I first saw a cradle boat at a wooden-boat show years ago, and thought to myself: ‘When I have kids, I’ll build one of these’. Fast forward a decade, and…
Practical Projects
How to make a heavy duty boathook
As the owner of a Moody 29 with a swinging mooring on the River Cleddau, I sometimes found wind and tide tested my extending aluminium boat hook. Despite much searching…
Twin galley sink won’t drain – what do I do?
During our first season with the boat, domestic harmony was somewhat marred by a problem with the sink drain. We have a double sink and every time we pulled the…
Make your own impeller extractor – two DIY ideas that save money
John Cowan modified an automotive tool for his boat I had a problem removing my seawater impeller recently – the essential, delicate, flexible plastic paddlewheel that draws seawater up into…
Free download – how to check in to a marina when you don’t speak the language
My French is fairly profficient, but when I was in Italy recently (I don’t speak Italian), I started work on a document that would give the marina office all the information…
Restoring a Watson 41: The wrecked RNLI lifeboat they laughed at
It all began when my husband Rob’s work took him down to Southampton where, on his travels, he happened to spot an old boatyard. Of course he had to have…
Build your own heavy duty standing stowage
David Parker makes a simple shelf and installs strong webbing straps to stow a scuba tank securely in his boat’s cockpit
10 practical projects – crafty ideas to improve your summer cruise
The extra miles of sailing on a summer cruise, or days at anchor can highlight new issues on board or exacerbate existing problems. To aid your voyage this year –…
A labour of love: building and designing Thea
Tom and Lorraine Owen built their 30ft motor cruiser completely from scratch, working together with phenomenal dedication. Nick Burnham went to meet them
How I designed and fitted a better shower sump pump
John Edwards suggests a more efficient way to empty your shower tray
Dual-purpose cockpit table
When I bought Crusader, my Aqua Star Ocean Ranger 33, the table arrangement in the wheelhouse/saloon left a bit to be desired. Although the table itself was a beautiful piece…
Lift-up cockpit sole table
Cockpit tables are great things on any boat, but stowing them away when they’re not in use is always a headache. We saw the perfect arrangement for us on a…
Is an umbrella really the most useless thing on a boat?
David Weston shows that nautical wisdom can be proved wrong
Cockpit table for a binnacle
Stuart Carr enables onboard alfresco dining with a table mounted on the binnacle
Clever anchor ball storage
A bright idea means Jeremy White’s anchor ball is never forgotten
Anchor Ball from a giant Lindor box
Ron Stark chocs up a successful means of hoisting a black ball day signal for a vessel at anchor
DIY mast climbing device
John Gardner devises a hoist to take the strain out of going aloft
A DIY aid to lassoing buoys and cleats
I often sail single-handed and picking up mooring buoys can be awkward, so I’ve constructed a lasso line to help. It consists of a 1m length of 6mm chain with…
A pump for bone-dry bilges
Norman Eastwood assembles a bucket pump to remove the final few bits of water from his boat’s bilges
Rocna hard place
David Berry describes the unexpected problems he faced after purchasing a Rocna anchor for his Moody Eclipse, Aderyn Glas