Safety & Seamanship

With all of the products out there claiming to be green or non-toxic, surely there must also be villains that are now best avoided. In just a century weve begun to make a fine mess of the world that we need to live in for the next few million years. Yet we are making progress, and finding less hazardous replacements is a part of the answer.

In the process of our ongoing investigation on the effect of time and wind gusts on anchor setting and holding capacity, we performed limited testing at short scope and couldnt help but notice that holding capacity at short scope varied greatly. When recovering the test anchors, some anchors would lift out of the bottom while we were pulling the dinghy over to them, while others required heroic efforts even when the rode was nearly vertical.

Noted seamanship authority John Rousmaniere offers a problem-focused approach to determining and selecting basic but essential safety equipment for the coastal cruising vessel.

All sailors start somewhere. As a teen I eagerly absorbed National Geographic stories in the late 60s of young Robin Lee Graham sailing singlehanded...

In our ongoing study of ways to compare, and hopefully improve the way our anchors set, weve learned that it takes time and slow, delayed setting to make best advantage of very soft mud. However, firm sand and weeds can have the opposite character-making it hard for the anchor to penetrate.

“Is everything okay? Your EPIRB was set off.” It’s a call no sailor wants to receive. For Josh Verstoep and Sierra Grant, that call set off...

Every spring, there are numerous online forums discussing the best rope-cleaning methods. Practical Sailors interviews with technical representatives from major rope makers Bluewater Ropes, New England Ropes, Samson Cordage, and Yale Cordage yielded uniformly conservative guidance on how to get the grit out of old lines without destroying the rope's integrity. Testers also took to the laundry room to determine the effects of detergent, wash cycles, acids, bases and solvents, fabric softeners, power washing, bleach, hot water, and heat on rope strength and stretch.

Cruising the remote west coast of Vancouver Island is the dream of many Pacific Northwest sailors. The journey includes the 80-mile passage from Race...

For many boaters, damage control means a cell phone call to Sea Tow, Tow Boat US or another marine assistance provider. These are reliable...

The shelves these days are packed with an endless array of boat cleaners. A mild soap and elbow grease is often all that is needed. But when you are dealing with extensive coats of mold, mildew and dirt, deep cleaners are the ticket. Practical Sailor divided a neglected, filthy Avon Rover R250 into even sections and tested 11 inflatable boat cleaners. Three products scored an excellent rating. Products tested include the best products from Star Brite, MaryKate, Nautical Ease, Marine Development and Research Corp, Amazons, Seapower, Pennel & Flipo, Revival Ecological Paste, and Spray Nine.