When my wife Teija told me she had a surprise for me one Christmas, little did I know how valuable her gift would turn out to be. “Bring your swimming…
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Coronavirus update England: “All watersports can go ahead”
All watersports, including the use of privately owned motorised craft, can go ahead in England from today (May 13) as the coronavirus lockdown restrictions are relaxed. In a statement this…
Coronavirus lockdown: English marinas and sailing clubs allowed to open today
English marinas and sailing clubs are permitted to open today following a change in Government guidance which allows people to travel to the coast and use the water. The Government…
Port hopping the north coast of Cornwall in a small boat
My wife, Sue, and I had been thinking about cruising the north Cornish coast on our trailer-sailer for the last decade, despite Mark Fishwick’s opinion in his West Country Cruising…
Slow boat around Wales – coastal and inland circumnavigation in a Vivacity 20
When we first moved to Deganwy I saw a programme on Welsh television with a couple of guys from Aberaeron who had circumnavigated Wales in a Drascombe longboat. That looks…
Wild about sailing in the wonderful Whitsunday Islands
Do you want to experience a new cruising ground, something exotic, visually stunning, an adventure with crystal clear water, interesting flora and fauna… and no crowds? I have the answer.…
Planning your next adventure? Here’s some inspiration from the crews of ARC 2019
Have you ever crossed the Atlantic? This month at PBO we’re focusing on Amazing Adventures. If you’re planning a passage, or just fancy a bit of armchair sailing, take a…
British designer James Wharram’s round-the-world adventure on Spirit of Gaia
The morning breeze was just starting to fill in as we headed out of Port Vathi on board Ionian Spirit, an old Danish fishing boat converted for charter. As we…
Night watch in the North Sea – how I beat the fear by facing it head on
As I prepared myself for my first meeting with the North Sea, I thought about the legend among sailors. There is, it is said, a monster living beneath the North…
Big new small yacht: Beneteau Oceanis 30.1 tested
Thirty years ago a small boat might have been anything less than around 24ft. However, that number has since leapt upwards, with many large manufacturers paying scant attention in the…
DIY at home: 100+ things to do and make in the workshop at home
In normal times we cover a lot of ground every month in Practical Boat Owner – online and in the magazine – but in lockdown conditions it makes sense to…
How I built a bespoke aluminium powerboat at home
Late in 2015, just as James Oakley was finishing the hull of his home-built aluminium speedboat, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. “I’d been to see my doctor for something…
The step by step guide to dismantling a PRM 100 marine gearbox
As a boat owner practical enough to cope with most maintenance I still had to think twice before delving into the guts of my gearbox. One imagines the need of…
A new build nesting dinghy for a newlywed couple
In the days before inflatable dinghies it was common to have a hard dinghy, to be left on the mooring or hoisted onto the foredeck of your yacht, or atop…
How to polish stainless steel in the workshop at home
Once you know how to polish stainless steel from its raw milled state to a high gloss finish then it’s possible to make all sorts of trims from flat bar,…
How to make a foldaway bottle rack out of neoprene for your boat
I live in Valencia, Spain, and discovered PBO in a UK airport 15 years ago. I asked the newspaper shop near my home to order it in for me, and…
How to dismantle and repair a seized wind generator at home
I confess, I’m frequently guilty of surrendering to the old adage, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!’ But I got caught out in hurricane Dorian in October last year.…
How to make your own helmsman’s overmitten from old sailcloth
How often, when helming early in the season or on a night watch, have you had one warm hand in a pocket and one cold one on the tiller? Despite…
How to drill out and set rivets – mending a broken spinnaker pole
It was a cracking day, mid-May on the Algarve. We had sailed our Beneteau 381 from Gibraltar to Bruce’s Yard in Faro earlier on in the year, had her lifted…
Bake perfect bread on your boat in 5 easy steps
Many years ago, when we were cruising along the South West coast, we were anchored off Cargreen on the river Tamar. We’d run out of bread a couple of days…