Sails, Rigging & Deck Gear

The phrase ‘cruising canvas’ has always had a sail inventory connotation, but today it’s even more descriptive of cockpit coverings that range from small...

In order to minimize the strain on our anchor, we expect the rode to absorb impact forces imposed by waves, yawing and gusts. These...

No sailor can resist the temptation to look over another sailors work, and nothing draws the eye faster than your neighbors docklines. We like to know our boat and our neighbors boats will be where we left them when we return, not rubbing together or worse. Sometimes, however, a stroll down the dock makes us nervous. This gallery of rogue docklines represents only a taste of what PS tester Drew Frye found within a short walk of his slip. How many of these will come loose during the next storm?

The dinghy requires a gorilla to hoist onto the davits. The mainsheet won’t release in a gust. The internal reefing line inside the boom...

If you are working with low friction rings, sooner or later youre going to work with Amsteel and other high molecular polyethylene (HMPE) ropes, and that means learning to splice-in rings.

How do you manage major sail repairs in remote locations? By using whatever you have onboard to get you home—or beyond. After an easy three-day...

Just weeks ago, a fellow Corsair 24 owner dismasted due to a seizing wire failure. More than once I’ve had stainless seizing wire fail...

Selden's 'complete package' approach to headsail furlers opens the door to the hands-on sailor.

Seamanship is about big concepts and small skills. They work together, but we see them differently and they represent different types of learning. Big...

Most of the time I singlehand, so how do I take photographs for Practical Sailor without awkwardly holding a selfie stick? I have a...