Practical Boat Owner

When I heard Jessica Watson (page 83) had finished her circumnavigation of the world aged just 16, I was on my own sailing adventure, living aboard our beloved S&S 34 Rebel in Tobago. The fact the teenager was sailing the same make and model of yacht

The timetable to axe Standard Nautical Charts (SNCs) and Thematic Charts has been extended ‘until at least 2030’ – four years later than planned – after user feedback. Last July, the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) announced its intention t

Share news stories and diary dates that would interest fellow PBO readers by emailing news editor Laura Hodgetts at [email protected] Metropolitan Police officers have seized 350kg of cocaine and the small boat it was found on, in an operation suppor

At a recent beach clean organised by my local Surfrider Europe chapter in response to a sudden marked increase in the (already alarming) amount of industrial plastic granules (IPG) washing up on the coasts of Biscay, it was difficult not to feel over

For many boat owners, the ‘ideal boat’ is determined by the local cruising area. Should you go further afield you might invest in more kit, or upgrade the batteries or sail wardrobe, for example, but you wouldn’t buy a new boat altogether. But what a

FROM: Bergen, Norway SAILING: Lomvi, a Bavaria 38 My partner Line is a veterinarian. Our doctor, Ingrid, doesn’t arrive until we stop at Cape Verde, so if we get sick before then, it’s rough treatment! Line and I are sailing with our three-year-old s

FROM: Virginia Beach, USA SAILING: Circe, a 48ft Hallberg-Rassy This is my first sailing boat, other than a little catamaran I sailed around the bay in, and a few small fishing boats. You could say we bought our last boat first! That said, I’ve saile

FROM: London/Holland SAILING: Navisana, a Nautitech 46 Open I got into sailing over 20 years ago. I raced a lot in the Solent, got my Yachtmaster, and did a few charter holidays in the Med and Caribbean. In 2000 I started planning my first extended c

FROM: Essex, UK SAILING: Ciel Bleu, a Fountaine Pajot Maldives 32 At 32ft, Ciel Bleu is the smallest boat in the ARC+ fleet, and also the oldest catamaran; she was built in 1988. Funnily enough, the biggest catamaran, Elsie 1, is also a Fontaine Pajo

When Nicolette Milnes Walker was 28, she set herself to be the first woman to sail solo and non-stop across the Atlantic from the UK to the USA. This was in 1971. Ann Davison had crossed single-handed in 1952 in her 24ft wooden yacht Peggy but she’d

The challenge of finding solutions to practical problems is something I have enjoyed as far back as I can remember. This was certainly the case when I began fitting out the first Aventura, and as an absolute greenhorn in anything nautical I was force

My children were aged six, eight and 11 at the time of our cruise and I wasn’t sure what kind of personal flotation device they should wear. Until now we’d only sailed in the harbour. There’s an important distinction between buoyancy aids – which can

Although the cost of new boats has reached levels that put them out of reach for the majority of us, it remains the case that there are many second-hand vessels on the market. Some of them may be only a few years old, needing little attention to put

The lead-up to our family summer cruise aboard the PBO Project Boat had not been as smooth as I’d have liked. We had beautiful new lines and sails for our Maxi 84, built by T Sails, and the engine alternator was finally working after its refurbishmen

Having bought an unfinished project from a couple who had started to convert a memorable aluminium craft to electric, I was faced with the decision of whether to revert back to internal combustion (petrol) engine or continue to electric vehicle. I de

The sheer versatility of the modern electric motor has been harnessed to offer a bewildering choice of drives, but they essentially fall into three main categories: outboard, inboard and pod (or thruster). There’s a bit of crossover between concepts

Cooling water is driven around the engine by a pump impeller, along the way often cooling the oil in the engine and possibly the gearbox, as well as the engine itself. The last part cooled by the water are the exhaust gases. There is usually a metal

The two minutes it takes to rig a boom preventer properly can pay off in so many ways, yet still a lot of sailors consider it an unnecessary hassle. Rigging a preventer will allow you to sail a true downwind course without a constant worry about crew

We have had this in long-term use for the past six years (hence the used appearance) but it remains a current model. It has been used as a backup to the main fixed set on a sailing yacht. It charges via a drop-in cradle, which has two cable options,

The IC-M25 is a lightweight, low-spec VHF handheld radio suitable for taking with you when paddleboarding or in your tender, as well as for augmenting a fixed VHF unit on a larger boat. It features a Float‘n’Flash system that works well too, so if yo

Handheld VHF radios are must-have items on every boat owner’s kit list. Even if your boat has a fixed VHF you may be away from the navstation or zipping ashore in the tender but still need to know what’s going on around you, and be able to communicat

This VHF unit is a real workhorse and has a sturdy, no-nonsense feel to it. As we turned the volume up to hear it above a noisy engine it continued right up to 81dB without any distortion or feedback. There’s always a compromise and in this radio it’

Standard Horizon’s HX210E is a great handheld radio at a good price and is a well-judged balance of weight vs battery life vs features. It is charged via a cradle and uses two different cables for 12V or 240V power supplies. It locks securely into th

A feature-rich, top spec handheld VHF with impressive functionality. It features a large screen, which is easy to read and points to the array of functions available. The radio floats with a highly visible strobe light activated when in the water and

This flagship model is the first VHF model of its kind in the UK to have AIS built in. This makes it quite a chunky item to hold. Unsurprisingly, it is also the heaviest on test. But this isn’t designed to be a lightweight radio, it’s a heavyweight i

Fraser and I have almost sunk several times in all the years we’ve sailed together. Once was when we unknowingly towed a lobster pot on our prop shaft from Coleraine to Rathlin Island, resulting in damage to a shaft seal that caused massive water ing

This 100% waterproof first aid bag is suitable for quick submersion and even floats if dropped in water. Constructed from tough nylon-coated PVC, this first aid dry bag includes over 30+ treatments for injuries typically sustained from water sports,

Great ideas and tips from PBO readers Email your projects and tips to [email protected] including high resolution photos where possible. We pay at least £30 for each one published While the captain of a Royal Navy warship is greeted with the tweet of

In Ask the Experts (PBO January 2023) Kevin Fidgeon at the age of 80 was having difficulty raising and lowering his new mainsail. I have a few tips that might help. I have a 2005 Hunter Legend 38 and recently replaced my slab reefed mainsail with a f

Without the convenience of an outboard engine, life would be hard to imagine. This workhorse of the cruising sailor is often neglected between use, yet remains reasonably reliable – until, that is, the one occasion when the alternative is a long row

“Generally, I actually am quite a risk-averse person, and don’t like doing crazy things, I know that’s really hard to believe.” Thirteen years ago, in 2010, Jessica Watson made history when she sailed solo, non-stop around the world aged 16. Now, as

Readers’ cruising destinations, near and far We pay for your cruising stories and harbour updates – email [email protected]. For more adventures, visit www.pbo.co.uk/cruising Overcoming, or ignoring, various medical issues, including cancer scares an