Fishing Rigs for Sailors
The low-cost, space-saving yo-yo hand reel is the most basic, efficient fishing gear you can find-its essentially a handline modernized with a molded plastic...
Anchor Shackles: The $15 Insurance Policy
ConclusionThe Peerless and Crosby shackles all met or exceeded minimum specifications, and the Campbell shackle fell short by only a whisker. American-made shackles appear...
Pull it Until it Breaks
All testing was carried out at an approved test facility in Newcastle, Australia: J.L. Robertsons, which is adjacent to one of Australias large coal-mining...
Breaking Down Performance
Photos by Ralph Naranjo
When it comes to sailboats, performance is a relative term, especially when it comes to a crews concept of how the...
A Closer Look at the Rationale Behind the Ratios
Sailboat performance varies based on the eye of the beholder. Racers want light-air alacrity and a willingness to plane while cruisers want directional stability...
Anchor Chain and Shackles
Ive been studying your recent articles on chain and galvanizing (see PS June 2014 and January 2015 online), as I am about to replace...
Screw-on Rigging Terminals
Standing rigging has been evolving ever since natural fiber lines were lashed, knotted, or spliced to wooden spars, and led down to crudely fashioned,...
Step By Step: Threaded Terminal Fittings
Each manufacturer offers specific guidance for terminal assembly, and some do a better job than others. The following is a generic description of the...
A Decade-long Norseman Fitting Sea Trial
A couple of months ago, PS Technical Editor Ralph Naranjo disassembled a headstay that he had used aboard his Ericson 41 sloop, Wind Shadow,...
Hidden Causes of Rig Failure
Pictured here is a Norseman fitting on a big charter catamaran. Note the diagonal crack right across the top. This was hidden because it...
Com-Pac Sailboats – Everything You Need to Know
Are you looking for a trailerable sailboat? With Com-Pac's Mastendr system and stainless-steel centerboards, they might be the best trailer sailboats of all! Com-Pac...
Latest Sailboat Review
Islander Bahama 30 Used Boat Review
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...