Please Dont Take Away My Iron Mike
The U.S. Coast Guard, stretched to the gills by an aging fleet and Homeland Security demands, is causing a bit of a stir among...
Six-Man Life Raft Survival Equipment
For Practical Sailors six-man life raft test, the examiners looked at eight life rafts suitable for a cruising sailboat with far horizons: the DSB...
Navigation Software Test: Raymarine RayTech RNS Version 6.0
Practical Sailor likes the ability to use Navionics electronic charts, but it’s disappointing that Raytech does not support GPX data (a popular method of...
Throwable Man Overboard Aids
In an era when the ordinary life ring is being replaced by a wide range of improved rescue devices, Practical Sailor tested several rescue...
Six-Man Life Raft Test
How to choose a life raft? That is the question we answered in Part I of this series (“Choosing a Life raft,” March 2007)....
Rhumb Lines: 04/07
At Practical Sailor, we approach every product review and test that we carry out with a high level of seriousness, and when it comes...
Life Raft Test Part I: Choosing a Life Raft
Our life raft test is carried out against the backdrop of relatively new marine safety standards. New criteria for life rafts for recreational boats...
USCG: Time to Ditch Those 121.5/243 MHz EPIRBs
The U.S. Coast Guard instituted a ban on the use of both 121.5 and 243 MHz Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs) on Jan....
Atlantic ICW Waters Run Not So Deep
Sailors plying the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW) should be keeping an eye the one thats not on the depthsounder on the federal government. In...
Float Coats Tested
When you go overboard without meaning to, your world is almost literally turned upside down. Even in the best conditions, you’ll quickly want as...
How To Buy Sailboats On Facebook Marketplace
Sailboat shopping is usually done on Yacht World but finding a cheap sailboat is much more likely on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. Today we...
Latest Sailboat Review
J/109 Used Boat Review
The J/109 is a 35-ft. boat that races well and has some comforts for short term cruising. It is a true racer/cruiser. The first...