Folding Oru Opens Horizons
No space to store a dinghy or hard kayak? Remember folding paper boats as a kid? The Oru folding kayak neatly solves the first...
Multihull Capsize Risk Check
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...
Tartan 33: Scheel Keel Pioneer
By the late 1970s, the old Tartan 34 had become very dated. The boat had been in production for a decade, and hundreds of...
Rhumb Lines: A Boat to Last a Lifetime
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...
Valiant 40: Reshaping the Cruising Hull
The Valiant 40 has a long history. In 1972 Nathan Rothman decided to start a boatbuilding business and approached old friend Bob Perry to...
Measuring Performance
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...
Dealing with a Broken Idler Pulley on the High Seas
When I started cruising aboard a 26 foot, tiller steered sloop. I learned the value of simplicity. Fewer components meant that there was less...
Resources for Boat Buyers
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...
Consequential Damage Coverage
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.
A Deck Level View of the Pearson Commander
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…
