Anchoring in Crowded Harbors
Stagger while you anchor? It sounds like Ive either been drinking too much or sailing too long. Bear with me.
Why a Furling Staysail Makes Offshore Sailing Safer
With a double-headsail rig, you already have some powerful gear-shifting options. Putting your staysail on a furler adds an overdrive.
Essential Knots and How To Tie Them
Like most sailors, you’ve probably seen many articles and books about knots. You’ve probably also seen the hundreds, if not thousands, of social media...
The Best Ways to Protect Splices from UV and Chafe
Last fall, we reported on how to build strong, hand-stitched eyes in the ends of a rope, a skill particularly useful for older halyards and sheets that are too stiff for a typical bury splice (see PS October 2014 online). We also warned against the ravages of ultraviolet rays (UV) and chafe on the stitching, since so much of the strength lies vulnerable on the surface. In this report, we look at means of protecting stitched splices from UV and chafe.
Beyond Jacklines: Innovative Uses for Webbing
When a sailor needs to connect point A to point B, he reaches for rope. We make an exception for jacklines because rope rolls under foot and webbing doesn't.
Breaking Down Performance
When it comes to sailboats, performance is a relative term, especially when it comes to a crews concept of how the boat will be used. Racing sailors, cruisers, and daysailors each have very different perspectives on performance. For example, those facing a light-air, around-the-buoys race measure performance in terms of how well their speed through the water holds up against the decrease in true-wind speed. Cruisers, on the other hand, especially those crossing oceans, often define it as a measure of versatility under sail, not just how a boat copes with near calms or gales, but how it performs in everything in between.
Is Your Quiver of Sails Sufficient?
In this two-part look at headsail options, we focus on sails for coastal cruisers and daysailors. The first part delves into what weve observed during our new-boat sea trials and vintage sailboat reviews. In next months report, we will divide the fleet into categories based on how, what, and where boats are sailed and explore what sailmakers have to say regarding headsail material and what sail options they recommend for a 35-footer. Our goal is to define which types of sailors will do just fine with a standard boat show sail inventory (a mainsail and a roller-furling jib or genoa), and to examine whether coastal cruisers need a second smaller headsail. Well also look at whos a candidate for a drifter/reacher or an asymmetric spinnaker, and why thats a measure of both crew mindset and vessel design.
Keeping Ice at Bay
Southern sailors often put their boats away for a few months when the water gets a little cool. Northern sailors have a more definitive reason; they put their boats away when the water gets hard. Often, freezing is limited to harbor areas, where shallow water, freshwater input, and limited tidal flushing encourage ice formation. Far north, you can walk on it for weeks, while in the mid-Atlantic, the layer is often thin and transitory. And while a few inches of ice are generally harmless to a sound boat, thick moving ice can damage paint, exposed steering gear, and planking. Although we can't make the weather any warmer, there are measures boat owners can take to keep ice at bay.
Anchoring in Squishy Bottoms
Practical Sailor carried out its own series of anchor tests in a mud bottom in 2006 (see April 2006 and October 2006 issues), and those tests bore out a commonly known fact: Danforth-style anchors, which feature flukes that are proportionally larger than other types of anchors of the same mass, tend to hold better than older, plough-style anchors in soft mud. When Practical Sailor was invited to witness Fortresss test, editors were initially skeptical; the playing field seemed heavily tilted in Fortresss favor. In the end, however, it was a busy test schedule, not outright skepticism, that prevented our attending.
Anchor Shackles: The $15 Insurance Policy
Were always amazed how a sailor can spend months agonizing and wringing his hands over which anchor to purchase, and then, when he finally shells out $700 or much more for the anchor, hell attach it to a shackle that has no business being on a boat. Weve plowed through the topic of shackles in several recent issues, but we havent looked specifically at anchor shackles for more than a decade. Choosing a properly sized, high-quality shackle is important, but its also essential to be familiar with proper use.
Small Boat, Big Keel Why This 27 Footer Works
What makes a small sailboat truly seaworthy? In this video, we take a deep dive into the Pacific Seacraft Orion 27, a rugged, long-keel...
Latest Sailboat Review
Island Packet Estero Used Boat Review
Florida-based Island Packet targets a relatively narrow niche, so the toughest competitors to its new boats are often older Island Packets. Introduced in 2010, the 36-foot, shoal-draft Estero is the company’s latest attempt to introduce a distinctive model that doesn’t stray too far from the company’s proven formula for success: moderate displacement, full-keel cruisers designed to be lived on, sailed far and in comfort, and endure the bumps, scrapes, and storms that cruising boats inevitably encounter. After sailing the Estero on Florida’s Sarasota Bay and inspecting its interior, construction, and systems, Practical Sailor testers noted that the shoal-water cruiser will appeal strongest to Island Packet fans who’ve been waiting for a shoal-draft, easy-to-sail boat that compares to the IP37 in terms of interior space. These strengths will be most apparent on intracoastal or riverine adventures like the Great Loop.