Sails, Rigging & Deck Gear

Ball bearing blocks are the low-friction answer for most tackle on board. However, racers and even cruisers, are increasingly making the switch to low...

Telltales on the body of the jib and leech of the main are commonplace, and most of us learned to sail using them. They...

When a vigorous debate broke out recently at a local boat show over the ideal orientation of a chartplotter (north up vs. heading up),...

Iput a nice dent in the deck several decades ago when I dropped a wrench from the masthead. It scared the crew too. I haven’t...

Got a small sail or canvas repair? “Get a Speedy Stitcher!” is common advice, though rarely from someone experienced in sail repair. Sure, it seems...

Mast climbing accidents have occurred because the crew member either misunderstood or did not perform their duties attentively and properly. Belaying should be considered...

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.

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

A leading cause of anchor dragging is yawing so vigorously that either the soil around the anchor is liquefied, or the anchor simply capsizes....

Soft shackles became the cool thing nearly as soon as they appeared on race boats. Any savvy DIYer could make them using Dyneema single...