Practical Sailor

Are the tapered plug seacocks on your boat difficult or impossible to close? If you tighten the adjustment nut enough for them to stop weeping all over the inside of your boat, does it take two hands and a hammer to operate them? If so, it's time for an overhaul. Even if they worked well last season, a little care while the boat is hauled can save you a lot of grief in the future. As part of your boat's routine maintenance, tapered plug seacocks should be disassembled, cleaned, lubri­cated, and reassembled on a regular basis.

When it comes to describing a sailboats most valuable attribute, its surprising how varied opinions can be. Staying afloat should be our first priority, and although you seldom read or hear much about it at boat shows, the structural elements that hold a sailboat together are an all-important consideration.

In this video, we dive into one of the most important — and most ignored — parts of boat ownership: thru-hulls and seacocks. These...

The Sun Odyssey 32 and Sun Fast 32i are two versions of the same boat, designed by Philippe Briand. The attractive combination may well capture a good share of the market in this size slot.

Get ready for one of the most entertaining catamaran reviews we’ve done yet. Today we’re looking at the Outremer 52, a lightweight, high-performance bluewater...

There’s nothing worse than getting or giving yet another ugly sweater or never-to-be-worn tie. Why not try up-cycling old boat parts to give new...