Practical Boat Owner
25 stories
Practical Boat OwnerWooden Boat Stage 2026: Focus on inspiring the next generation of boatbuilders The Wooden Boat Stage 2026 at the Southampton International Boat Show will be delivering a series of talks and demonstrations aimed at encouraging young people to consider a career in boatbuilding The Wooden Boat Stage -
Practical Boat OwnerUFO encounter mid-Atlantic: how one boat crew saved their catamaran Tim Stickley meets the crew of Hanuman which suffered hull damage from an unidentified floating object 150 miles from land The UFO caused damage to Hanuman’s port hull. Credit: Tim Stickley “We’ve hit something! Get up h
Practical Boat OwnerCruising around Britain in a sea kayak Inspiration for Clive Marsh's sailing club when Ian Hayward visits as part of his solo and unsupported circumnavigation of mainland Britain by sea kayak. Freedom is… a sea-going vessel that does not need a harbour, marin
Practical Boat OwnerEssential boat construction guide: GRP, wood, and metal Rupert Holmes looks at what lies under the surface of different types of boat construction and addresses common misconceptions Having some knowledge about how your boat is built will dictate your repair methods, the corr
Practical Boat OwnerGiving the bumpkin a new lease of life Old clinker-built open boats are being given new life as competitive sailing vessels on the East Coast A lifetime’s work. From left to right, the restored Alice, Marie, Lillian, Mystery, Forrie May, Gipsy Spray and Merse
Practical Boat Owner‘Future boats will be owned by the women who build them’: How Proa designer Rob Denney launched a boatbuilding school Proa designer Rob Denney went to Fiji to build catamarans and wound up launching a boatbuilding school to teach women how to build their own fishing boats Drominunuku village women are justly proud of the boat they built
Practical Boat OwnerHow I built a lightweight DIY tender for my motorboat from scratch Charles Beddingfield designs and constructs a 2m pram dinghy from plywood and epoxy to use as a DIY tender for his motorboat Tudor Rose The tender is small enough to fit across Tudor Rose’s transom and is light enough to
Practical Boat OwnerHow I made DIY sails for a Laser Colin Clayton explains how he experimented with dinghy junk rigs and made his own DIY sails The 4th incarnation of Colin’s junk sail with a 9ft boom, pictured here tensioned. Credit: Colin Clayton Cabrillo Beach, alterna
Practical Boat OwnerCascade systems explained: How to gain mechanical advantage when trimming sails Cascade purchases are cheap and can give a huge mechanical advantage. Stan Cockeram explains where they can and can’t be used A cascade system can make sail control easier A cascade is a way to assemble smaller purchases
Practical Boat OwnerBoat stuffing box access: the tools and techniques to make it easier Trying to get at the almost-out-of-reach boat stuffing box is the stuff of nightmares, Dr Ieuan Davies has some ideas that might make life easier The stern gland on Ieuan Davies’s boat, ready for removal. Credit: Ieuan D
Practical Boat Owner‘I have a cunningham plan’ You can immeaurably increase your sailing pleasure by fitting a cunningham to your mainsail, advises Bob Goode The red cunningham line passes through the cunningham cringle just above the tack of the mainsail I do not cl
Practical Boat OwnerSailing Uma: ‘How we built an electric sailboat to take us around the world’ Katy Stickland talks to Sailing Uma’s Dan and Kika Deckert about the three year refit of their 1972 Pearson 36 for an all-electric circumnavigation of the globe Uma has been completely redesigned and rebuilt down below a
Practical Boat OwnerRetrofitting a boat holding tank Rules are tightening all over the world in an effort to improve local water quality, with holding tanks playing a vital role on board yachts. Jake Kavanagh looks at the options for efficient waste disposal Translucent ta
Practical Boat OwnerRestoring a lost International 14 racing dinghy found in a barn after 20 years Ned Coackley needed a retirement project and an International 14 racing dinghy from the 1920s needed complete renovation. Here's how he restored the boat for £1,000 Ned Coackley restored the International 14 dinghy durin
Practical Boat OwnereNav in a Nutshell: Paper charts versus electronic charts There’s an accelerating shift away from paper charts, but how best to use predicted data from digital aids in real-world situations? Craig Burton, head of training operations at the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) share
Practical Boat OwnerTinker dinghy: the inflatable boat that could do it all! Richard Thomson’s love letter to the original multipurpose inflatable dinghy - the Tinker The Tinker was one of the first generation of inflatable dinghies with a sail. Courtesy of Tinker Class Owners Association When I
Practical Boat OwnerSwanwick Yachting Showcase line-up announced The new Swanwick Yachting Showcase is a free, appointment-only event highlighting new sailing and motor boats, as well as brokerage The UK debut of the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 455 will take place at the Swanwick Yachting Sh
Practical Boat Owner10 tips for boat heads to prevent blockages and odours Offshore sailor John Carey explains maintenance regimes and troubleshooting hacks to make sure your heads never lets you down Look after your boat’s heads and it will look after you! Credit: David Harding The flushing la
Practical Boat OwnerAntifouling paint tips from the experts Removing old antifouling paint, preparing the hull, and selecting and applying the best fouling control may seem daunting for many DIY-ers. AkzoNobel’s Jason Hill shares his tips It is best to use a roller to apply the a
Practical Boat OwnerSeagull outboard: the best in the world? Jonathon Savill looks at the history of the Seagull outboard and why it still has a devoted following British Seagull outboards are notoriously smoky, due to the oil-rich fuel mix, typically 10 parts petrol to 1 part oil
Practical Boat OwnerWhy type of anode should I be using when regularly flushing an engine? Corrosion protection in fresh or brackish water is different to salt water. Vyv Cox has this expert advice for those regularly flushing an engine with freshwater Engine anodes are usually made of zinc rather than alumini
Practical Boat OwnerWhy a fuel system clean was the only way to get my engine working again Following fuel injector problems, Mike Corp cleans through his Nauticat 311’s diesel system to ensure smooth and reliable running With all of the securing bolts/nuts, linkage and supply/output pipes removed from the engi
Practical Boat OwnerLaying ground tackle for swinging moorings Sam Longley explains his yacht club’s DIY approach to setting new ground tackle for moorings on the River Blackwater The airbag suspending a mooring under tow. Credit: Sam Longley Stone Sailing Club is on the River Black
Practical Boat OwnerMake a big toot again by clearing seagull scum out of a boat air horn Charles Beddingfield makes his boat air horn loud again Built by his father in the 1970s, Charles Beddingfield has since restored the Tudor Rose. Photo by Charles Beddingfield I take a dim view of seagulls and they undou
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