Powering Portable Devices Safely
Most mariners, especially those on the West Coast, have heard about the horrific fire aboard the dive boat Concepcion near Santa Cruz Island, California,...
Lifesling Inspection Tips
For many in the northern hemisphere winter is the off-season, which means it's a great time inspect safety gear. Lifejackets and throwable rescue aids like the Lifesling which incorporate materials that degrade over time deserve particularly close attention. Even new safety equipment deserves close inspection. Probably the most startling safety equipment failure we've experienced was that of a newly bought child's safety harness with a polypropylene tether that immediately broke under very little load.
Cordless LED Spotlight Update
Our first LED flashlight test appeared in March 2000. Even two decades ago, we were becoming concerned with beam patterns. In fact it was...
Practical Boarding Ladders
Every year I read of near-drowning episodes that were compounded by the deficiency or complete absence of a boarding ladder. A fall from a...
Going Aloft with the Multi-use Prusik
At least once each season, someone should make the trip up top to inspect the rigging. There can also be more immediate needs. An...
Showing Good Ladder Sense
A few years ago, while sitting on the gravel applying fairing compound to my keels (see “Fairing the Keels,” July 2016), I heard a...
Sailing Gear of the Year 2021
What a difference a year makes! Last year, Practical Sailor testers were holed up in their home workshops, garages, basements, and home offices, meeting...
Portable Fuel Tank Update
Everyone hated the first generation of CARB gas cans. Intended to reduce volatile emissions by recovering vapors and reducing spills, they did exactly the...
Revised Lifeline Protection Plan
World Sailing (then ISAF) initially accepted Dyneema lifelines in 2012, but then banned it from all offshore racing in 2015. In 2018, World Sailing...
Distress ‘Flares’ Go Electric
The first USCG approved electronic beacons entered the market in 2015 (46 CFR 161.013). Classified as electronic visual distress signaling devices (eVDSD), they emit...
This 1997 Sailboat Costs $350,000… Here’s Why – Hampton 43
Can a 1997 sailboat really be worth $350,000? In this video, we take a deep dive into the Hampton 43 pilothouse cutter, a heavy-displacement...
Latest Sailboat Review
Rhodes 22 Used Boat Review
Designed by Phillip Rhodes back in 1960, the Rhodes 22 is a trailerable cruiser for a couple that wants the amenities of a larger boat without putting up with the hassles and expenses of a larger boat. It's clearly not a racing boat. It's also not a "shoehorn special," whose claim to fame is how many persons it can sleep. And it's not an inexpensive boat for its size. The Rhodes 22, from its inception, has been a purpose-built boat. And, with a history of detail improvements and some innovative thinking, it meets that purpose quite well.