Practical Sailor

Sail repairs are a fact of life for the sailor. A stray cotter pin can shred a spinnaker. Perhaps the mainsail luff could use some chafe protection, or the genoa sun cover is flapping. Often, a trip to the sailmaker isn't justified for these repairs. The sail is too old to take stitching without further weakening the material, or you simply want to delay that repair until the end of the season. Perhaps youre on a cruise and would rather wait. A sewn repair is generally the gold standard, but some tears better-fixed with a patch.

The early 1970s was the heyday of the Tartan 30' racer/cruiser. In all, no less than two dozen boats of a similar size and type were introduced in just three years, many of them to become highly successful among sailors eager for the performance and amenities of big boats at a modest price. Among the most noteworthy and enduring of the 30-footers from this era has been the Tartan 30.

“This anchor has a hole instead of a slot like the others. Is that OK?” A fair question. Surprisingly, perhaps, name brand anchors can go either way. Most anchors have a slot;...

We’re sailors and we know our knots. We don’t use bungees to avoid lashings or because we don’t have enough old rope lying about to tie things down. We’ve had too...

The world is chock-a-block full of stunning, postcard-worthy cruising destinations. But pleasant aesthetics and comfort didn't guide my good friend Bruce Maunsell. Instead, he chose to sail a circuit to find...

Noted seamanship authority John Rousmaniere offers a problem-focused approach to determining and selecting basic but essential safety equipment for the coastal cruising vessel.

This recent sailboat from Jeanneau may as well be a spaceship. They’ve taken all the time-honored designs of a monohull aft cockpit and turned them completely on their head. If you’re...

The wood samples we varnished in late 2015 finally went into service three years after they were varnished. They'd been boxed and stored as PS went through three office moves in...

Despite regular care and maintenance, I know most of us who keep our boats closed and locked up for days, sometimes weeks, still open up to a not-so-fresh smelling boat—see “Managing...

All sailors start somewhere. As a teen I eagerly absorbed National Geographic stories in the late 60s of young Robin Lee Graham sailing singlehanded around the world in his tiny boat....