Mailport: Boat Insurance, Respirator and Mask Safety, Dry Suits, Riv-Nuts
Insurance Stuff
Regarding your April insurance article, when I got my BoatUS/Geico renewal, I spotted an optional coverage that they referred to as a partial...
Snubber Diameter for Larger Sailboats
We recently had a letter from Teun and Chantal Bos, who were trying to determine what diameter anchor snubber to use. Practical Sailor did...
Mailport: April 2020
Alphabetical Boat Reviews?
What happened to your alphabetized boat reviews. I’m looking for a boat and can’t find the review I was looking at before....
Twist Your Way Back to Safe Harbor
Last month we looked at some get home “kludges” if your rigging fails. Here I’ll share some other quick fixes to get you home...
Mailport: March 2020
Carbon Foam Battery?
I saw your article in about Firefly batteries (carbon foam) in the May 2015 issue of Practical Sailor “Can Carbon Fiber Batteries...
Are You Ready to Kludge Your Way Home?
The first use of the word kludge is attributed to Jackson W. Granholm in 1962, describing an ugly programming solution that was “an ill-assorted...
Mailport: Check Your Policy; Routine Surveys; Drag-Free Anchoring
Check Your Policy
Regarding your recent blog post, “Boat Insurance Shopping Tips,” be sure to read the policy. I discovered, that a change in underwriting...
Before and After the Cruise Checklists
Last October, PS Editor Darrell Nicholson wrote about the importance of checklists and his inbox was inundated with mail from sailors who shared their own lists. Here are two lists I use when sailing my Corsair F-24: the pre-departure list, and the return to home list. Neither list is meant to be exhaustive-but perhaps it is enough to think about as you craft your own.
Bird repellants, solvent safety, GPS antennas
[IMGCAP(3)] Anti-Bird StrategyFlorida is hard on boats from sun damage, mildew, bottom blisters and birds. I keep the ospreys from perching on my tricolor light by fitting a clear plastic container over it with tacks on its bottom. I have sunbrella deck covers that keep poo from the smaller birds off the deck and also shade the boat to keep it cooler, the paint protected and mildew free. Then, for the pelicans that pooped on my…
Mailport: Iron Keels, Clothes for Cold, Anchor Roll Bars
It would be useful for PS to list which manufacturers use iron encapsulated in their keel. I am surprised to learn that many old sailboats have iron instead of lead as encapsulated ballast.Edward Addeo via PS Online
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.
