High-Tech Rope Test
The Knot really isn't something that should make rope run screaming from the deck. The knot is something we're used to. It's a good...
Headsail Roller Furlers
Headsail furlers, once a novelty scorned by "real" sailors, are everywhere nowadays. The reasons for their widespread use boil down to two advantages: the...
Heavy Weather Sailing Gear
From sea anchors, drogues, and trysails to forereaching and heaving to, tactics and gear for surviving a storm at sea vary greatly. During a...
New Twist on Furlers: New Generation of Roller-Furling Systems For Light-Air-Sails Skip the Fixed...
Roller furling makes headsail handling a whole lot easier, but it also results in a significant loss in light-air efficiency. This stems from the...
Adding a Polyester Cover to Dyneema Single Braid
Extremely low friction allows Amsteel and other high molecular weight polyethylene (HMPE) lines to run like lightening through low friction rings. Unfortunately, they also...
Are Masts Getting Too Skinny, Too Fragile?
Dear Editor: Some time ago you published a letter from a marine surveyor who said he’d seen three boats whose masts failed when sailing...
Mailport: September 2013
In response to Whats in the Practical Sailor Toolbag? (PS, January 2012): How about a list of tools that a live-aboard cruiser should carry?...
Sailboat Design Conference Part II
Glenn Henderson (Hunter Marine), Tim Jackett (Fairport Marine; C&C and Tartan Yachts), Tony Smith (Performance Cruising), Jim Taylor (Sabre Yachts), and Robert Perry, share...
Sailmakers’ Advice and Prices
For this second article, we asked all our interview subjects to price out a suit of sails (mainsail and 150-percent furling headsail) for...
The State of the Main: A Look at Sail Materials and Sailmaking Methods
Sailmakers around the world have been printing up new business cards even though they continue to work for the same franchised lofts. Their new...
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...
