PS Advisor: 11/15/05

Holding TanksI'm planning to install a holding tank in my Pearson Vanguard. I've spent a little time researching the options, but I'm having trouble...

DC Watermakers: Expensive but Useful for the Cruising Sailor

Reverse-osmosis watermakers run from $3,000 to over $8,000, and though many are similar, close examination is required for the buyer who wants the right one for his or her onboard needs.

Simple, Portable Heads: Thetford owns the Throne

Our evaluation of six dead-simple porta-potties finds top quality in Thetford's 155, a Best Buy in Sealand's Sanipottie, and an odorless miracle in Pooh-Powder.

Washdown Pumps

If you need a lot of flow-and have the dough-get the Groco. Otherwise, we like the two models from Johnson and the $85 SHURflo.

PS Advisor: 01/15/04

Holding Tank RefitsWe own a Com-Pac 25 and we enjoy making improvements to her. Now I'd like to replace all the flexible hose plumbing...

Tubefan

Practical Sailor has done a fair amount of reporting in the past couple of years on the topic of keeping food cold on...

King of Koolers?

We've published quite a few words in recent months on refrigeration, fridge-free foods, and thermoelectric coolers. In the midst of these efforts we received,...

Fridge-Free Food Follow-Up

PS readers offer up a smrgasbord of ideas about food that isn't picky about temperature.

Thermoelectric Coolers: Four-Model Chilldown

Igloo cools fastest, Koolatron draws the least current, but for all-around marine use we'd go with the Adler/Barbour Tropicool.

Freshwater Pumps

The Johnson Aqua Jet Uno 3.4 is impressive in a combination of ways. But it's a whopper. Check the Flojet Quad II—good price and performance.

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: RIB vs Inflatable Catamaran Dinghy

For decades, the standard cruising setup has been something like a 10-foot RIB with a 15-horsepower outboard, but lightweight cat dinghies are challenging that...

Latest Sailboat Reviews

Learning by Doing on a $5,000 Catalina 30 Mk II

When Davis’s mother started talking about wanting to do something “big” for retirement, Davis and Gloria half-jokingly threw out an idea that seemed suitably...

Cal 2-27 Used Boat Review

Brewer 12.8/44 Used Boat Review