An epic GRP motorboat restoration plus one couple's summer trip around Scotland and the final instalment of decade-defining yachts
Practical Boat Owner
July 2019
This month sees the return of the PBO Project Boat, 24 pages of practicals and a chance to get inside the mind of a surveyor…
Summer 2019
An epic GRP motorboat restoration plus one couple's summer trip around Scotland and the final instalment of decade-defining yachts
How to choose the right propeller for your boat
Understanding propeller design can help solve performance problems that occur when a boat is being driven under power. The wrong prop may be wrong in a number of different ways…
How to service a windscreen washer pump
Spares for an engine water pump, namely an impeller, are one of those ‘must have items’ most boat owners would probably label as essential. Also when it comes to general…
July 2019
This month sees the return of the PBO Project Boat, 24 pages of practicals and a chance to get inside the mind of a surveyor as he reports on two…
PBO project boat – the Secret 20 kit – is back in build
Like many boat projects Harvey, the PBO Secret 20, has been the victim of circumstance. This unique, classic-style performance weekender that arrived as a flat-pack kit and took shape in…
PBO magazine covers of the 1990s
The final decade of the 20th Century: as told on the covers of Practical Boat Owner magazine! Note: There are two missing images (March 90 and 91) – get in…
PBO Small Craft Almanac corrections April 2019
You can download the pdf file of corrections for April 2019 here. Alternatively, if you don’t have a copy: Click here to buy a copy online from Bookharbour.com
June 2019
The best boats of the 1990s and a 60-year-old 25-footer that still feels solid as a rock
Off track and into trouble off Portland Bill
David Sloan discovers the simple navigational error that turned his parents’ Channel hop into a near disaster
The Outer Hebrides welcome
Charmian Entwistle tests new facilities at Tarbert, Harris and Scalpay
How to replace hydraulic steering hoses and refill the system with fluid
I bought my three-year old Jeanneau Merry Fisher 855 in November. After a full survey I sailed her back to Emsworth a few days later, with no problems. She sat…
May 2019
How to fix your engine at sea, a Westerly Centaur 50th anniversary special, and more, in the latest issue of PBO
16. Fairing the curves
Casting a critical eye over the project boat’s lines, David Pugh and Ben Meakins set to work filling and fairing to make the hull smooth
15. Rounding the bilges
Chine in your hands: PBO takes a turn at shaping the project boat’s bilge. David Pugh reports
14. Completing the hull skin
We’ve made great progress this month, and as a result the hull skin is now complete, save for a lot of fairing – but that’s for another month! Ben Meakins…
13. Starting on the hull skin underside
This month, the Secret’s structure is finished off with the addition of bottom stringers, bevelled chine battens and forefoot cheek pieces. Ben Meakins reports
Free boat plans – update plus extra plans and photos published
Four weeks on from the relaunch of the Nigel Irens designed Western Skiff, we offer our first round of updates. In addition to the 39-page set of A-zero paper plans…
12. Turning the hull over to start on the bottom
It could be put off no longer: the time had come to work on the bottom of our Secret 20, which meant rotating her through 180°. David Pugh reports
11. Sheer, decks and gunwales
Strong and stable: PBO’s Secret 20 is strengthened before being turned in the next step of her construction. David Pugh reports
10. Adding hull sides
With the addition of her 6mm ply hull panels, PBO’s Secret 20 starts to look less like basketwork and more like a boat. David Pugh reports