Boating-sailing
Practical Boat Owner
New big boat vs old small boat
Based on his experience, Saša Fegić examines whether new, larger yachts are better than older, smaller models
7 min |
August 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Invicta 12: gunter or peak sprit rig
This is the classic dinghy that started Clive's small boat collection and taught him the importance of a tight snotter
4 min |
August 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Tree of the fruit of good and evil
Why we are no longer cooking with gas
3 min |
August 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Insurance cover for sailing high latitudes
Q I'm an enthusiastic PBO reader and have been inspired by articles about people undertaking real adventures.
5 min |
August 2025
Practical Boat Owner
'Sécurité, sécurité, sécurité! All ships! All ships!'
Solo sailor Owen Moorhouse recalls having to make quick contingency plans at night while battling fatigue
7 min |
August 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Improving the splice in a continuous line
Roger Hughes shares his new technique for making a smooth, continuous splice in double-braided line
6 min |
August 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Replacing a shaft seal
Will Renlinson replaces a shaft seal on his Jersey 36 motorboat before aligning the engine with the stern tube
5 min |
August 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Small but mighty Aith
There's always something fishy in the voe
3 min |
August 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Fresh water for a galley sink
Philip Kidson pumps water from a remote container
2 min |
August 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Avoiding collisions
If you're at the helm, can you spot a risk of collision with another boat? Do you know when to 'stand on' and when to 'give way'?
3 min |
August 2025
Practical Boat Owner
The plywood fridge
Richard Hare describes the ply/epoxy fridge he built during the reconstruction of his Westerly Konsort galley
4 min |
August 2025
Practical Boat Owner
How to install a Halyard Aquadrive in a Contessa 32
Colin King shows how he fitted an antivibration system for smoother, quieter cruising and reduced wear on his yacht's engine and gearbox
5 min |
August 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Sailing back to the future
Rekindling lost wonder and becoming a sailor again-due to necessity
3 min |
August 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Anchoring with a shore line
Genevieve Leaper explains why, in some circumstances, using a shore line to keep the boat secure makes perfect sense
8 min |
Summer 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Freeing a seized furling swivel car
Chris Mardon fixes his jammed foresail furling gear
3 min |
Summer 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Flying the flag for maritime heritage
National Historic Ships UK has appointed four historic vessels from around the country to act as its Flagships of the Year for 2025. The vessels chosen to 'fly the flag' for maritime heritage are:
1 min |
Summer 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Skin fittings and seacocks explained
Surveyor Nick Vass examines different skin fittings and seacocks on the market and shares advice on maintenance
10 min |
Summer 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Clampdown on liveaboards in Las Palmas marina 'will not affect cruising sailors'
Boat owners are challenging an eviction order from a Canary Islands marina that affects hundreds of local liveaboards ~but visiting sailors and the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) 'are still welcome.'
2 min |
Summer 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Two restored luggers
The Zulu St Vincent and the Lochfyne skiff Clan Gordon are sailing again thanks to the Tanera Mor Restoration Project, as Mike Smylie reports
9 min |
Summer 2025
Practical Boat Owner
There's no place like home
When I first wrote about Amy Cartwright and Matt Humphreys of Sailing Yacht Florence (PBO, March 2023), they were approaching the finish of a seven-year circumnavigation on their 1985 Oyster Heritage 37.
1 min |
Summer 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Nature meets technology in European project to restore ocean life
A new project is bringing together seaweed, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) in a bid to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss.
1 min |
Summer 2025
Practical Boat Owner
ABC of seamanship
Andrew Morton explains the steps he took to make sure he could manoeuvre safely alongside a new jetty in potentially shallow water
4 min |
Summer 2025
Practical Boat Owner
How to bend acrylic
Andy Pag discovers that replacing the curved saloon windows of his Lagoon 410 is far from straightforward
6 min |
Summer 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Not half good
Americans have taken boat upcycling and recycling to another level
3 min |
Summer 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Check black water pump or risk sinking
Gilbert Park shares lessons learned from a messy job that may have saved his boat during a French cruising holiday
4 min |
Summer 2025
Practical Boat Owner
A boat by any other name...
Luck, skill, automation, craftsmanship
3 min |
Summer 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Early mistakes
Trevor Martin recalls a testing voyage that taught him almost all he needed to know for the next 20 years of sailing
9 min |
Summer 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Freedom sail
Bill Barna cruises in company to Guernsey, Jersey, France and back
9 min |
Summer 2025
Practical Boat Owner
How to become fully inverted
Roger Hughes explains how he installed a powerful new source of silent AC power into his yacht
7 min |
Summer 2025
Practical Boat Owner
Plea to properly fund the waterways
Campaigners took a 26-strong flotilla of boats to Westminster to deliver a message to the nation's policy makers about the need to protect the future of Britain's inland waterways.
1 min |