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An elegant swim platform is a helpful feature for warmer waters. The Hanse 360's folding swim step automatically lowers and raises. (Photo courtesy of Hanse Yachts)

Transom Design Through the Ages

If you pay even the slightest attention to the shape of the sailboats on the water, in marinas, or at boat shows, you are...
Hauling Jamie up the mast. Sailing Totem's Behan Gifford says she’s a much happier human being when on a boat.

Finding Balance: Mental Health on the Water

For many of us who spend time on the water, there’s an intuitive understanding that sailing impacts our mental well-being. Whether it’s the meditative...
16,000 BTU Citimarine AC unit installed to replace a Dometic unit. Dometic did not have a replacement available due to supply-chain issues as a result of the pandemic. (Photo/ Phil Decker)

Where Credit Is Due: Citimarine Air Conditioner Customer Service

I first became aware of Citimarine when the old 16,000 BTU Dometic air conditioner on my 1998 Catalina 380 failed during the pandemic. Air...
Learn how to beat range anxiety and make the most of your electric outboard's capabilities. (Photo courtesy of ePropulsion)

Electric Outboard Charging Tips

Somewhere around the third carburetor rebuild for our 3.3 hp four stroke dinghy outboard, I decided enough is enough. Four stroke outboards are supposed...
The hull, rudder, keel and prop should be clean and dry. This 1982 Mirage 33 was perfectly prepared. (Photo/ Ray Ville)

How To Prepare Your Boat for a Survey

You’ve decided to proceed with a pre-purchase survey for your potential sailboat and are working with the seller to get their lowest price. A...

Islander Bahama 30 Used Boat Review

More than a few years ago my wife Carey and I were looking to move up from our O’Day 25 to something a little...
The batteries pictured are Rolls S6 250 flooded cells, nominally 281 a/hr. They came with the boat and are of unknown age but currently seem to work OK. They are not the cell I would pick as they are a lightweight battery. The clue is that the spec sheet gives a CCA number. True deep cycle cells don't have that. The taller L16-EX is rated at three times the cycle life, about 3,750 cycles to 50% DoD compared to these at 2,000. You really do need to look at the full spec to know what you are getting! In Canada these are currently around $320 com-pared to the L16 at $590. The black battery is the starter battery which is a simple H/D car battery that starts the engine and supplies the windlass. (Photo/ Roland Stockham)

House Battery Bank Replacement: What to Consider

Replacing a battery bank on a cruising sailboat  requires a myriad of choices—driven by one overriding goal. What are you hoping to power with...
You can apply KiwiGrip in section-by-section stages, so you don't have to tiptoe around drying surfaces. (Photo/ Bert Vermeer)

Non-Skid Refinishing with KiwiGrip

Like most sailboats from the heyday of factory production in the 70s and 80s, our 1978 Islander Bahama came with a textured non-skid gelcoat...
Fujinon 14x40 Techno-Stabi. Photo courtesy of Fujifilm.

Marine Binoculars Guide

Regardless of your vessel type or size, having access to a clear, magnified view of your surroundings is one key to safe boating. The...

Wheel Thimbles for Synthetic Line Terminals

This is not a completely new concept. Spool thimbles have long been used on multi-pulley block beckets to increase the pin diameter to better...

Carl Alberg’s Family Sailboat for the Ocean – Alberg 37

Are you looking for a family sailboat that can cross the ocean and sail the Caribbean in safety and comfort? Carl Alberg designed the...

Latest Sailboat Review

Irwin Citation 34 Used Boat Review

The Irwin 34 is in many respects a typical Irwin boat. It was originally called the "Citation 34," which was meant to indicate that it was more of a plush cruiser than the race-oriented Irwins at the time, but more of a racer than the larger cruisers. According to the company, 305 Irwin 34s were built in the production run, from 1978 to 1985, a moderate but successful model for the era. Near the end of its production, the boat was advertised as the Irwin 34 rather than the Citation 34. There were no major changes in the boat from beginning to end, just the details and equipment that are typical of any long production run.