You don’t have to be a boatbuilder to learn how to build a boat, argue Roger Nadin and Polly Robinson. Here is their guide to building your first kit boat…
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Gelcoat repair: How to make an invisible repair
Everything you need to know to make an invisible gelcoat repair, from preparation and filling to topcoat and polishing
Quiz a sailmaker – everything you need to know about sails
Whilst deciding what cut and sailcloth to chose for the PBO Project Boat, we quizzed technical manager Daryl Morgan from Bainbridge International – one of the world’s oldest sailcloth manufacturers…
What are the different types of sailcloth and design?
Before speaking to your sailmaker, it’s worth knowing the different types of sailcloth on the market so you can understand which is best for your type of boat and sailing,…
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 there was only so much he could tell us about…
Boatbuilding added to ‘endangered’ craft list
Traditional wooden boatbuilding in the UK is on the ‘Red List of Endangered Crafts’, compiled by the Heritage Crafts Association.
Boat owners warned: ‘Don’t attempt a risky DIY gas bottle refill’
The UK’s largest yacht owners group, the Westerly Owners’ Association (WOA) with 3,000 members, is among those dependent on gas bottles of this size for cooking on board. In a…
Beware becoming a man overboard (MOB)… in a marina
Everyone thinks about man overboard (MOB), but what do you do when you have a MIM, man in marina? Mark Prior found out the hard way...
New yellow buoys mark no anchor zones in Torbay, Devon
All six seagrass beds in Torbay, Devon are now marked out for protection by the Ocean Conservation Trust's Blue Meadows Project.
Lost at sea: remembering Thomas Tangvald
Cruising pioneer Peter Tangvald’s son, Thomas, disappeared after sailing from South America in 2014. Kathy Catton recalls her memories of him
Whitbread race veterans invited to 50th anniversary reunion
A reunion for all Whitbread Round the World race crew and skippers is being held in the run up to the Ocean Globe Race in September
Swallows and Amazon star to return to Southampton Boat Show
Sophie Neville, the actress who played Titty in the 1974 film Swallows and Amazon will be returning to the 2023 Southampton Boat Show with the boat Amazon
Antila 33.3 review: The ideal lakeland explorer
Lake sailing in Poland is very different to coastal sailing. In many ways it’s more relaxing. There are no tides to contend with and because you can find a marina…
Cruising Poland’s lake district
“How do you get from one lake to another?” My brother Jack, a ferry captain, wanted to know when I said I was off to sail a cruising yacht on…
Pip Hare: ‘I now have a fighting chance for Vendée Globe 2024 success’
The six month refit aims to give Pip Hare's Imoca 60 Medallia "a fighting chance" against the 13 new-build boats, costing some £8million each, which will be joining her on…
Jester Challenge folkboat Minke is found – but sailor Duncan Lougee is missing
A 25ft yacht that disappeared whilst sailing from Plymouth, Devon to Ireland as part of the Jester Baltimore Challenge fleet has been found, but solo skipper Duncan Lougee was not…
Seadog of the Month: May the clementine thief
Standard Poodle May claimed a coveted 'Seadog of the Month' slot in Practical Boat Owner magazine – and now she's using her buoyancy aid prize on a circumnavigation of Britain
Sailing the Northwest Passage in a wooden replica Victorian cutter
Plymouth shipwright Will Stirling is attempting to sail through the notorious ice-bound Northwest Passage in a 43ft wooden ‘gentlemen’s cutter’ that he designed himself.
Sprinkling sand ‘deters orcas’ according to Cruising Association
Sprinkling sand around the rudder is now a recommended deterrence of orca – which have damaged more than 250 yachts and sunk three – in the Strait of Gibraltar since
Channel Hopping: Why the Golden Globe Race is a yacht race like no other
"I worried the film might be a hagiography of Don McIntyre"... our resident YouTube aficionado reviews The Voyage of Madmen