Alison Wood

Features Editor

Alison Wood

Ali is a features editor of Practical Boat Owner. She was the former editor. A yachting, outdoor and travel journalist, she’s written for a number of brands, including BBC Wildlife, Countryfile, Yachting Monthly and Radio Times. She’s also worked as a publisher in the Women’s and Craft sectors.

Sailing and watersports are her passion. As a child she raced Mirror dinghies with her parents and went on to cruise the North Wales coast in everything from a fibreglass trimaran to a 100-year-old wooden gaffer. These days she lives in Dorset and enjoys wild swimming, paddleboarding, surfing and sailing dinghies in Christchurch harbour.

Ali’s recently owned PBO Project Boat, Maximus. Together with her husband, she’s refitting the 43-year-old cruiser and making all the DIY mistakes her readers warned her about.

A boat sailing

  • February 25, 2026

Point higher and sail faster – every yacht can benefit from an optimal rig setup. Ali Wood finds out from the experts how it’s done

A heavy displacement Rustler 57

  • December 4, 2025

How well do you feel like you understand boat displacement? For most sailors, it’s an overlooked topic. When I returned to marine journalism after a spell working on other magazines,…

  • July 14, 2025

Ali Wood weighs in on the Garmin chartplotter and other electronic navigation options from Furuno, Raymarine, B&G, Lowrance, Simrad, and Orca. Furuno Furuno’s NAVNet TZtouch 3 range is available in…

A person using a chartplotter on a boat

  • July 8, 2025

Whether you’re new to boating or looking to enhance your navigation with a phone, tablet or MFD, Ali Wood runs through the different chartplotter options