After 17,000 Miles
Building an efficient, easy-to-maintain cruising yacht is very much an exercise in compromise and experimentation. There are literally thousands of decisions that must be...
PS Advior 05/01/98
Rerigging QuestionI enjoyed your December 1997 article on replacing wire halyards with all rope. When I considered it a few years ago, my rigger...
New Handheld GPS Plotters
No sooner had we wrapped up our review of three GPS plotters in the May 1, 1998 issue than we got a preview of...
Mast Steps: No Perfect Design
In this report, first published in 1998, we discuss various designs of mast steps for climbing, or for assisted climbing. Here is a link...
Standing Rigging: How Tight Is Right?
Standing rigging tension is a peculiarly under-addressed subject. Easy to see how it would worry a new boat owner or someone going to sea....
Offshore Log: Anchor Shackle Warning
After six months of daily use, we were surprised to discover that the shackle pin on the high-tensile galvanized shackle connecting our anchor chain...
Going Up the Mast Alone
A certain appeal of sailing is its seeming limitlessness. One can spend a lifetime perfecting navigation skills. Remember Marvin Creamer, who circumnavigated by the...
Wichard Safety Hook
We think highly of Wichard, the French stainless steel maker. So far, the company has made nothing deserving of anything less than wholehearted approval....
Scanstrut A Best Buy in Radar Mounts For Masts
Radar (radio detection and ranging) is a marvel. It was invented and patented 75 years ago. But the British perfected it for use during...
A Better Chain Grabber
Like most long-range cruising boats, Calypso is anchored on an all-chain rode. Deep water, windy anchorages and uncertain bottom conditions-including rope-eating coral heads-make chain...
Latest Logbook
Practical Sailor Logbook – September 2026
In September we tour the Hans Christian 48T — the offshore cruiser many sailors call the holy grail — walk the custom Antigua 60...
Video: The BEST Sailboat You Can Buy for $35,000 – Catalina...
If you’re searching for a mid-30-foot sailboat, affordable cruising sailboat, liveaboard sailboat, first sailboat, or a capable used sailboat for coastal cruising, the Catalina...
Latest Sailboat Reviews
Learning by Doing on a $5,000 Catalina 30 Mk II
When Davis’s mother started talking about wanting to do something “big” for retirement, Davis and Gloria half-jokingly threw out an idea that seemed suitably...
