Mailport: Shackle Sense
Shackle SenseYou have written thousands of words about shackles. One item that I don't think you have ever addressed is the use of double...
Short Scope Anchor Test
In the process of our ongoing investigation on the effect of time and wind gusts on anchor setting and holding capacity, we performed limited...
Stopping Anchor Chain Twist
When an anchored boat spins, the anchor chain twists, and the anchor can come up backward. One solution is an anchor swivel, but failures...
Setting an Anchor in a Small Boat
In our ongoing study of ways to compare, and hopefully improve the way our anchors set, weve learned that it takes time and slow,...
Essential Sailing Gear that Lasts
Our long-term testing at Practical Sailor may have the initial appeal of a tortoise race, but things do heat up at the finish line....
Custom-Made Hard Top Biminis
I was wondering if there is any information regarding the protocol for replacing canvas with a rigid Bimini/dodger on a small 36-foot catamaran. I...
Using a Jordan Series Drogue for Steering
Thanks for this discussion of using drogues for controlling a boat with a rudder lost or jammed over (see Sailing Without a Rudder, Practical...
Tools to Tame the Jibe
The loads of a flying jibe in late summer squall are enough to shred sails, rip out deck or boom fittings, bend or break...
Snap shackles not advisable for snubbers.
In regard to your ongoing investigations of snubber hooks (Snubber Chain Hooks Revisited, February 2017), I want to add another idea to the mix....
Rope-to-Chain Splice Test
If youve ever struggled to retrieve a balky rope-to-chain back splice with your windlass, youve probably wondered if there wasnt a better approach. The...
The Great Loop – The Basics
Join us this week as we discuss taking a sailboat around North America's great boating adventure - The Great Loop. We discuss advice from...
