Systems & Propulsion

Ensuring a Safe Space for Batteries

When charging, lead acid batteries generate hydrogen from the electrolysis of water, and some acid gases, the amount of which vary with the battery...

Leak-proof Unions Get a Second Look

After replacing the raw water pump on his 30-plus-year old Universal diesel, PS Editor Darrell Nicholson reconnected the tangle of hoses on the cooling...

Extra Anchor Lighting

When summer comes, a dozen or more sparkling white lights will adorn every popular anchorage. Visible from miles away, they promise to provide good...

Portable Fuel Tank Update

Everyone hated the first generation of CARB gas cans. Intended to reduce volatile emissions by recovering vapors and reducing spills, they did exactly the...

Green Boating From a Practical Perspective

Before diving into the topic of responsible boating, we’re required to say something about global warming and carbon. Primordial carbon was sequestered by several...

Watertight Connector Test

Oh, for a good standardized 12- volt electrical connector. I’ve never had a boat without multiple connector failures, and most of them involved proprietary...

Dissecting the Desiccating Head

Our first cruising boat had a conventional portable toilet. We didn’t like it, but we made peace with it, cruising for up to two...

DIY Desiccating Head Options

No standard dry toilet, even the CHead Shorty, would fit the available space on our Corsair F-24, so we decided to build our own....

Packing Extraction Tool Tested

The packing material encircling your shaft and tucked out of sight inside the packing nut is truly your boat’s Achilles heel. Installed improperly it...

Rhumb Lines: The Diesel Engine Dilemma

As the threat of global warming is forcing policy makers around the world to explore ways to wean their economies off carbon based energy...

The Boat From True Spirit – Sparkman & Stephens

True Spirit is a 2023 Australian biographical drama film directed by Sarah Spillane and written by Spillane, Cathy Randall, and Rebecca Banner. The film...

Latest Sailboat Review

Beneteau 311, Catalina 310 and Hunter 326 Used Boat Comparison

In an ideal world, all sailors would start in prams at the age of six, then move to small, forgivingsloops, and then one-design racingboats,...