How to Select Crew for a Passage or Delivery
Lots of skippers—in fact probably most—do not want to sail solo and I am the last person to try to encourage them to change...
Preparing Yourself for Solo Sailing
Last week, I covered some of the things I suggest you need to think through on the boat before heading out solo. Now, what...
Skip Allan Says Farewell to His Beloved Wildflower on Transpacific Crossing
Practical Sailors June and July 2008 issues documented veteran West Coast racer Skip Allans preparations for the 2008 Singlehanded TransPac, a race he eventually...
2017 Top Sailing Gear
Scott Rapid Dissolve Toilet PaperFollowing a carefully considered protocol that is not worth delving into here, testers took a second look at toilet paper...
Sleep Routines for Long Passages
The US Navy has finally gotten around to a serious study of watch standing schedules (https://goo.gl/dE4W4R). As an active duty Navy Medical Officer, I...
Setting an Anchor in a Small Boat
In our ongoing study of ways to compare, and hopefully improve the way our anchors set, weve learned that it takes time and slow,...
Stopping Anchor Chain Twist
When an anchored boat spins, the anchor chain twists, and the anchor can come up backward. One solution is an anchor swivel, but failures...
Short Scope Anchor Test
In the process of our ongoing investigation on the effect of time and wind gusts on anchor setting and holding capacity, we performed limited...
Towing Generator Field Report
For free power when under sail on ocean passages, towing generators are hard to beat. In the early 1980s I purchased a first generation...
Winterizing Wisdom from the Chemistry Lab
Each winter sailors must tackle the project of winterizing their potable water system. Our preferred method is to dry the system completely (see PS...
Universal Diesel Engines – What You Should Know
This week we take a look at the Universal Diesel Sailboat Engine and its history including the Atomic 4 sailboat engine followed by the...
