Why you should buy a boat you have never heard of
Mike Blenkinsop: Mini Globe Race 2025 skipper
How to winterise a boat engine
Adam Waugh: Mini Globe Race 2025 skipper
Renaud Stitelmann: Mini Globe Race 2025 skipper
John Blenkinsop: Mini Globe Race 2025 skipper
Seasoned sailor John Blenkinsop nearly died when he fell through an open hatch and ruptured his kidney while taking part in the World ARC. He…
Jakub Ziemkiewicz: Mini Globe Race 2025 skipper
Jakub Ziemkiewicz grew up sailing small boats on Poland's lakes but always yearned for an offshore adventure. He explains how he built his Globe 5.80…
The beauty of the Thames barge, Greta
Small-boat fanatic Clive has a day off his usual trailer-sailers to savour the wonderful and much bigger world of the Thames barge
Boat maintenance
How to retrofit a bow thruster
How to fit an autopilot pump
How to repair keel band corrosion on small boats
How to replace a failed starter motor on a boat
How to make a spinnaker snuffer
How to replace boat headlining with PVC planking
Maintenance
How to change a water pump impeller
Stu Davies shows you how to check and replace an engine’s raw water pump impeller, and explains why it’s an important job
How to fit new rubber port light seals
David Parker describes the process involved in replacing the old rubber seals on his boat's port lights
Backflushing an outboard motor: step-by-step
You’ve replaced your impeller, but the engine’s still not pumping cooling water as it should. Jake Frith recommends chemical backflushing
Replacing gearbox oil seals: step-by-step
Outboard engine gearbox oil seals are vulnerable to damage and can be difficult to remove. Rupert Holmes explains how to change a typical set
Amazing adventures
Sailing with a dog in the Mediterranean
Sailing the legendary 32ft cruiser, Damien from the Arctic Circle to Antarctica
Meraki: a new film about defying the odds to race across the Atlantic in a homebuilt 5.8m boat
Cheap boating: 110 ways to cut the cost of your sailing and cruising
Gear tests
10 low-cost solutions for non-slip decks on boats
10 most useful sailing apps
Best marine binoculars: 10 of the best pairs of 7×50 compass binoculars tested
Smoothing the cruising – a buyers guide to ‘shock-absorbing’ boat gear and more!
Tips for buying a used boat trailer
What is inside your liferaft?
Practical Projects
Great tips and ideas to improve your boat from PBO readers
How to make curly cord as a DIY project
Casting a cutless bearing housing
How to make your boots non-scratch to save your boat decks
How to build a custom boat port
How to refurbish a scruffy outboard cowling
How to make a last-minute home-made dinghy spinnaker pole
PBO Project Boat
What does a sailmaker do?
Shortly before the Round the Island Race, one of the largest yacht races in the world, it’s all go at…
Shore power: solving tripping problems
Ali Wood gets a crash course in reverse polarity and smart charging when Project Boat Maximus’s shore power gets trippy…
Sail design – using 3D software and laser technology to cut new sails
During the survey of our Maxi 84, the PBO Project Boat Maximus, we were warned by a marine surveyor that…
How to measure your yacht for new sails
Measuring your boat for new sails is a job for the sailmaker, so when our PBO Project Boat Maximus needed…
Restoring a vintage Sailor radio
Ali Wood’s Sailor radio is given the VIP treatment
Seajet Bioclean silicone antifoul review: Our verdict after one year on the water
Does silicone antifouling work? It’s not flying off the shelves yet, according to suppliers, but the results from our Project…
Securing mast cable on our Maxi 84
With the help of ACM Marine, Ali Wood goes about securing mast cable on the Maxi 84 PBO project boat
Family sailing safety gear: TESTED!
Ali Wood discusses the sailing safety gear she chose for their first family cruise on board their Maxi 84, and…