Michael and Gail were not particularly looking to purchase a Hunter Legend 35.5 in early 2020. But they were searching through sailing magazines and...

INTRODUCTION Like many sailors, Bill and Cathy Norrie had dreams of sailing the warm waters of the southern oceans, particularly when winter snows beat against...

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Tired of water in your bilge? Clothes in lockers getting damp? Living on a sailboat can be hard but good boat maintenance makes things...

Lithium is cool. Your cell phone uses it. Cameras, laptops, flashlights … everything. But “cool” is not a reason. Fire is not a big...

More than a few years ago my wife Carey and I were looking to move up from our O’Day 25 to something a little...

I first became aware of Citimarine when the old 16,000 BTU Dometic air conditioner on my 1998 Catalina 380 failed during the pandemic. Air...

Not only do bilge pumps serve to clear incidental water, but they can also give the crew extra time when a boat is taking on water-time that can be spent repairing a leak, donning life jackets, or making a distress call. Practical Sailor tested more than a dozen centrifugal pumps from Attwood Marine Products, Rule/ITT Corp., Shurflo, and Johnson Pump. In this report, we look at the eight higher-capacity electric bilge pumps (output rated at or above 1,600 gallons per hour, or GPH) and see how they fared in exhaustive bench testing. A follow-up report next month will examine pumps rated for 1,500 GPH or less. Testers measured bilge pump flow rates and power ratings at two voltages and tested for compliance with the American Boat and Yacht Councils standards for dry run performance. In the final analysis, we picked the best bilge pump based on performance, warranty, wiring, and price.

Practical Sailor compared the style, performance, weight, and ruggedness of 7 electric-flush marine toilets from four manufacturers. Once considered a luxury made only for the megayacht crowd, electric marine heads today are more compact, more reliable, and less expensive than their predecessors, making them viable options for amenities-seeking cruisers. In tests, PS compared the flow rate of the supply pumps, the amps used per flush, the time it took each toilet to flush, and the efficiency of each toilet to manage the material flushed. The test field included the Raritan Sea Era, the Raritan Marine Elegance, the Jabsco Quiet Flush, Jabsco Deluxe Lite Flush, the Johnson Aqua-T, and the Groco Type K 12-volt marine electric-flush toilet.

Your September 2010 issue had a great article on electric bilge pumps. My Pearson 424 ketch has a bilge sump that has to be 4 feet deep, which would be a lot of water to move if it ever started to fill. In the article, you recommended a mix of a small pump for “everyday duty” with a couple of large-capacity backup units, you didn’t mention how to plumb these. Would each pump have to…