Dick Everitt assesses the differences between raster and vector charts when deciding on which chart plotter to buy
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Nav in a nutshell: Looks good on paper
Up-to-date printed paper charts are a good bet for identifying your position – but they do have their limits, says Dick Everitt
How to reef – expert advice from PBO Sail Clinic
How do you ensure an efficient reef with a roller-reefing headsail and slab-reefing mainsail? David Harding explains
Nav in a nutshell: Navigate with radar
Dick Everitt gives us a clear picture of the advantages to be gained from using radar to check our navigation
Which drogue should you buy? 7 drogues on test
When your boat’s being battered by a storm and you want to ride things out, a drogue will make things more comfortable. But which one should you buy? Ben Meakins…
Making GRP locker lids
Tim Marsden demonstrates how he fashioned a smart pair of cockpit locker lids for his bargain boat using glassfibre and iroko hardwood
How to steer a yacht without a rudder: Jury steering methods tested
How would you cope if your boat lost its steering at sea? PBO tries a variety of jury steering fixes to see how well they help to regain control
Deadline looms for surveys on DIY use of antifouling paints
Boat owners and professionals are urged to have their say on the DIY use of antifouling (AF) paints before the BCF survey ends on Monday, 30 November
How to service a 2-stroke outboard engine
After a long winter indoors many 2-stroke outboards are reluctant to start. A simple service should make yours more reliable. Here Steve Dawkins of Bursledon Outboards shows PBO’s Ben Meakins…
How to rig a spinnaker on a small yacht – what you need and where to fit it
If you want a spinnaker, but don’t have the necessary fittings or equipment on your boat, where do you start?
Make a DIY flopper stopper
Just occasionally, the ‘perfect anchorage’ may turn out to be seriously uncomfortable. This is usually when the current or the wind makes the boat lie beam-on to the swell, and…
Restoring a fireball
Torie Morley and Toby Hamer realise a burning ambition to restore a Fireball dinghy– and reveal how Skunk earned her stripes
DIY use of antifouling paints: more surveys launched
The surveys are designed to better understand the current use of antifouling paints by DIY users, and to raise their awareness over the possibility that authorities may decide to restrict…
The future of DIY antifouling: it’s apparently in your gloves
Antifouling paint product regulations set to change significantly over the next few years
Using a router
A power router can make light work of jobs that would otherwise take ages by hand. Julian Peckham has some tips for its use
Nav in a nutshell: Navigating at night
There’s no need to be in the dark if your preparation is thorough and easy to understand, says Dick Everitt
Concern about DIY antifouling applications sparks survey
There is a concern that authorities may decide to restrict the application and use of antifouling (AF) paints to strictly professional applicators and organisations.
Leisure 17: Rescued from the nettles
John MacKenzie finds himself renovating a war veteran’s Leisure 17 that had resided among chest-high nettles in a field in rural Hampshire for 17 years
Nav in a Nutshell: What is a transit and how are they used in navigation
Lining up a pair of appropriate land features or navigation marks can help keep you safe, as Dick Everitt explains
How to make your own canvas bucket
Lin and Larry Pardey's step-by-step guide to producing a durable canvas bucket: from the January 1995 issue of Practical Boat Owner magazine.