Alison Wood

Features Editor

Alison Wood

Ali is a features editor of Practical Boat Owner. 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 become the proud owner of the 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.

If you’re one of this year’s 95 ARC+ boats who’ve just made landfall in Grenada, here’s how to stretch your legs (and revive your tastebuds) after a breezy Atlantic crossing. …

A 17ft trailer-sailer rescued from the nettles is preparing to cross the Atlantic. Poppet, a 50-year-old Leisure 17 is owned by marine surveyor and electrician John-Kenenth (JK) Habbershaw who, together…

Leisure boats don’t need to pass an MOT. You can buy one tomorrow, sail it away, and if it sinks because a skin fitting shears off, or if it explodes…

Measuring your boat for new sails is a job for the sailmaker, so when our PBO Project Boat Maximus needed new sails, we called in sailmaker Daryl Morgan, technical manager…

chatham-alcyone-II-boat-shoes-review

I’ve always hankered after a pair of Chathams. The family-run company has made country and marine footwear in Britain for over 30 years, and has earned a reputation as the…

red-original-50n-bouyancy-aid-review

With buoyancy aids, it’s handy to have a pocket for a handheld radio, snack and multitool, and if you’re on a boat, maybe a spare kill-cord or engine key. I…