Practical

  • January 27, 2016

There are basically four viable options for charging two battery banks on board: Battery switches, twin alternators, split charge diodes, and VSRs. Here's a brief guide to them...

  • December 16, 2015

A turbocharger on an engine is an effective way to get extra horsepower, improve fuel consumption and emissions. But when a turbo goes wrong it’s definitely time to call in…

  • December 1, 2015

Tim Marsden demonstrates how he fashioned a smart pair of cockpit locker lids for his bargain boat using glassfibre and iroko hardwood

  • November 5, 2015

After a long winter indoors many 2-stroke outboards are reluctant to start. A simple service should make yours more reliable. Here Steve Dawkins of Bursledon Outboards shows PBO’s Ben Meakins…

  • October 27, 2015

Torie Morley and Toby Hamer realise a burning ambition to restore a Fireball dinghy– and reveal how Skunk earned her stripes

Using a router

  • September 25, 2015

A power router can make light work of jobs that would otherwise take ages by hand. Julian Peckham has some tips for its use

project boat

  • August 26, 2015

John MacKenzie finds himself renovating a war veteran’s Leisure 17 that had resided among chest-high nettles in a field in rural Hampshire for 17 years

Canvas bucket article

  • July 1, 2015

Lin and Larry Pardey's step-by-step guide to producing a durable canvas bucket: from the January 1995 issue of Practical Boat Owner magazine.

  • June 12, 2015

Blunt tools a problem? Razor-sharp chisels and planes produce a much better job and are easier and safer to use. Julian Peckham shows how it’s done

  • June 11, 2015

There’s more to using a simple hand wood plane than first meets the eye. It’s not just a case of screwing a knurled knob in or out to adjust the…

  • June 9, 2015

When Tim Powell bought a 30-year-old Gib’Sea 28 he knew that one of his first jobs would be getting the topsides looking like new again. If your gel coat is…

  • April 14, 2015

Maintenance of your rigging can save expensive failures and could be a lifesaver - here's how to check your boat's rigging

  • March 25, 2015

Much has recently been made in the papers about 3D printing, which can manufacture replacement bones, blood vessels, buildings and weapons, while NASA are even considering using it to construct…