Alex Carter survives a medical emergency at sea, only to suffer rudder failure during a recovery sail
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Trapped in a tidal race: Lessons learned from a mid-passage breakdown during a gale
A key snapping off in his Maxi 84’s ignition – in unfamiliar waters and tricky conditions, just when the engine is needed most – leads to some big decisions for
Teak deck refurbishment: step-by-step to guide to replacing planks and caulking
Teak-laid decks look great on virtually any boat, but sooner or later they’ll need maintenance requiring more than just a scrubbing brush and a bucket of water, as Richard Johnstone-Bryden…
Ollie Boyes: the You Tube sailor on crossing the North Sea in a 20ft boat
Phil Clandillon talks to Southwold YouTuber Ollie Boyes about crossing the North Sea in a £1,400 trailer-sailer
Liveaboard Lessons: We Rented Our House to Live on a 38-Year-Old Yacht in the UK (Here’s What Happened)
Sharon Dyche-Brookes and Johan Truter share their experiences of spending months living aboard in UK waters
eNav in a Nutshell: The humble waypoint
How do the four stages of passage planning – appraise, plan, execute, monitor (APEM) – work in the age of the chartplotter? Craig Burton, head of training operations at the…
Winners announced in the Sailors’ Choice Awards
Run by sister sailing titles, Practical Boat Owner and Yachting Monthly, the aim of the awards is to highlight the products and services that boat owners and sailors genuinely value,…
How I made a jury rudder from a headboard
Tony Nield improvised a jury rudder from a headboard after the aluminium rudder on his Seal 22 failed in the Menai Strait
Winch servicing: step-by-step maintenance guide
Regular servicing of your winches will optimise their efficiency and prevent premature wear. Stan Cockeram explains how to go about it, and suggests some simple checks to avoid mid-season failures
Why I built a 84kg monster storm anchor to survive any gale
Isaac Adam-Azikri explains why and how he fabricated a monster 84kg storm anchor for his 12m steel cutter
Love me tender: how a liveaboard crew improved their PVC dinghy for adventure
Richard Thomson fitted out his new dinghy with old spares and items found while beachcombing to make it fit for liveaboard life
Sailing by numbers: Are instruments dulling our seamanship?
Richard Thomson ponders whether we should be focusing less on the tech and more on sailing by the feel of the boat, wind and waves
UFO encounter mid-Atlantic: how one boat crew saved their catamaran
Tim Stickley meets the crew of Hanuman which suffered hull damage from an unidentified floating object 150 miles from land
‘Future boats will be owned by the women who build them’: How Proa designer Rob Denney launched a boatbuilding school
New Zealand boat designer Rob Denney, celebrated for his Harryproa, a variation of the double-hulled vessel originating in the Pacific with a hull-mounted rig, didn’t start with the idea of…
How I built a lightweight DIY tender for my motorboat from scratch
Charles Beddingfield designs and constructs a 2m pram dinghy from plywood and epoxy to use as a DIY tender for his motorboat Tudor Rose
How I made DIY sails for a Laser
Colin Clayton explains how he experimented with dinghy junk rigs and made his own DIY sails
Cascade systems explained: How to gain mechanical advantage when trimming sails
Cascade purchases are cheap and can give a huge mechanical advantage. Stan Cockeram explains where they can and can’t be used
Boat stuffing box access: the tools and techniques to make it easier
Trying to get at the almost-out-of-reach boat stuffing box is the stuff of nightmares, Dr Ieuan Davies has some ideas that might make life easier
‘I have a cunningham plan’
You can immeaurably increase your sailing pleasure by fitting a cunningham to your mainsail, advises Bob Goode
Restoring a lost International 14 racing dinghy found in a barn after 20 years
Ned Coackley needed a retirement project and an International 14 racing dinghy from the 1920s needed complete renovation. Here's how he restored the boat for £1,000