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Voyaging

Moon River, a 1979 New Zealand designed and built Herreshoff Mobjack ketch. It was designed and built to Lloyd's standards and kept in survey until the early 2000s.

Herreshoff Mobjack: A Family’s Love Affair with a Traditional Ketch

The sleek lines of Moon River sliced through the tranquil waters of Whangaroa Harbour in Northland, New Zealand. Our ketch glided effortlessly, her sails...
AquaMaps with Bob’s blue tracks and my green tracks at the start of the ICW with bridge arrival times. (Image/ Alex Jasper)

Tips From A First “Sail” on the ICW

My dream to sail from New England to the Bahamas involved a trip down the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), also known as “the ditch”...
Instead of dreading a squall, think about it as a way to fill up your water tanks. PS tested ways to make sure the rainwater you catch is clean, tasty and safe to drink.

The Rain Catcher’s Guide

An efficient, clean rainwater catchment isn't just for cruisers venturing into remote areas. While biologically safe, many areas of the U.S. are served by well water that is not chlorinated, high in sulfate that makes it prone to going bad. When stored in the absence of oxygen, the sulfate becomes the preferred oxygen source for microorganisms and hydrogen sulfide is the byproduct. Only .05 parts per million (ppm) sulfide is required to make water distasteful. Even if the water at your next marina is fresh and sweet, filling from an unfamiliar source is always a roll of the dice.
The crew at Hop-O-Nose Marina in Catskill, NY helped us remove our mast. They also helped us build cradles on the deck so that we could carry our mast and rigging on deck as we traveled the Erie Canal. (Photo/ Alison Major)

Un-Stepping the Mast for America’s Great Loop

As a family on a sailboat traveling on the Great Loop, our crew of four aboard Fika was a bit out of the ordinary....

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...

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...

Rhumb Lines: Pursuing the Illusion of the Perfect Boat

Earlier this month the press announced the launch of Jeff Bezos’ kazillion dollar sailing yacht, a three-masted, 417-foot schooner filled with a bunch of...

Mailport: X-yachts, Soverel 33, tropical storms

PRAISE FOR X-YACHTS Your report “Stowing Gear on Deck,” in the July 2022 issue had some good tips for line and miscellaneous storage on board....

Stowing Gear on Deck

We were somewhat appalled by the virtual elimination of boats under 40 feet from the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis, MD last fall. We...

Sailboat Stability Uncensored

It’s clear that the tools we use to measure stability, and to prevent future incidents are still imperfect instruments, as we saw in the fatal WingNuts capsize in 2011. And in the cruising community, where fully equipped ocean going boats hardly resemble the lightly loaded models used to calculate stability ratings, we worry that the picture of stability is again becoming blurred by design trends.

STOP Buying These 4 Products! The Practical Sailor Warning That Saves...

STOP wasting money on faulty boat gear! In this exclusive deep-dive, Practical Sailor reveals the 4 worst products and maintenance mistakes that routinely fail...

Latest Sailboat Review

Catalina Morgan 440 Used Boat Review

The Catalina Morgan 440 is a massive ocean-capable design from the drafting board of Gerry Douglas, a prolific designer for Catalina Yachts for over...