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Practical Boat Owner Practical Boat Owner Practical Boat Owner

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    A child wearing a personal floatation device at the tiller of a boat. A lifejacket is essential inland gear for exploring the waterways

    Inland gear: the essential kit for navigating canals, lakes and rivers

    A yacht on the Dutch inland waterways

    Dutch Inland Waterways: The best second-hand yachts for the Staande Mast Route

    Practical tip: how to use a scanner for an accurate drilling template

    A man working in the engine bay of a Beneteau 760

    The Beneteau 760 vs a ‘rogue’ wave

    ARC 'yellow shirt' Paul Bishåop was among those to volunteer to give blood

    40th ARC fleet members rally to give blood for fellow sailor

    Dek King laminate on a bench on a boat

    What is the best adhesive for sticking down Dek-King?

    Read more top stories
    A boat sailing along leaving no wake

    Leaving little wake: the joy of sailing slowly

    Slow sailboats leave no wake, and the minimal water disturbance also means greater opportunities to observe marine life, says Clive Marsh

    The story of the Uru: Sustainable shipbuilding lessons from an ocean-crossing sailboat made of reeds

    There was a single sailboat in this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale, but it’s probably not the kind you’re picturing. Forget GRP and aluminium: the Uru’s…

    How I installed a mast spotlight to stay safe in nighttime anchorages

    Have you considered adding a mast spotlight to your yacht? Perhaps we’re asking too much of the good old anchor light. Set against the lights…

    Read more

    Boat maintenance

    The top-end engine rebuilt and installed on the Chaparral 2550 SX, Soul Rebel. Photo: Drew Maglio.

    How a top-end engine rebuild got me cruising on my dreamboat

    Boats on the hard over winter. Unless well ventilated, these vessels with be susceptible to damp

    Banish damp from your boat this winter

    A boat with vane gear fitted to the stern for steering

    Vane gear self-steering: you guide to an offshore sailor’s best friend

    A man sitting on a boat with two dogs.

    Rigging tension on a fractional-rigged trailer-sailer

    A heavy displacement Rustler 57

    Understanding boat displacement & why it matters

    A person using tools for tight spaces on a boat

    Tools for tight spaces on a boat

    Read more how to articles...

    Maintenance

    From damp cushions to cosy home: The simple insulation job that changed life on our boat

    A boat moored in a marina covered in snow

    Mark and Nicky Green decided to insulate their Cobra 850 themselves, and found it was the key to their long-term dream of living aboard

    Can you make zinc anodes from car wheel weights?

    car wheel balancing weights

    Can zinc anodes be made using old melted down car tyre balance weights? Vyv Cox has the answer

    200 miles offshore with no rudder: How four sailors built a jury rudder from cabin doors

    A man using a jury rudder to steer a boat

    Stranded 200 miles offshore in big seas without a rudder is every sailor’s nightmare. The crew of Quokka found a solution and sailed to safety,…

    Engine coolant leak: how to make a temporary fix

    Greeny-blue colour is a clear indication of a engine coolant leak on a boat

    A persistent engine coolant leak in a Volvo Penta 2040 was eventually traced to a source most sailors overlook. Vyv Cox share how he diagnosed…

    More

    Amazing adventures

    Barry Perrins sailing his yacht back to Plymouth

    Barry Perrins: ‘I bought the boat and lived the dream’

    The crew aboard the 14.8m Skiathos at the start of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers 2025. Credit: Paul Wyeth

    The 40th anniversary Atlantic Rally for Cruisers ARC 2025 fleet set sail

    Yann Quenet at sea

    Yann Quenet: From France to Canada in a 4m boat

    Painting of Jazz Turner crawling 40m across rocks carrying two 10kg anchors, in an attempt to refloat her Albin Vega yacht Fear, after running aground near Felixstowe on UK and Ireland circumnavigation. Credit: Claudia Myatt

    Making history in an Albin Vega 27 – Jazz Turner’s story

    Read more

    Gear tests

    Globe 5.80 Performance Review: how the micro-yachts & gear fared after 10,000 miles of solo racing

    Lifespan vs. Warranty: why your liferaft is no longer serviceable

    Boats moored on a marina in the EU. Many UK citizen are taking their boat to Europe

    Taking a boat to Europe: how to avoid the pitfalls

    Your best biocide-free antifouling options

    A boat trailer hooked up to a Land Rover

    Reversing a boat trailer: a quick guide

    Industry insight: lithium marine batteries and other power options

    Practical Projects

    Great tips and ideas to improve your boat from PBO readers

    How I built a DIY propeller puller to free a calcified prop and shaft

    THe inside of a Raymarine tiller pilot

    My tiller pilot went rogue: the surprising DIY repair that saved my Raymarine ST1000

    An in-mast halyard line

    How to re-reeve a halyard: If your in-mast halyard has broken here’s how to fix it

    Contaminated fuel problems: keeping your marine diesel clean

    A boat hatch

    Boat hatch repair: how to stop the leaks

    A boat boarding step on a yacht

    Make your own boat boarding step

    More practical projects

    PBO Project Boat

    What does a sailmaker do?

