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...
Bottom scraper. Easy to make and so much easier to use. Used for barnacles on the bottom and taking mud off the anchor. (Photo/ Drew Frye)

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,...

Catalina 25 Sailboat Tour

This Catalina 25 review also explains the important differences between the swing keel, fixed fin keel and wing keel versions, along with the standard...

Latest Sailboat Reviews

Gemini 31/3000 Used Boat Review

The funny thing about the Gemini is that it's an old design. Ken Shaw drew the lines in 1969. There's nothing particularly contemporary about it. However, by painting the cabin sides black (Euro styling), adding a swept-back fiberglass "pilothouse" and gradually adding length to the full-bodied hulls, the Gemini has always looked like she belonged with her contemporaries, whether that was the 1980s or 1990s.