Build Your Own Dorade: Fresh Air Below, No Water Allowed
Dorade vents are the best solution to keep the cabin fresh in bad weather or offshore. They let air in but keep water out...
A Marine Book with Staying Power: Book Review
We love marine books at Practical Sailor, but we recognize their shelf life can be limited. After you’ve read, enjoyed and absorbed, they might...
Hole or Slot? Getting Shackle Side Loading Right on Your Anchor
“This anchor has a hole instead of a slot like the others. Is that OK?” A fair question. Surprisingly, perhaps, name brand anchors can...
Bruce and Bob’s Pacific Loop: A Solo Sailor’s Search for Utopia
The world is chock-a-block full of stunning, postcard-worthy cruising destinations. But pleasant aesthetics and comfort didn't guide my good friend Bruce Maunsell. Instead, he...
Cabin Air Purifier Test: A $35 Ionizer That Actually Works
Despite regular care and maintenance, I know most of us who keep our boats closed and locked up for days, sometimes weeks, still open...
Rudder Failure on the Salish Sea: Lessons From a Close Call
All sailors start somewhere. As a teen I eagerly absorbed National Geographic stories in the late 60s of young Robin Lee Graham sailing singlehanded...
Do Hybrid Propulsion Systems Make Sense on Small Boats?
In the article “Is All-Electric Propulsion Practical on Small Sailboats?” we explored the current state of technology for all-electric marine propulsion. We concluded that...
Giving Old Winches New Grip
On Natasha, our 1978 Islander Bahama 30, the Barient two speed sheet winches were showing their age—a dull chrome surface and the drum were...
Refurbishing Aluminum Deck Hatches: A DIY Guide
Many boats constructed during the heyday of production in the 70s and 80s, both power and sail, emerged from the factory with aluminum deck...
Engineless and Adrift in Panama: How Seamanship Saved Atlas IV
“Is everything okay? Your EPIRB was set off.”
It’s a call no sailor wants to receive.
For Josh Verstoep and Sierra Grant, that call set off...
Selling Your Sailboat? Do This First!
Before you list it on YachtWorld, Boat Trader, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or with a yacht broker, there are several things you should do first...
Latest Sailboat Review
Cabot 36 Used Boat Review
The Cabot 36 is a sought-after, medium-displacement, 36-ft. cutter from the 1970s that can provide security and comfort for a budget-conscious sailor willing to...