When I bought my first boat, I didn’t imagine that I’d soon be sailing in a hurricane, writes Ben Williams. The anchorage in Tyrell Bay was perfection. Good holding for…
Practical Boat Owner
How to install a Halyard Aquadrive in a Contessa 32
A boat owner installs a Halyard Aquadrive antivibration system for smoother, quieter cruising and reduced wear on his marine engine and gearbox
How to make cockpit cushions
Paul Vellacott discovers that making cockpit cushions saves money and is comfortably within everyone’s capabilities
Fixing a sailboat forestay after storm damage
Winston Collinge and his boating pal John Beck repair the mast forestay on their 40-year-old Colvic Atlanta sailboat after severe weather knocks it down.
Wiring a marine dashboard panel on your boat
Computer engineer Stew Proud explains the ins and outs of how to rewire a marine dashboard panel with tips from onboard his Aquastar Ocean Ranger 33 motor cruiser.
Rigging pile mooring pick-up lines
If you have a pile mooring, permanent and properly rigged pick-up lines will make life a lot easier. David Parker explains how to rig them
Moving from varnish to wood oil
Don’t be a slave to varnish. Louise Ras explains how she transitioned to wood oil instead
Boat hatch repair: how to stop the leaks
Fed up with water dripping into his boat's galley, Jose Molina decides to get out his tool box and fix the problem
Make your own boat boarding step
A DIY project for the big day! For his wedding photos, Thomas Parker built a smart boarding step for getting safely on and off the pontoon.
Is this the cosiest submariner jumper?
John Stickland tests the Arthur Beale Submariner jumper and Maritime balaclava - both from their National Maritime Museum collection - to see how they perform on the water and on…
Restoring Tethra: how a Looe fishing boat became a dining sensation
Annie Means talks to the owners and restorers of a Cornish motor luanch which is now used for dining afloat
‘In a flash, I was hanging on the lifelines on the wrong side of the boat’
Solo sailor Tony Purcell discovered how quickly a tricky situation can develop when he fell overboard his 42ft yacht on a busy tidal river
How Hempel’s Silic One silicone antifouling performed over two years on my 27ft boat
Stuart Guy shares the results of how Hempel’s hydro gel fouling-release system has performed on his Hunter Pilot 27 over two years
Moving a diesel engine air filter
Stew Proud moves the vulnerable diesel engine air filter on his boat
How I found the right electric engine for my boat after spending £25k
Felix Marks explains how he turned around the disastrous electric engine installation on his Tofinou day-sailer
Why rebuilding your self-steering gear will change your cruising game
Dena Hankins and James Lane explain how rebuilding your self-steering gear changes the cruising game
Can VHF and AIS run on the same aerial?
Boat owner Robert Campbell is considering fitting a splitter so his AIS transceiver can share the same aerial as his VHF radio. Is it a good idea?
DIY engine replacement saves boat owner £1,500
When his Bukh DV20 engine fails, boat owner Richard Reed saves cash by installing a ‘new’ second-hand Beta 28 and doing a DIY marine engine replacement
How to sail around the UK and Ireland
Sam Steele explains everything you need to know about a circumnavigation of Britain and Ireland
How to sleep sailing shorthanded
John Apps stresses the importance of sleeping sufficiently on long-distance single-handed passages, and explains how to snatch safe naps without leaving yourself vulnerable