Boating-sailing
Practical Boat Owner
Sailing in the lap of the Gods
Beyond GPS: divine assistance, suitable rites and a belt and braces multitheistic approach
3 min |
March 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Boatbuilding college shuts downs
After 50 years of inspiring the next generation of traditional boatbuilders, the International Boatbuilding Training College -IBTC Lowestoft -is closing its doors for good.
1 min |
March 2025
Practical Boat Owner
How to keep your boat in top condition
The experts at boatcare on the importance of scheduled maintenance
5 min |
March 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Do you really need an active radar reflector?
Simon Hampton-Matthews, chair of the Cruising Association's RATS committee, discusses radar reflectors and if they're still the best way to be seen on the water
5 min |
March 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Saildrive maintenance
Stu Davies shares his tips for making sure your boat's saildrive runs smoothly
4 min |
March 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Cornish Shrimper 19 - Cape Cutter 19 | Hunter Liberty or Minstrel | Drascombe Coaster
Rupert Holmes looks into why this small, traditionally-styled cruiser remains so universally popular -and suggests some alternative boats that fulfill a similar brief
7 min |
March 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Is foiling really the future of cruising?
Foiling technology has revolutionised the world of sailboat racing, but can it make its way to cruising yachts too? Saša Fegić reports
7 min |
March 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Warning to check your gas regulator!
PBO reader Alan Thorne suffered a harrowing lesson in the importance of using marine-grade gas regulators on board when a 'fireball' ignited.
1 min |
March 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Weathering winter weather
A handy guide to keeping warm and dry
3 min |
March 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Elan Impression 43
High, wide and thoroughly modern, Elan's new 143 offers a remarkably roomy interior and more performance than you might expect, as David Harding discovers
10 min |
March 2025
Practical Boat Owner
The Silhouette Mk2
The Robert Tucker-designs with their familiar serpentine shears are popular pocket yachts. Clive has owned both Mk2 and Mk3 versions
4 min |
March 2025
Practical Boat Owner
PLB registration could be mandatory
Personal Locator Beacon registration in the UK could become mandatory under new proposals by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
1 min |
March 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Orca sink yacht in Strait of Gibraltar
Spain's maritime rescue service, Salvamento Maritimo, has reported that a 15m (49ft) yacht sank in Moroccan waters in the Strait of Gibraltar following interaction with a pod of orca.
1 min |
Summer 2024
Practical Boat Owner
No kill cord or lifejackets were worn during fatal powerboat crash
A kill cord and lifejacket are useless unless worn-that's the warning from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), following its investigation into a powerboat crash that killed a 32-year-old woman and five-year-old girl on 2 October 2022.
2 min |
Summer 2024
Practical Boat Owner
Multihull sail work
Brush up on multihull sailing skills before heading off on charter with Gavin Le Sueur's guide to spinnaker handling, tacking and gybing
4 min |
Summer 2024
Practical Boat Owner
Five top causes of engine failure and how to prevent them
Jake Kavanagh talks to Sea Start marine engineer Nick Eales about how to avoid the five major causes of an engine breakdown at sea
10+ min |
Summer 2024
Practical Boat Owner
Sail the Atlantic with strangers
Would you sail across the Atlantic with someone you've just met? Ali Wood meets the cruising crews who've done just that
10 min |
Summer 2024
Practical Boat Owner
IZIBoat: simple sailing
Rupert Holmes sails an innovative catamaran design intended to widen participation in sailing among those with little time to get on the water in more conventional craft
7 min |
Summer 2024
Practical Boat Owner
30 WAYS TO GET AFLOAT
From tall ships to small dinghies, you needn't own a boat to sail. Ali Wood looks at the options, and how skippers can also find crew
10+ min |
Summer 2024
Practical Boat Owner
Boats for restoring under £20,000
Duncan Kent picks the best sub-35ft sail and power boats to look for when aiming to undertake a restoration on a budget
10+ min |
Summer 2024
Practical Boat Owner
Seaworthy dinghies for less than £500
For low cost traditionally-styled GRP trailer-sailers, consider the Foreland and the Otter available at bargain basement prices
5 min |
Summer 2024
Practical Boat Owner
Playing with coloured sails
Maintaining an hourglass-shaped balloon and ratcheting up the log numbers
3 min |
Summer 2024
Practical Boat Owner
Dominant minimalism
Every yachtsman's a superyacht owner
3 min |
Summer 2024
Practical Boat Owner
Cream tea carnage at sea
The crew's 'scone mad' on a Thames barge
3 min |
Summer 2024
Practical Boat Owner
A sailor's guide to UK sharks and fish
Genevieve Leaper looks at some of the shark species around the British and Irish coasts and how to spot these fish from your boat
10+ min |
July 2024
Practical Boat Owner
Multihull anchoring
Brush up on your multihull sailing skills before heading off on a holiday charter with Gavin Le Sueur's guide to anchoring
5 min |
July 2024
Practical Boat Owner
A revolution in fabrics
Marine fabrics are using natural fibres, less harmful chemicals and longer-lasting colours. Jake Kavanagh looks at the cut of the cloth
4 min |
July 2024
Practical Boat Owner
Shoestring voyage of adventure
Richard King and Serafin Colmenares Jr. look back at the remarkable Pacific voyage of Florentino Das in his 24ft home-built boat
5 min |
July 2024
Practical Boat Owner
A fine day out with a visitor
Six hours afloat and a guided tour to vindicate a fictional sailing heroine's navigational skills
3 min |
July 2024
Practical Boat Owner
Boats for Baltic cruising
Duncan Kent picks the best sub-40ft sail and power boats for crossing the North Sea and exploring a Baltic summer
10+ min |