Is it time to swap your boat batteries? We look at the pros and cons of lithium-ion vs standard, installation dos and don’ts, bust the…
Practical Boat Owner
May issue – out 14 March
15 fixes at sea: sailors share how to deal with a range of problems afloat from a dismasting and rudder damage to chafe, the essential…
Pen Duick VI around Cape Horn first in the Ocean Globe Race
Pen Duick VI, skippered by Marie Tabarly, is the first of the Ocean Globe Race fleet to round Cape Horn during Leg 3
How to find good passage anchorages
A suitable anchorage can let you rest and await a fair tide: Here’s our pick of some useful passage anchorages for cruising this year
Fitting synthetic teak to a cockpit
Ben Meakins shows how he installed synthetic teak Dek-King seating
Metal fatigue in rig components: crack detection by dye penetrant
Metallurgist Vyv Cox shows how strongly-coloured dyes can be used to reveal fatigue cracks in rig components
Bavaria Cruiser 33 comes of age
The Bavaria Cruiser 33 looked like a formula for success. David Harding tests the family cruiser
Kirsten Neuschäfer tops awards for adventurous use of the seas
Golden Globe Race history maker Kirsten Neuschäfer has been named Cruising Club of America (CCA) 2023 Blue Water Medal winner, joining the ranks of past medallists Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Jean-Luc…
Elan 31: the Elan that time forgot
She has been superseded by younger siblings, but does the Elan 31 look or behave like an outdated model? Not in the least, says David Harding
£10 daily fee for Studland Bay eco mooring buoys
"New eco moorings protect seagrass and enable boating to continue in Studland Bay" says Studland Bay Marine Partnership chairman David Brown.
Replacing crazed boat portlights
Stu Davies saves a bundle by having new acrylic windows made
French visa still needed for stays over 90 days
British boaters who want to spend longer than three months cruising in France will still need to apply for a visa following failed attempts to amend the French Immigration and…
Boat handling tips: marina exit strategies
You want to turn one way to get out of your berth, but both the boat and the wind have other ideas – so what do you do? David Harding…
Spinnaker recycling now available in Cornwall
Spinnakers can now be saved from landfill and repurposed in Cornwall, as part of Clean Sailors' ReSail initiative
Orca encounters on boats: what you need to know
The Cruising Association is reminding sailors of its advice on orca encounters along the Iberian Peninsula, and the importance of reporting either an interaction or non-eventful passage
Boat fire prevention: tips to stay safe
For sailors, there is no hotter topic than fire on board. Sticky Stapylton looks at methods of prevention – and ways of dealing with fire should the worst happen
Channel Hopping: The Tiny Boat Adventure with Harry Dwyer
PBO's resident YouTube aficionado Kass Schmitt ponders whether a widening crack in the fibreglass hull is down to Harry Dwyer driving his RIB like he stole it on his Tiny…
Can you epoxy repair an aluminium boat heat exchanger?
PBO reader Chris Marden wants to know if he can repair the outer case of his boat heat exchanger with epoxy. Stu Davies has the answer!
Channel Hopping: Refit and sail project boat advice
PBO's resident YouTube aficionado Kass Schmitt recommends George Isted’s channel Refit and Sail for project boat buying advice in video form
Westerly Konsort: space, security & good performance
One of the roomiest cruisers of her size, the Konsort is also known for her solidity, interior finish and easy manners. No wonder she’s such a popular second-hand buy, says…
Boat handling: leaving a tight space
Peter Jones shares a technique for departing a pontoon with limited room for manoeuvre, against a pontoon or between rafts of boats
Keep yacht maintenance simple to spend time sailing
Rupert Holmes on the realities of long-term boat ownership and how he manages maintenance to spend more time on the water