Practical Boat Owner5 min read
Vita Power Seal and Sea Dog RIBs
Achieving a day of slow electric cruising per overnight charge is becoming fairly viable in many inland locations, as a trip on any inland waterway will tell you. However, when boats are required to reach higher speeds and plane in open water for a r
Practical Boat Owner6 min read
Tools And Spares You Shouldn’t Be Without
How many 13mm spanners does a girl need in her tool box? Well, at least four it turns out. We were halfway across the Atlantic bound for St Lucia on our Clipper 60, Bluejay, when the flexi-coupling on the generator failed. The crew consisted of me, a
Practical Boat Owner3 min read
Tried & tested
It’s not very often we get to see innovation in lifejacket design as the rules are so tight for safety coding that there’s little room for changing the status quo in terms of bladder shape, inflation technology and so on, writes Fox Morgan. Mustang S
Practical Boat Owner1 min read
Geoff Holt Unveils Circumnavigation Plans At BoatLife
Thousands of people flocked through the doors of NEC Birmingham for the four-day BoatLife exhibition, held from 15-18 February. Ken Fowler, who sailed 1,200 miles around all the islands of England and Wales in an RS Aero dinghy, was among the sailing
Practical Boat Owner1 min read
Diary Dates
■ Crossing Biscay, 16 March, Cruising Association (CA) information day, www.theca.org.uk/calendar ■ Kent Boat Jumble, 17 March, Hop Farm Showground, Tonbridge, www.rotaevents.co.uk ■ CA Mediterranean Seminar 23-24 March, Two day seminar open to all,
Practical Boat Owner6 min read
Understanding Boat Anodes
The purpose and function of anodes can be complex, leading to confusion as to their location, connection and operation. This article explains the basics of how they work, how to use them and why we need them. The majority of metals, whether a single
Practical Boat Owner2 min read
Expert Response
Joel Innes, spokesman for the RNLI Water Safety team, responds: This is an excellent anecdote of how things can quickly go wrong while at sea. I’ve been an RNLI crew member for quite a few years now and have seen this situation unfold many times, tho
Practical Boat Owner1 min read
Maiden Crew Makes Cape Horn History
The former Whitbread Round the World Race yacht Maiden is continuing to trailblaze. The all-female crew racing in the Ocean Globe Race rounded the infamous Cape Horn at 0415 UTC on 8 February, and included Vuyisile Jaca, Junella King and Maryama Seck
Practical Boat Owner1 min read
Optimal Tides Factored Into Round The Island Race Date
Entries are open for the Round the Island Race, a 50-mile race around the Isle of Wight, which is being held on Saturday 15 June – two weeks earlier than usual for ‘optimal tidal conditions’. The annual Island Sailing Club (ISC) event dates back to 1
Practical Boat Owner6 min read
200 Years Of Saving Lives
“Every stranger, whom the disasters of the sea may cast on her shores, should never look for refuge in vain,” wrote the retired British militia officer, Sir William Hillary. Having witnessed numerous shipwrecks off his home town of Douglas in the Isl
Practical Boat Owner1 min read
A Place For Everything…
Where’s the wretched 1/2in hose adapter? I don’t know; perhaps this one? No, not that one, that’s the ¾in, I need the ½in… This dialogue often kicked off at the arrival at a new marina, and was followed by a frantic search in the BOOT (box-of-odd-thi
Practical Boat Owner1 min read
Survey Insight To The Travelling Brit
‘Learning something new’ is now a key consideration for British holidaymakers, with one in four saying that it is a priority, according to a new study commissioned by yacht charter company, Sunsail, to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Some 40% said th
Practical Boat Owner2 min read
First Channel Crossing
Moored in Plymouth’s Mayflower Marina, Water Rat attracted more attention than any boat I have owned, invariably positive except for the ‘Admiral’, or whoever he was. “You didn’t cross the Channel in that, did you?” he said looking down at my boat. W
Practical Boat Owner1 min read
Practical Boat Owner
Editor Katy Stickland katy.stickland@futurenet.com News and Features Editor Laura Hodgetts laura.hodgetts@futurenet.com Features Editor Alison Wood Production Editor Julian Peckham Art Editor Daniel Franklin Group Art Director, Marine Neil Singleton
Practical Boat Owner1 min readCrime & Violence
French ‘Non’ To Long Stays Without A Visa
UK sailors with boats in France must continue with the ‘Schengen shuffle’ after a bid to ease the visa regulations failed. France has firmly rejected a proposed amendment to the French Immigration and Integration Bill, which sought to grant an automa
