Sailboat Reviews

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.

Freeboard on the Commander is somewhat low (top), which sometimes makes for a wet, but exciting ride in bumpy conditions.The generous cockpit featured on the Commander realistically seats six while under sail, but will accommodate more while at anchor with the tiller folded up. The cockpit is self-draining, but could use larger drains. Anyone with offshore aspirations will want to better seal the main hatch and lazarette.If you need to move forward quickly in a…

In the early 1960s, building boats designed by Carl Alberg, Philip Rhodes and Bill Tripp, Pearson Yachts was on a roll. The Alberg-designed Triton had been the catalyst; its debut at the 1959 New York Boat Show had been a runaway hit, and by 1964 it was all hands on deck at the former textile mill in Bristol, R.I. Beyond filling many orders for the 28-foot Triton, the Pearson factory was producing-often at the rate…

This summer we said goodbye to Jeremy McGeary. For four years, Mac and I shared a corner of the editorial office at Cruising World, and when I joined Practical Sailor in 2005, he was a key contributor during Practical Sailors transition to color. Even after he became senior editor at Good Old Boat, he remained on board as a contributing editor until his death in July after a long battle with cancer. He was 71.

The pygmy sperm whale rolled and flapped its tail as it struggled at the swash line. It was about the size of a big porpoise, clearly weakened by the ordeal. Police had cordoned off the beach and were waiting for a wildlife expert to arrive.