Tis the Season for Planning
The arrival of hurricane season is always a good reminder for boat owners to put together a storm plan detailing where and how the...
Settling the Keel-shape Debate
With the Intracoastal Waterway shoaling getting worse each year, its no wonder that were seeing a flurry of shallow-water cruisers. Recent debuts include Rod...
Methods to Mess Up Your Screw-on Terminals
All of the mechanical terminals we tested are based on the same assembly concept: The rigger opens the cover yarns, and then slides a...
Snuffer Test
CostsATN sells its sleeves by the foot—$10 per foot for sleeves up to 55' in length, or $470 for the one we tested. In...
Moorings Soft Side
The short, can-shaped buoy is made of closed-cell foam bonded to a UV-resistant, schedule 40 (or higher) PVC pipe that runs through the buoys...
Solid Rings in Running Rigging
Ball bearing blocks are the low-friction answer for most tackle on board. However, racers and even cruisers, are increasingly making the switch to low...
Offshore Log: The Right Gear for the Job
While our primary sailhandling hardware is Harken (mainsheet traveler, mainsheet blocks, inboard genoa tracks and cars, snatch blocks), we also use a variety of...
Practical Sailor drops, drags, and dissects three flexible potable-water tanks.
Unlike their rigid counterparts, small flexible tanks make adding small stores of drinking water aboard a cruising boat relatively easy. But not all flexible...
Round 2: Chafe Gear for Mooring and Dock Lines
What we foundWhen this second round of testing was completed, the results didnt significantly alter testers opinions. For price, ease of use, and durability,...
Pencil-Thin Anchor Rode
Would you trust a pencil-thin, anchor chain that touts greater strength than the locker-full of high-quality, 3/8-inch, galvanized short-link chain that youve counted on...