckets Fail”) Last summer, my...
Tips on Painting Your Peeling Mast
Chips and scrapes in a carefully painted mast start out as a cosmetic issue. But as moisture intrudes and corrosion takes over the paint...
Mailport: February 2021
Mast paint
What is the best way to repair the blisters on my painted aluminum mast? Blisters occur near pop rivets or other attachments to...
Updating Your Boat’s Medical Kits
Evolving medical practice, newer treatment options and changes in availability of supplies made us think we should look once more at medical kits for sailors.
Mailport: January 2021
Mustang Coveralls
With regard to your recently re-posted report “Cold Water Survival” (see Practical Sailor, March 2019), I bought a Mustang Anti-Exposure Coverall many years...
Staying Safe While Working Underwater
Say the prop suddenly begins vibrating. First you checked the shaft coupling; they’ve been known to work loose, allowing the shaft to come clean...
Mailport: December 2020
Roller Furling
My name’s Gabriel, I’m American-Italian and I live in Rome. My boat is a Classis 35 Lady Laura built in 1982 by Classis,...
Before You Buy a Beneteau Watch This First – Hanse 430E...
Thinking about buying a 40–45 foot cruising sailboat? Before you default to a Beneteau, Jeanneau, Catalina, or Hunter, this in-depth Practical Sailor review takes...
Latest Sailboat Review
Tartan 33 Used Boat Review
In 1978, Tartan brought out the Tartan Ten, a 33', fairly light, fractionally-rigged "offshore one design." The boat was a huge success: fast, easy to sail, and unencumbered by the design limitations of a rating rule. But the Tartan Ten had one big problem: limited accommodations with stooping headroom, an interior most kindly described as spartan. A hardy crew could take the Tartan Ten on a multi-day race such as the Mackinac, and you might even coax your family aboard for a weekend of camping out. But cruising or extended racing in comfort? Forget it!