Mailport: 12/06
MARINE INSURANCE REDUXI have been reading with much interest your articles about marine insurance this year (April and May 2006).
Rhumb Lines — Getting a Fix on Reality
It was mid-July 1990 on the Caicos Banks, a stretch of shallow, gin-clear water extending for about 70 miles east to west in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Along with a dozen other cruisers whod chosen to thumb our noses at hurricane season (ah, those were simpler times), we were pausing in Providenciales before heading south. …
Davis’ WindScribe
Davis Instruments usually sticks to good, simple nautical gear. With considerable justification, the company boasts that its no-nonsense Echomasters™ are "the world's best" radar...
Headings: Future Fixture or Fancy Fad?
Every four years, solo sailing luminaries assemble in France to race non-stop around the world in the Vende Globe, and the equipment aboard their boats deserves examination as a harbinger of what we may some day see aboard our own boats.
Integrated Instrument Systems
Here's a quick review of integrated instrument functions, a scan of what's on the market, and viewpoints from some installation pros.
As the World Turns
We received a couple of letters this month from people who had trouble setting the tide functions on their Casio SPF-40 watches. One...
Hand-Bearing Compasses
Bow-and-beam bearings, running fixes, collision-course bearings, anchored position—the oft-ignored hand-bearing compass can provide all these and more.
Handheld Weather Stations
It doesn't take a weatherman to know which way the wind blows, but one of these gizmos can tell you how hard it's blowing, atmospheric pressure, and more.
Tri-Lens Radar Reflector
Marine radar is of two types: X-band and S-band. The former is the type commonly carried aboard small boats.
Steering Compasses: Show Me the Way to Go Home
For this review, Practical Sailor collected, from the hundreds available, 18 steering compasses. Included are binnacle, bulkhead and bracket models, plus several interesting ones shown only in photos. Except for the bronze Telltale compass shown on page 7, all have 12V lighting and gimbal systems.
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: If You See This on a Used Sailboat, Walk Away
If you’re searching the used sailboat market, comparing sailboats for sale, or learning how to inspect a sailboat before buying, these are the red...
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.
