Vinyl Boat Lettering
You may only letter or re-letter a boat once, but it's got to be done right. We wondered ... if you have no sign-maker in your family, or along your street, how would it be to order lettering online?
Airfoils
There is a poetry of sailing as old as the world. -Antoine de Sainte-ExuperyEighteen years ago, when I was working in New York, I...
Coastal Cruising Guides
A capable cruising guide can make the difference between anxiety and confidence while sailing. It can make shoreside chores efficient, and even provide good bunk reading by lamplight while the winds whistle.
Profiles in Pilotage
Many of us have been lucky enough to sail in far-flung locales-not just places like the Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, the Adriatic, or the...
Chandlery: 08/15/03
Passage PillowAs we all know, sailing involves a lot of sitting, and for some reason, sitting on most boats is about as comfortable as...
In Praise Of The Wrong Stuff
We strive at Practical Sailor to identify the right stuff for our readers, but of course we're always aware that, in addition to...
Willow’s Not Weeping: An Update
No one thinks kindly of water that leaks down below into our supposedly dry sanctuaries. Nothing is more annoying than trying to sleep with...
The Flail of Spring
Do you remember spring in grade school, when the academics had started to be serious enough that there was only a bit of recess...
Seized With Impatience
Years ago, having made too many mistakes at both extremes of the fix-it mentality, either by being in too much of a hurry, or...
Our New Pal, Viv
We bought a test boat a few weeks ago-a 1988 Beneteau First 23.5. (Met her on the Internet. There was an attraction...) Actually,...
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...
