Electrical

Comings and Goings

Weve been aware for some years that the Loran navigation system is presumably on the way out, this despite the fact that the global...

The Expensive Rolls Still a Best Buy in Deep Cycle Batteries

Rolls rates a Best Buy; West Marine's Sea Gel is the only one to exceed reserve capacity rating.

Cabin Fan Test: Hella, Caframo Blow Best Breeze for the Buck

Oscillating models fail early in long-term testing.

Offshore Log: An Evolution in EPIRBs

New GPS-connected EPIRBs and ACR's forthcoming Personal Locator Beacon promise to improve search and rescue operations at sea.

Spare Parts

Kenyon InstrumentsReader Ernie Copp owns some old Kenyon instruments. The company has long been out of business. Following his successful search to find someone...

Battery Power Packs: Are They Too Good to Be True?

Batteries dead? Need to jump start your engine? We test four 17-lb., 17-Ah power packs that can do that job and others. The most expensive is also the best-the Solar ES-5000.

Top 10 Products for 1999

Our annual selection of outstanding equipment, headlined this year by the Spade anchor, Nexus instruments and the Isotemp water heater.

Battery Power Packs: Are They Too Good to Be True?

Batteries dead? Need to jump start your engine? We test four 17-lb., 17-Ah power packs that can do that job and others. The most expensive is also the best-the Solar ES-5000.

Banish Junky Anchor Rode Markers

For the boat owner who thinks he has everything, there is yet still another bit of electronic wizardry…a widget that tells you how much...

Self-Starting Diesel?

Perhaps it was somebodys idea of a joke. Who walks away from their boat and leaves the engine running? But when I climbed back...

$40,000 for a 40 Foot Cruiser? The Bristol 40 Reality Check

You can find Bristol 39s and Bristol 40s for around $40,000 — and at first glance, that sounds like one of the best deals...

Latest Sailboat Review

Tartan 33 Used Boat Review

In 1978, Tartan brought out the Tartan Ten, a 33', fairly light, fractionally-rigged "offshore one design." The boat was a huge success: fast, easy to sail, and unencumbered by the design limitations of a rating rule. But the Tartan Ten had one big problem: limited accommodations with stooping headroom, an interior most kindly described as spartan. A hardy crew could take the Tartan Ten on a multi-day race such as the Mackinac, and you might even coax your family aboard for a weekend of camping out. But cruising or extended racing in comfort? Forget it!