December 2009 issue
On sale: Thu, 5 Nov 2009
WIN! Great prizes
Spinlock Deckvest lifejackets and harness worth over £230 each
High visibility RNLI dry bags with thermal mug and RNLI tea
Waterbuoy self-inflating keyrings worth £9.99 each
Waterbuoy self-inflating keyrings worth £9.99 each
Whale automatic bilge pumps worth £41.60 each
New boats
The latest in sail and power, from a 22ft (6.70m) cruiser-racer to a silent electric motorboat
Elan 310 tested
David Harding tests the Slovenian yard’s sporty Humphreys-designed cruiser/racer
My other boat’s a kayak!
PBO teams up with BBC Radio Solent to meet five boat owners with a penchant for paddling
Top designs from £5,000
Van de Stadt’s back catalogue includes some desirable and affordable design classics – and Europe’s most popular cruiser ever
A £900 dream yacht
Rupert Holmes restored a £900 bargain in time to race in the Quarter Ton Cup in July
A motorboat for e1!
Martyn Willis and friends bought a motorboat for just e1. Here’s how they fixed her up
Carabelli 257
Brazil’s latest export is a winning combination: a slippery lift-keeler with family cruising potential
Eyes on the water
How the National Coastwatch Institution keeps an eagle eye on our coastline
Practical tip of the month
What to look for when checking electrical connections. PLUS win a bilge pump!
Galley ideas
Great ideas from the PBO Sketchbook to make the galley a better place to work
Grit blast and epoxy
How one reader faired and epoxied below the waterline of his Moody 36 after grit-blasting the rusty cast-iron keel
Practical projects
Repair fuel injectors, rebuild a rotten coachroof, prevent accidental gybes and more
Loose cutless bearing
Flat-pack technology comes to the rescue when a loose cutless bearing proves impossible to tighten
Caulking a seam
Keeping the sea at bay – the traditional way. Expert advice on how to caulk a seam
Can your yacht earn her keep?
David Rainsbury explains how he coded his Vancouver 27, Kate, to take paying crew
Aground in the Solent!
Too busy chatting to check the depth, Graham Smith serves his time at 45° off Ryde
Learning from experience
A Belgian crewman learns the hard way that fending off with feet is a dangerous business
Weather forecasts
Just how reliable are the Met Office’s marine forecasts? Wil Bailey takes a closer look
Cruising notes
Tales from Martinique and Morocco, and a new river route from Moissac to Montaubin
Dehumidifiers on test
We test 5 dehumidifiers in the lab to see how well they could keep your boat free of moisture and mould this winter
Inside the Yanmar factory
A PBO reader tours Yanmar’s factory in Osaka, Japan – birthplace of his Starlight 39’s new engine
Christmas gifts
Stuck for gift ideas? We preview a range of presents, from attaché cases to wrist computers, waterproof socks and whisky
New Gear
Harken reinvent the winch; Yamaha reveals a new 5hp 4-stroke outboard and Lowrance launches Structure Scan sonar for small craft
Waiting for the tide
News and views from the editor
News and regional news
The RYA challenges the UK Borders Agency
Next month in PBO
Readers’ letters
The great weather forecast debate, padlocks on moorings, an emergency engine repair, and why you shouldn’t fear epoxy
Bargains of the month
Special offers from our chandlery pages
Dave Selby
Marlin’s going-aground capabilities come to the fore at Maldon Town Regatta
Sam Llewellyn
‘Hmm, Bowsprits’ – the Minimum Boater ponders bobstays and dolphin strikers
Andrew Simpson
No need for Sherlock Holmes: how one yacht’s crew outwitted a dinghy thief
Ask the experts
A cure for rising revs, antifouling a saildrive and mooring bows-to a quay
PBO products
Special PBO publications for better boating
Subscribe to PBO
Don’t miss our special Christmas offer!
Chart corrections
Boats for sale
Looking for a new or second-hand boat? Turn to PBO’s brokerage and classified pages for a broad selection
Bosun’s bag
Maritime mischief observed by readers
