Sails, Rigging & Deck Gear

When an anchored boat spins, the anchor chain twists, and the anchor can come up backward. One solution is an anchor swivel, but failures with some poor designs are a concern-a lovely stainless swivel on one of our test boats had an interior crack that became visible only when disassembled. And as we found in our most recent test, many swivels arent very effective at reducing twist due to the inherent friction in the swivel.(see How Well Do Swivels Reduce Twist, Practical Sailor March 2016 online).

Yawing is the result of imbalance between windage (you want it aft) and underwater resistance (you want it forward). If the center of windage...

Sailing in general, but especially offshore, can be a wet experience, particularly on a low-freeboard boat like Far Reach, our highly modified Cape Dory...

Anyone who has spent a night pitching in an exposed anchorage would not be shocked to learn that in many dragging incidents the snubber parted, or was stretched to its limit, allowing the chain and boat to absorb some teeth-rattling shock loads before something finally gave. Recently, PS testers have devised a series of tests to determine what the ideal snubber looks like. Some of our findings run contrary to popular assumptions. Some will surely surprise you, and may even-one day-save your boat. What does your snubber look like?

Cleats are those ever-present little devices we all have on deck and, until a line must be tied, most boaters pay little or no...

Bowsprits are a common feature on traditional boats as a way to extend the sail plan beyond the boat’s length over deck and create...

In the midst of discussing bridles, snubbers, and rigging multiple anchors, ten years ago we introduced the idea of an improved bridle plate—see “Adjustable...

Beyond the shape of the hull and the presence of a mast, nothing distinguishes a sailboat from a powerboat more than the sight and...

In the process of our ongoing investigation on the effect of time and wind gusts on anchor setting and holding capacity, we performed limited testing at short scope and couldnt help but notice that holding capacity at short scope varied greatly. When recovering the test anchors, some anchors would lift out of the bottom while we were pulling the dinghy over to them, while others required heroic efforts even when the rode was nearly vertical.

Sail repairs are a fact of life for the sailor. A stray cotter pin can shred a spinnaker. Perhaps the mainsail luff could use some chafe protection, or the genoa sun cover is flapping. Often, a trip to the sailmaker isn't justified for these repairs. The sail is too old to take stitching without further weakening the material, or you simply want to delay that repair until the end of the season. Perhaps youre on a cruise and would rather wait. A sewn repair is generally the gold standard, but some tears better-fixed with a patch.