Safety & Seamanship

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...

40-Footer Boat Tours – With Some Big Surprises! | Boat Tour

Join us at the Miami Boat Show as we get on four 40-footers for boat tours! A Beneteau 37.1, Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 410, Dufour...