    Shortly before the Round the Island Race, one of the largest yacht races in the world, it’s all go at…

    A man inserting an adaptor in shore power supply at a marina

    Shore power: solving tripping problems

    Ali Wood gets a crash course in reverse polarity and smart charging when Project Boat Maximus’s shore power gets trippy…

    Sail design – using 3D software and laser technology to cut new sails

    During the survey of our Maxi 84, the PBO Project Boat Maximus, we were warned by a marine surveyor that…

    How to measure your yacht for new sails

    Measuring your boat for new sails is a job for the sailmaker, so when our PBO Project Boat Maximus needed…

    A man installing a restored Sailor radio on a boat

    Restoring a vintage Sailor radio

    Ali Wood’s Sailor radio is given the VIP treatment

    silicone-antifoul-review-PBO289.prac_project_boat.img_4737

    Seajet Bioclean silicone antifoul review: Our verdict after one year on the water

    Does silicone antifouling work? It’s not flying off the shelves yet, according to suppliers, but the results from our Project…

    Feeding a mast cable up a mast

    Securing mast cable on our Maxi 84

    With the help of ACM Marine, Ali Wood goes about securing mast cable on the Maxi 84 PBO project boat

    sailing safety gear - children wearing lifejackets

    Family sailing safety gear: TESTED!

    Ali Wood discusses the sailing safety gear she chose for their first family cruise on board their Maxi 84, and…

    Read more

    Read PBO on tablet · phone · computer

    Promo for PBO Digital

    Get every issue of PBO on Android, iPhone, iPad or desktop

    DIY at home

    A man repairing a hull plank on a clinker-built boat

    Clinker-built boat repair: step-by-step

    A cockpit cushion on a boat

    How to make cockpit cushions

    See more DIY at home ideas

    Latest news

    Young sailors with an instructor. Credit: RYA

    Sailing and boating participation in the UK are in decline

    "Sailing and boating in the UK are at a crossroads,” says Nick Scott, director of sport for the Royal Yachting Association. "Participation is standing still, or starting to fall.”

    RYA SafeTrx App

    Boaters beware: RYA SafeTrx vessel tracking safety app will soon close

    • December 1, 2025
    Electric winch on a boat

    Skipper dies after being wound round his boat’s faulty electric winch

    • November 28, 2025
    YJA chairman Katy Stickland with the winner and nomiees in the YJA Young Journalist of the Year Award

    YJA Young Journalist of the Year 2025 named

    • November 25, 2025
    Glaciers are retreating and so is the amount and thickness of sea ice. Credit: Chris Tibbs

    Why the collapse of a critical Atlantic current would impact sailors

    • November 21, 2025
    YAchtsman of the year award

    Nominate your 2025 Yachtsman of the Year and Young Sailor of the Year

    • November 13, 2025
    Read more news

    Seamanship

    ‘My boat was a write-off’: Lessons learned from an on-the-water boat collision

    A man servicing an engine as part of effort to save fuel when motoring a boat

    10 ways to save fuel when motoring: Essential tips for engine care, hull trim and propeller pitch

    A picture of a dismasted yacht on a shakedown sail

    ‘We were sinking, mastless, and adrift’: The crucial lessons learned from my shakedown sail

    a boat tied to a mooring buoy

    The simple mooring mistake that can chafe through your rope in 20 minutes

    More seamanship articles

    Latest issue

    February 2026 issue of Practical Boat Owner

    February 2026 issue – out 18 December

    Outboard SOS: how to fix common engine problems; How to set up and get the most out of your chartplotter; The build of the 100cm boat which is set to cross the Atlantic; Tips for berthing short-handed; The ultimate sailing tech of 2025; Best boats for ocean sailing; Engine throttling guide; Prop refurbishment step-by-step; Cruising Scotland’s beautiful shortcut; Make a £25 hull noise dampener; SunCamper 31 on test and more!…

    Promoted

    Protect your outboard engine from theft with the innovative Monimoto 9 GPS tracker

    The thieves came in the middle of the night. They breached a razor-wired fence, cut off the electricity, disabled the CCTV, and got away with…

    Videos

    How to service your outboard steering

    How to service your outboard steering

    After a midnight steering failure, one boat owner learns a hard lesson about the "fiddly" but essential maintenance of remote…

    How to strip and tidy your boat deck

    How to strip and tidy your boat deck

    Discover how a boat owner uses a simple air compressor and a collection of versatile air tools to tackle a…

    A person servicing a two-stroke outboard engine

    How to service a two-stroke outboard motor

    Join PBO's engine expert Stu Davies as he demystifies the maintenance of a classic two-stroke outboard, sharing essential tips, common…

    More videos

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