Winter project

Jim Pottinger spent the winter months restoring a sorry looking Dell Quay Fisher to her former glory

Stop the boat!

Gilbert Park installs a wireless kill cord on his planing sports cruiser

Practical motorboating

Powerboating has rarely been more affordable or more popular. Jake Kavanagh has some top tips for beginners and old hands

The night the hurricane hit

Roger Hughes prepares his schooner for 150mph winds

Floating in air

Rupert Holmes explains some essential weather knowledge to help interpret forecasts on the water

DIY navigation lights upgraded with LEDs

Roger Hughes upgrades his 42-year-old navigation lights with LED lamp replacements and is delighted with the result

Capsize off Vementry

Marsali Taylor remembers how she came to grief through going too far out in a small dinghy

Know your boat by numbers

Øyvind Bordal explains how form stability and polar diagrams can help you choose the right boat for your kind of sailing

200 islands in a dinghy

Ken Fowler sets sail on a unique challenge to round all the islands of England and Wales, and learns some intriguing history along the way

Skipper's diary

From wacky watches to pirate boats, Simon Warner shares some eye-opening excerpts from his transatlantic diary

The return of trading under sail

Sail power is making a comeback as the shipping industry reduces costs and carbon emissions, Rupert Holmes reports

When my heart ruled my head!

Richard Carvell learned valuable lessons when he bought an iconic offshore cruiser

Lifejacket: the vital safety aid

Knowledge of the sea – and wearing a lifejacket – are the best ways to stay safe

Back to school

Uncovering the truth about lifelong learning

Top tender tips

From boarding to sculling, hull type and maintenance, John Tylor shares some sensible advice about using small dinghies

Timing the tides to Tobermory

Brian Lennon plans a tricky non-stop sail between Skerries, his Irish home port, and the Inner Hebrides harbour of Tobermory

Short cut to a long cut

Andrew Morton describes how saving time led to trouble on Gigha

Dinghy cruising in the Bristol Channel

Annabel Bowker-Dance describes the joys and challenges of dinghy sailing in the Severn Estuary

360 degrees of horizon

The Warner family talk to Ali Wood about the highs and lows of an Atlantic crossing

Bringing clarity to varnish

The tricky problem of getting wood to shine

The amazing history of rope

Do you know your hemp from your manila and the surprising qualities of Dyneema? Roger Hughes untangles the mysteries of rope

The history of forecasting

Margaret Norris charts the incredible role of Robert FitzRoy in the development of the Met Office

Tales from a tall ship

Bill Howlett recalls a youthful week on board TS Sir Winston Churchill that cemented his love of sailing (if not a love of heights)

Too hot to handle?

What level of risk are you prepared to take for a bit of winter warmth on board?

Mingming II & the Impossible Voyage

Jake Kavanagh escapes to the wilderness with Roger D Taylor’s latest book

DIY keelboat launching trailer

Sam Longley designs and builds a slipway boat launching trailer

Feathered friends

There’s an affinity between those who go afloat and the creatures of the air

Challenges in the Chesapeake

Squalls, hurricanes and operations – there’s never a dull moment aboard Alisara, says Hermione Pattison

Becoming a Day Skipper

From classroom conundrums to night-time navigation, dinghy instructor Margaret Norris decides to give big boats a go

Bay Of Islands Cruising Guide

Huw Williams visits New Zealand’s irresistible Bay of Islands