Waypoints Tips

The Art of Seamanship: Evolving Skills, Exploring Oceans, and Handling Wind, Waves, and Weather Book from Practical Sailor

Spotting Buoys

Excerpted from The Art of Seamanship by Ralph Naranjo Two important pieces of gear help in spotting buoys. Spotlights. A bright spotlight and a good pair...
The Art of Seamanship: Evolving Skills, Exploring Oceans, and Handling Wind, Waves, and Weather Book from Practical Sailor

11 Keys to Navigation

Excerpted from The Art of Seamanship by Ralph Naranjo In the book The Art of Seamanship, we discuss these keys to navigation which together form...
The Art of Seamanship: Evolving Skills, Exploring Oceans, and Handling Wind, Waves, and Weather Book from Practical Sailor

Sail Repair

Excerpted from The Art of Seamanship by Ralph Naranjo We don’t practice the art of repairing sails at sea as much as we used to,...
The Art of Seamanship: Evolving Skills, Exploring Oceans, and Handling Wind, Waves, and Weather Book from Practical Sailor

Making Sure the Right Strings Are Attached

Excerpted from The Art of Seamanship by Ralph Naranjo Cordage and performance go hand in hand, and when replacing halyards, sheets, guys, toppings lifts, outhauls,...
The Art of Seamanship: Evolving Skills, Exploring Oceans, and Handling Wind, Waves, and Weather Book from Practical Sailor

Attributes of a Good Crewmember

Excerpted from The Art of Seamanship by Ralph Naranjo Capable crewmembers are attuned to the vessel they’re aboard and the mission it serves. Daysailors, ocean...

Who’s Paying?

Excerpted from Renee D. Petrillo’s A Sail of Two Idiots In 2006 the boat market was still doing pretty well, if you were a seller....

Hauling Out and DIY

Excerpted from Renee D. Petrillo’s A Sail of Two Idiots While on Grenada, we discovered that our boat insurance was coming due and that the...

Storm Trysails

A storm trysail rarely gets the close look it deserves. Designed to replace the mainsail in a severe storm, it spends most of its...

Asymmetrical Spinnakers

Asymmetrical spinnakers – “A-sails” as many sailors have grown to refer to them – are in many respects a simplification of the conventional, symmetrical...

Playing the Musical Sails Game

While having a robust sail inventory is considered a must on most racing sailboats, it’s often thought to be more of a luxury for...

This 40 Foot Sailboat Has the Best Owner’s Bed Ever Built...

If you’re shopping for a 40-foot cruising sailboat and actually plan to live aboard or cruise, comfort matters — and nowhere does that matter...

Latest Sailboat Review

Union 36 Used Boat Review

While not the best boat for light-air sailing, the Union 36 is a good sailboat for the bluewater cruiser. It wont get you there fast, but it will get you there comfortably and in one piece. The boats teak decks and lavish use of interior wood is attractive but requires much upkeep and maintenance. A product of the Taiwan-U.S. boatbuilding industry, the Union 36 is a heavy-displacement, full-keel, cutter-rigged double-ender designed for ocean sailing. The Union 36 is nearly identical to several other boats built during the same period: the Hans Christian 36, Mariner Polaris 36, and the EO36. According to well-known naval architect Bob Perry, the Union 36 and its cousins are all based on the design of a 34-footer that Perry was commissioned to create back in the early 70s.