Buyer’s Guide: Handheld Emergency Flares
Aerial flares, such as we reported on in the March 1999 issue, are intended to attract attention. Theyre designed to alert a potential rescuer...
Buyer’s Guide: Simrad CP32 and RayChart 520 Top Gray Scale GPS/Chartplotters
Like some form of electro-mechanical Darwinism, GPS chartplotters continue to evolve into many subsets, each filling a potential niche. There are more than a...
Offshore Log: Rigged For Downwind
A cruising boat has for downwind sailing much the same hardware as a racing boat. The only difference is that the cruising boat is...
Sunscreens: We Test Nine
Nowadays, maximum sun times and ozone reports are part of the daily news. More and more people worry about the chances of getting a...
Offshore Log: America’s Cup Triumphs and Failures
This is the way the world endsThis is the way the world ends:Not with a bang, but with a whimper.-T.S. EliotThe world of America's...
Life Rafts: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
by Douglas S. RitterMore critically perhaps, righting instructions were often woefully deficient; volunteers ignorant of the proper technique weren't helped much. At night, for...
Comings and Goings
Weve been aware for some years that the Loran navigation system is presumably on the way out, this despite the fact that the global...
GMDSS: Mass Confusion?
Recently we received the following e-mail from reader Gerard Lacroix, asking questions about radio communications that must be on the minds of others. Your...
Handbearing Compasses: Plastimo Iris
One of the most time-consuming chores at Practical Sailor is finding, selecting and assembling the products to be tested. Even before we figure out...
Offshore Log: All Aboard!
A good swimming ladder is absolutely essential for cruising in tropical waters. Because our boat is a high-sided double-ender, we have never been able...
Catalina 356 Cruising Sailboat with BIG Features!
Thirty-six-foot Sailboats didn’t always have aft cabins, island beds, in-mast furling, electric windlasses and winches. The all-new Catalina 356 is a couple’s cruising boat...
Latest Sailboat Review
Ranger 33 Used Boat Review
The Ranger Yacht division of Jensen Marine was created in 1969 to build performance-oriented boats designed by Gary Mull. Jensen’s Cal division had been...