Taking Starlink Offshore: What the Gen 2 and Mini Can Really Do
Sailing used to mean disconnecting from the everyday—for some, it still does. Days were spent watching the waves roll by, adjusting sails, reading books,...
Handheld VHF Radio Buyer’s Guide: Explore 20 Models, from Low-Cost to High-End
VHF radios are not included among the minimal safety equipment required on pleasure craft by the US Coast Guard, but they should be. VHF...
Reefing Basics
As the forecast for this season calls for much cooler temps and more frequent higher wind speeds and gusts, thanks to the effects of...
Budget Nav: Build a Fault-Tolerant Electronic Navigation System for Under $3,000
When I started sailing, navigation gear consisted of a paper chart, a few drawing instruments and a compass. Instruments usually consisted of a single...
LFP vs. Lead Acid: Eight Things Every Sailor Must Know Before Switching
Marketing literature does a good job of promoting the primary advantages of lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP or LiFePo4), such as life expectancy, weight,...
Cabinet Hardware That Holds When It Counts
One of the aspects of safety on a voyaging sailboat that I am most concerned about is that objects stay stowed where they're supposed...
How to Inspect Your Sailboat’s Chainplates—and Why It Matters
The purpose of chainplates on a sailboat is to transfer the enormous loads from the standing rigging into the hull structure safely. Without chainplates,...
Recycling Your Derelict Boat in the Pacific Northwest
“Every once in a while people say we are crushing dreams,” explains Frank Gonzales of Gonzo Boat Recycling, “but we aren’t trying to crush...
Are Old Boats Worth Buying?
Shopping for a sailboat? Whether you are buying your first boat or just making a change, you will quickly come up against the classic...
No GPS, No Problem: A Family’s Pacific Adventure
Forty years ago, I set sail from Victoria, Canada, with my former (now late) husband, Michael, and our two young boys, Sam, 10, and...
Video: Beneteau 361 – Full Review
Should you buy an older Beneteau sailboat? In this Practical Sailor boat review and yacht tour, we examine the Beneteau Oceanis 361 to see...
Latest Sailboat Reviews
Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 42 DS Used Boat Review
This boat is dangerous for one simple reason—it looks like the answer. It’s big enough, pretty enough, modern enough, and suddenly, somehow, almost affordable...
