Composting Marine Heads
Sun-Mar's Ecolet Mobile and the Air Head are pondered upon for a season. The Ecolet is more of a fire-and-forget vehicle, but demands more power and space. The Air Head requires you to commune more closely with nature.
Manual Galley Pumps
Three major brands - Whale, Fynspray and Wilcox-Crittenden - and three major types -lever and vertical hand pumps, plus three foot pumps - are evaluated.
Refrigeration Survey 2002
PS readers are almost universally pleased with their choices in DC-powered refrigeration. The technology is well-developed and reliable.
Portable Heads
The Thetford AquaMate, with its bells and whistles and impressive three-year warranty, is our top choice. The simple but comfortable SeaLand Sanipottie earns Best Buy honors.
Breaker Panels
Blue Sea gives the old vets, PanelTronics and Marinetics, a run for their money, and wins on the website front. Tech support for do-it-yourselfers is key.
Silence of the Engines
The Westerbeke 4-107 had been through three owners by the time I got it. It had plenty of hours on it, and somewhere along...
Diesel Mechanics’ Forum
Questionnaires and round-table discussions among those who work on diesels for a living yield some interesting opinions.
Low-Power, Simple Living
A couple of summers ago I spent two weeks aboard a 30-foot sloop in the British Virgin Islands with my wife, my teenaged son,...
PS Advisor: 01/15/02
Disappearing ZincsWhen I got my Cabo Rico 38, with nine bronze through-hulls, all bonded, she lived in the brackish waters of Tampa Bay. But...
Cool Currents: A/C on DC?
Practical Sailor published articles on air-conditioning (A/C) in the December 2000 and January 1, 2001 issues. Shortly thereafter we received some letters from readers asking...
Affordable AND Good? Sabre 34 Mk II Review
Can you buy a good sailboat for $25,000? In this video we take a deep dive into the Sabre 34 Mk II, a proven...
Latest Sailboat Review
Tartan 30: An Affordable Classic
The early 1970s was the heyday of the Tartan 30' racer/cruiser. In all, no less than two dozen boats of a similar size and type were introduced in just three years, many of them to become highly successful among sailors eager for the performance and amenities of big boats at a modest price. Among the most noteworthy and enduring of the 30-footers from this era has been the Tartan 30.