Sailboat Reviews

Many of Practical Sailor's previous reports have explored the risks of multihull capsize, and what sailors and designers are doing to reduce this risk, which, though generally low, increases as designers push for more speed. One detail that we have not explored in great depth is the engineering of a “dump line,” which allows the helmsman (or automatic system) to quickly release the mainsheet in case a capsize is imminent. Simon Angus, a Canadian sailboat designer and builder who recently launched a new 40-foot catamaran that fits into a shipping container, has a manual system that involves the clever use of Ronstan’s constrictor textile rope clutches, which allows a person at the helm to quickly release the mainsheet with the swift tug on a parachute cord.

For this test, we rounded up seven flotation aids from four manufacturers: Float Tech, Gill, Spinlock, and Stohlquist. The test field included an inflatable rash guard, foam racing-style life vests, inflatable PFD-harness combinations, and PFDs designed specifically for women. Only the Stohlquist PFDs meet U.S. Coast Guard standards, but all have innovative features and offer increased comfort and mobility over many Type I and Type II PFDs.

No space to store a dinghy or hard kayak? Remember folding paper boats as a kid? The Oru folding kayak neatly solves the first...

In recent years we’ve seen a surge in interest in multihulls. Thirty years ago, when my experience with cruising multihulls began, nearly all of...

By the late 1970s, the old Tartan 34 had become very dated. The boat had been in production for a decade, and hundreds of...

The news that Groupe Beneteau’s lone North American production facility in Marion, South Carolina was shutting down delivered a big blow to the sailing...

All sailors are performance oriented. It’s only when we delve into the details that differences arise. One-design racers know that their place in the...

When I started cruising aboard a 26 foot, tiller steered sloop. I learned the value of simplicity. Fewer components meant that there was less...

It seems many of us are always “shopping” for the next boat, or our forever boat. Some of us are simply window-shoppers, content with...

Years ago, we had a near sinking on one of our test boats due to a failed 0-ring on the speed sensor through-hull installed by a previous owner. The sinking would be attributed to the failure of an O-ring, and because the sinking was consequential to the failure of a maintenance item and we did not have consequential loss coverage, the insurance would not have paid the claim. In fact, most boats sink at the dock due to failure of some minor item, and most policies don't cover the damage consequential to the failure of that item. In other words, we are sailing bare, without insurance coverage for our most serious exposure.