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…
Practical
Fitting a UV light water filtration system
Kerry and Fraser Buchanan install a UV light water filtration system to make the tank water stored on their Barbican 33 more palatable
Boat modifications: how to design changes for your yacht
Yacht designer Ian Nicolson explains how to make changes to living space on board
Boat certification: Do I need my vessel re-certified?
Surveyor Ben Sutcliffe-Davies gives his advice on the implications to be considered when refitting or making major modifications to your boat
How to fit your own Raymarine autopilot
Gilbert Park shows how he installed a new Raymarine autopilot on his Trusty T23 motorboat
What to consider when restoring a boat write-off
Surveyor Ben Sutcliffe-Davies has advice on how to avoid the major pitfalls when contemplating restoring a boat write-off
Giving a blown-up Seadog a new lease of life
Max Liberson adopts a down at heel Seadog – blown up in a gas explosion – and decides to give the boat a new lease of life
Rebuilding a damaged mast step
Rupert Holmes repairs a compressed water-damaged mast step – a common problem for boats with a deck-stepped mast - and saves £700
Diesel engine heat exchanger and manifold repair
Barry Pickthall explains how he carried out engine repairs on a budget after a couple of years of Covid-19 lockdown neglect
Understanding electrics: insulating & signal wire connectors
Oliver Ballam and Pat Manley demystify boat electrics and explain various types of electrical connectors and their uses on board
Making clamps from copper pipe: step by step
Used copper piping can be repurposed to make pipe and cable clamps, explains Tony Davies
How to build a rudder for your boat
Hitting a submerged object destroyed Mike Gudmunsen’s rudder...so he set about making a new one
How to fit coaxial plugs and sockets
Tony Davies shows how to fit coaxial plugs and sockets to make a reliable VHF cable joint
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
How I converted a 17ft powercat into my perfect Canadian hybrid boat
The province of Ontario in Canada provides a huge range of boating opportunities, from historic man-made canals to more than 250,000 inland lakes, the 30,000 islands archipelago of Georgian Bay,…
Boat engine mount replacement: step by step guide
Mike Reynolds shares the lessons he learned about undertaking a boat engine mount replacement
Why isn’t fuel pre-treated to prevent diesel bug? Ask the experts
Glynn Jones writes: “If I have understood the issue correctly, the addition by the oil industry of biodiesel to our boat fuel is the main reason that ‘diesel bug’ is…
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…
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…
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 new sails, we called in sailmaker Daryl Morgan, technical manager…