Personal Rescue Lights: Less Than Brilliant
ACR slightly outshone the rest of a dim group. These lights can help in a quick pick-up, but youre unlikely to see them beyond a half-mile in most sea conditions.
Aqua Vigil Alarm Is Simple but Quirky
Nothing is scarier than seeing water coming into your boat. If you're not aboard to see the spectacle, you'll be safe — but it might be curtains for your boat.
Abandon Ship Bags: Don’t Leave the Boat Without Them
At $100, West Marine’s bag is a Best Buy, but no one beats Landfall Navigation’s watertight construction.
WAAS Up? New Acronym Stands For Better GPS Accuracy
Raytheon's Raychart 320 is consistently more accurate than two conventional DGPS units from Raytheon and Garmin — and it's less expensive.
Safety Alert: Life Raft Repacker Cited
On September 15, 2000 the US Coast Guards 1st District issued a Safety Alert to warn life raft owners who had rafts serviced by...
Lifeline Stanchions: New Aluminum Matella Is Super Strong
Cast bases outperform welded ones, so look to Spartan and Suncor.
US Coast Guard To Test 406 MHz EPIRBs
Carrying a 406 MHz EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon)-a big improvement over older 121.5 MHz beacons-is an effective way to make sure youre...
3-Brand Inflatable PFD Evaluation
In-the-water tests of USCG-approved PFDs from Sospenders, Mustang and Stearns.
Johnson & Johnson and Orion Our Picks Among Marine Medical Kits
When we conduct used-boat inspections we look everywhere, including inside medicine cabinets. Especially on boats that are more than five years old, we are...
Offshore Log:Do You Know Where Your Emergency Tiller Is?
The great racing sailor, Paul Elvstrom, preferred the superior sensitivity of tiller steering to wheel steering even on larger offshore boats. Elvstrom, however, seems...
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.
