Autumn In The Yard
For those of us who live above the Mason-Dixon Line, autumn is often a favorite month. The air turns crisp, the leaves change color...
After 20,000 Miles
In Part 1, which appeared in the August 1, 1997 issue, we described Beowulf, our 78-foot aluminum cruising boat that my wife Linda and...
Pleasant Surprise
We bought Viva, our 1975 Tartan 44 test boat, in December 1993. A lot of repair and upgrading has been done to her. One...
Pissing Matches
I have before me today four "case histories" of consumer complaint. Some weeks I get more, some less. But come they do, usually in...
Gear of the Year
Our annual selection of the best stuff for your boat includes Winslow life rafts, Andersen winches and the Standard HX350S VHF.
What I Did Last Summer—Part 2
My summer of 2000 won’t go down as one of the best. For starters, we were without a big boat for the first time...
A Saturday in Summer-Part 1
In New England, you never know when summer will start or end. In a good year, June isn't too foggy, July and August are...
Navy Point Chart Tool
Although there seems to be a new chart plotting tool every year or so, we don't get too excited. We were raised and trained...
Mailport 01/01/98
Torqued OffI must take issue with Tim McGauleys statement in Mailport of your August 14, 1997 issue. He states, Torque is a measure of...
A Day in the Life
The occasional visitor to our offices usually gets a peek at our projects of the month. At the moment, we have nearly a dozen...
Which Boats Are Easy to Sail? 7 Features That Matter
What makes a sailboat easy to sail? In this Practical Sailor video, we look at seven features that can make a sailboat easier, safer,...
Latest Sailboat Reviews
DIY Survey Checklist for Used-Boat Buying
Boat buying is an exciting, maddening exercise that can test the tolerance of even the most patient sailor. Most of the maddening part has to do with trying to ferret out a boats problems before buying it-and making the problems your own. Hiring a professional marine surveyor can be expensive when youre looking at multiple boats, so save yourself some money-and potential heartache-by learning how to examine a used sailboat, from stem to stern and mast to bilge. Practical Sailors DIY survey how-to details common problem areas (like engines and rigging), what issues are easy to remedy, and what red flags you should walk away from.
