Topclimber: Going Aloft Solo
Figuring the best way to get to the masthead is one of those conundrums seldom resolved.
Offshore Log:Life with the Profurl
Our headsail reefing system, anchored by a Profurl C42 furler, has had its share of teething problems, most of which are associated with our...
Offshore Log:Life with the Profurl
Our headsail reefing system, anchored by a Profurl C42 furler, has had its share of teething problems, most of which are associated with our...
New Harken Blocks
Harken’s quest for the lightest, easiest-running yacht blocks never ends. Harken makes a huge line of blocks, from tiny “Micro Blocks” with 22 mm...
Hydraulic Backstay Adjusters: Sailtec vs. Navtec
When seven mechanical backstay adjusters were reviewed (in last falls August 15 issue), a promise was made to examine hydraulic models. As it turns...
Stowing Inner Forestays
In the October 1, 1997 issue, we published a letter from Houston Car of West Bath, Maine, in which he asked how best to...
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...
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....
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...
Latest Logbook
Practical Sailor Logbook – October 2026
This month leans into used-boat value and hands-on maintenance: Tim Labute tours the traditional, shoal-draft Bayfield 32, Nick Nicholson revisits the much-requested Morgan 38/382,...
Video: Catalina 356 Review – The First Boat of the Comeback
Catalina Yachts is BACK! After a change in ownership and a pause in production, Catalina has returned to building sailboats in America, and we're...
Latest Sailboat Reviews
Tartan 31 Piper: Used Boat Review
The Tartan 31 is one of the new line of performance cruising yachts from the venerable-and durable--Grand River, Ohio boatbuilder. In the last few years, Tartan Marine has come out with a range of new models, including the T-28, the 3500 and the 4600. A 41-footer is in the works. Both the 28 and the latest version of the 31 are part of the new Piper series, which are marketed in sailaway condition. Tartan has a reputation for solid construction and good workmanship and that's what the 31 is: solid and well put together. The hull is hand-laminated with alternating layers of chopped strand mat and unidirectional E glass. Behind the NPG/ISO gelcoat there's a layer of vinylester resin, which so far appears to provide the best osmotic blister protection available.
