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...
Latest Logbook
Practical Sailor Logbook – September 2026
In September we tour the Hans Christian 48T — the offshore cruiser many sailors call the holy grail — walk the custom Antigua 60...
Video: If You See This on a Used Sailboat, Walk Away
If you’re searching the used sailboat market, comparing sailboats for sale, or learning how to inspect a sailboat before buying, these are the red...
Latest Sailboat Reviews
Cal 2-27 Used Boat Review
Our story begins in 1970, with the introduction of the Cal 29. Looking for something similar but a bit smaller, the company asked designer Bill Lapworth for a 27-footer, which at first was the Cal 27, a fin keel, spade rudder design with a convertible pop top; another incarnation of this basic hull was the T/2. But the concept of the 29 found its full expression in the Cal 2-27, which began production in 1975 and continued to 1977, after which it was again modified and called simply the Cal 27...again. Production of it ceased in 1986.