Practical Boat Owner1 min read
Increased Protection
Another 4,000km2 of English offshore waters will soon receive protection from bottom trawling. Sand eel fishing in the English areas of the North Sea will also be halted. A Marine Management Organisation (MMO) byelaw to protect valuable marine habita
Practical Boat Owner1 min read
Supporting the RNLI
UK-based boat insurance provider GJW Direct has been working in partnership with the RNLI since 2018 to support efforts to save lives at sea. Fundraising is key to the RNLI and its prevention work is vital to avoid people getting into difficulty. The
Practical Boat Owner8 min read
Two-day Blow
Strong winds were forecast, it was October 2023 and I was preparing to leave Manorbier Bay on the Bristol Channel to reach Worm’s Head. Why, didn’t I feel this anchorage was safe enough? I asked myself this and a million other questions as I stood on
Practical Boat Owner3 min read
Ready For Sea
Sam Llewellyn writes nautical thrillers, edits The Marine Quarterly, and is perpetually patching up a 30ft ketch: samllewellyn.com Late in the 1980s, I was at a festival in the Baltic, doing some research for a thriller I wrote called Blood Knot, whi
Practical Boat Owner2 min read
Fewer Shipping Forecasts from April
From April this year, the Shipping Forecast will be broadcast twice a day on weekdays and three times a day on weekends. Previously the iconic Shipping Forecast, which marks its 100th anniversary this year, has been broadcast three times daily on Rad
Practical Boat Owner1 min read
News In Brief
■ MarineShift 360 has launched the fifth version of its Life Cycle Assessment software designed to accelerate positive, sustainable changes in boatbuilding and the design and manufacture of marine equipment. Contact: marineshift360.org ■ Vetus M-line
Practical Boat Owner8 min read
Channel Island 22 Renovation Project
Thirteen days out from Plymouth during the 2021 Azores Jester Challenge, in a gale, facing days of fierce headwinds, I looked skywards and informed the Lord that I would get a motorboat. I meant it too, though despite the pain of a damaged finger and
Practical Boat Owner3 min read
New Gear
Small tenders that don’t plane need very little power to move at an acceptable pace. Yet most manufacturers of electric outboards have been slow to offer ultra lightweight models that are easy to handle and priced at a comparable level to the smalles
Practical Boat Owner1 min read
Lessons Learned
1 Replacing 15m of galvanised 8mm chain which cost £250 from Force 4 chandlery. Ouch! 2 With that big blow coming on, I should have chucked out all the chain and all the warp. Had I dumped the warp it would have increased the scope and perhaps lessen
Practical Boat Owner3 min read
So Much To Do
Marsali Taylor sails an Offshore 8M, Karima S. She’s a dinghy instructor and author of The Shetland Sailing Mysteries starring liveaboard sleuth, Cass Lynch. Thank you to all the kind PBO readers who’ve sent good wishes and encouragement since my acc
Practical Boat Owner14 min read
Boats For Offshore Sailing
Offshore yachts need to exhibit a comfortable, controlled, and well-balanced motion at sea, such that the crew can sail, cook, eat, and sleep without suffering too much discomfort. Second only to the yacht being soundly constructed, the crew is what
Practical Boat Owner1 min read
What About Anodes For Wooden Boats?
PBO sought advice from James Beale, the managing director of MGDUFF, which specialises in marine cathodic protection systems and boat anodes With older wooden vessels you do need to be careful with sacrificial anodes. The byproduct of cathodic protec
Practical Boat Owner23 min read
15 Fixes At Sea
Boats sailed 24 hours a day, seven days a week rarely remain intact; ask anyone who’s crossed an ocean. Whether it’s a jammed headsail, a failed autopilot or a line chafed to the core, every boat has a casualty. Having covered the Atlantic Rally for
Practical Boat Owner5 min read
Regional News
Plans for modernising and increasing the efficiency of Penzance Harbour include a new 44m visiting boat pontoon. The project has £3million from the Government’s Town Deal Fund, which needs to be spent by March 2026. Visiting sailors and residents wil
Practical Boat Owner1 min read
Best Of 3,000-plus New Yachtmasters
Skills acquired through the Sea Cadets helped 24-year-old Freddie Jablonski achieve the Royal Yachting Association Yachtmaster of the Year award. The RYA’s President, HRH The Princess Royal, presented the prestigious accolade at the annual stakeholde
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