The Essential Boat Maintenance book (second edition) is now available at the click of a button from Amazon. Boat owners on every continent can purchase a copy in paperback or…
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Tested: 12 bosun’s chairs
Are you sitting comfortably? Let’s hope so – especially when climbing the mast. Ben Meakins tests the comfort, safety and build quality of 12 bosun’s chairs
Best bilge cleaners: how to clean an oily, smelly bilge
Ben Meakins gets down and dirty in the pursuance of the most effective way to clean oily, malodorous bilges
The great UK antifouling test for cruising yachts
20 antifouling paints tested in 13 UK locations: which works best where you keep your boat?
PBO Tested: B&G Vulcan 5 chart plotter
Ben Meakins takes B&G’s new compact 5in multifunction display for a trial sail
PBO Tested: Meaco DD8L Zambezi dehumidifier
In PBO’s dehumidifiers group test, the Meaco DD8L Junior won the best buy award – and Meaco have now produced an additional model with improved features, writes Alex Bell.
PBO Tested: 10 handheld VHF radios
A vital piece of kit in any boat cockpit, Alex Bell and a PBO test team check out popular handheld radios for effectiveness and ease of use
Best marine binoculars: 10 of the best pairs of 7×50 compass binoculars tested
Alex Bell and a PBO test team focus their attention on 10 sets of 7x50 compass binoculars, checking them for efficiency, accuracy, clarity of image and ease of reading
12 diesel bug treatments tested
Diesel bug can clog filters and starve your boat engine of fuel just when you need it most. Can diesel bug treatments kill it off? We test 12 to find
LED and laser flares tested
LED and laser flares claim to replace pyrotechnic flares on board: but how do they compare with a traditional flare and an LED torch?
10 Teak Cleaners tested
We get scrubbing to find out what effect a variety of teak cleaners have on the woodwork of a Sigma 38 moored on the River Itchen
Which drogue should you buy? 7 drogues on test
When your boat’s being battered by a storm and you want to ride things out, a drogue will make things more comfortable. But which one should you buy? Ben Meakins…
12 of the best weatherproof padlocks tested to destruction
Ben Meakins utilises a saltwater spray tank, bolt croppers and a hacksaw to assess the effectiveness (or otherwise) of a selection of padlocks when it comes to preventing boat break-ins
Best waterproof phone cases: 7 models face the ultimate salt water test
Greg Goulding assesses a range of waterproof phone cases to see how they cope with conditions at sea and during day-to-day life
Sailing chartplotters: Exclusive first test!
Chart plotters and instruments have been around long enough that they’re now considered standard equipment on most boats. But sailors have had to take the functions offered with even the…
Which adhesive sealant is best?
Alex Bell and a PBO test team get stuck into a thorough trial of nine products to assess which adhesives and sealants bond best to aluminium, steel, acrylic and glassfibre
The best dehumidifiers tested
Keeping dampness at bay from boat interiors is an ongoing battle: Alex Bell assesses nine dehumidifiers for efficiency, power consumption and portability