Equipping for Crew Overboard Safety
There's an ancient hauling device called the parbuckle. It's a triangular sheet of cloth, one of whose edges is connected to the ship's rail,...
Marine Electronics:Garmin 48 Tops in Handheld GPS
As it is with notebook computers, GPS receivers continue to evolve into faster, smaller and more powerful devices. Our latest crop of test models...
Electronic Charts
The Navionics Platinum cartography matched the Gold card in accuracy and real-world representation. Underway, it generally showed us in the correct position and had...
Do You Have a Safety Checklist?
In 1935, a Boeing bomber carrying five of the Armys top aviators, crashed in a crucial demonstration flight on the runway in Dayton, Ohio....
ITT Night Vision 260-A Star Among Night Vision Scopes
When the only thing that keeps you from going aground at night is an unlit channel marker buoy, a night-vision device suddenly becomes less...
Flare Mishap Highlights Need for Caution When Firing
In a recent emergency procedures training course at the Annapolis School of Seamanship (www.annapolisschoolofseamanship.com) a handheld Orion flare melted through its handle and began...
Offshore Log:A Close Call with Underwater Corrosion
For years, we have harangued sailors about the need to do a careful survey of all underwater hardware every time the boat is hauled....
Safe and Sound
As of this summer, Practical Sailor enters its fourth decade as a journal of fact and opinion pertaining to the gear and equipment we...
Offshore Log:South to Trinidad – A Different Kind of Paradise
In June, Calypso made her way south from Grenada to Trinidad, wrapping up more than six months of cruising in the brilliantly clear, wind-swept...
Cures for Seasickness
Every onboard first-aid kit should have medication to treat seasick crew. Practical Sailor magazine surveyed sailors about the over-the-counter and prescription drugs they use...