Hull Hole Damage Control
It's hard to imagine anything worse than holing your boat at sea. We've all heard the stories… one minute you're sailing peaceably, the next...
Seasickness Remedies: Start With the Least Invasive
It was back in 1995-96 that we last discussed seasickness in Practical Sailor. Reviewing the sometimes acrid letters and responses that flowed forth and...
Emergency Rigging Cutters
Dismasting is right up there among a sailor's worst nightmares. When a mast comes down at sea, no matter how or why, there's tremendous...
Daytime Distress Signals: Flares Shine in the Wind
No matter how you put out a call for help on the water—VHF, EPIRB, cell phone, or mental telepathy—sooner or later you'll need to...
PFDs Set Straight
Personal Flotation Device, or PFD—the thing you used to call a life jacket—is probably the single most important safety aid you can use on...
Wrestling With PFDs
We have a good article on PFDs this month, and it's worried me every time I've looked at it. These worries can probably be...
Brinkmann, LSI, Optronics Shine Bright in Spotlight Test
If you've ever tried to locate a channel marker on a dark night, or to read the number on an unlit buoy in the...
Fire Extinguishers: A Good Bunch, But Get More than the Minimum
Another factor that struck us is the dramatic loss of visibility that occurs when you use one of these extinguishers. Our fire became completely...
Dead-Reckoning
A friend recently made a short delivery on a boat whose compass was fully 30 degrees deviated. No one worried about it. No one...
Personal Rescue Lights: Less Than Brilliant
If theres a lesson to be learned about personal rescue lights -the kind you have strapped or pinned to your PFD for when...
Which Batteries Would I Buy TODAY for my SAILBOAT?
What is the best battery for a sailboat? What is the problem with lithium batteries on boats? Is AGM or lithium better for a...
Latest Sailboat Review
Beneteau 40.7 Used Boat Review
Beneteau began building boats in France in 1884 when Beneteau opened shop for the purpose of constructing trawlers at Croix-de-Vie. Eighty years later, under...