Sailing in squalls? How to protect your rig and sails; DIY rudder checks; How to service your outboard engine; Get the best out of your…
Practical Boat Owner
Summer issue – out 6 June
Troubleshoot engine problems at sea, the 30 best ways to get afloat if you don’t have a boat, how to find crew, essential DIY rig…
DIY at home: 100+ things to do and make in the workshop at home
In normal times we cover a lot of ground every month in Practical Boat Owner – online and in the magazine – but in lockdown conditions it makes sense to…
How I built a bespoke aluminium powerboat at home
Late in 2015, just as James Oakley was finishing the hull of his home-built aluminium speedboat, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. “I’d been to see my doctor for something…
The step by step guide to dismantling a PRM 100 marine gearbox
As a boat owner practical enough to cope with most maintenance I still had to think twice before delving into the guts of my gearbox. One imagines the need of…
A new build nesting dinghy for a newlywed couple
In the days before inflatable dinghies it was common to have a hard dinghy, to be left on the mooring or hoisted onto the foredeck of your yacht, or atop…
How to polish stainless steel in the workshop at home
Once you know how to polish stainless steel from its raw milled state to a high gloss finish then it’s possible to make all sorts of trims from flat bar,…
How to make a foldaway bottle rack out of neoprene for your boat
I live in Valencia, Spain, and discovered PBO in a UK airport 15 years ago. I asked the newspaper shop near my home to order it in for me, and…
How to dismantle and repair a seized wind generator at home
I confess, I’m frequently guilty of surrendering to the old adage, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!’ But I got caught out in hurricane Dorian in October last year.…
How to make your own helmsman’s overmitten from old sailcloth
How often, when helming early in the season or on a night watch, have you had one warm hand in a pocket and one cold one on the tiller? Despite…
How to drill out and set rivets – mending a broken spinnaker pole
It was a cracking day, mid-May on the Algarve. We had sailed our Beneteau 381 from Gibraltar to Bruce’s Yard in Faro earlier on in the year, had her lifted…
Bake perfect bread on your boat in 5 easy steps
Many years ago, when we were cruising along the South West coast, we were anchored off Cargreen on the river Tamar. We’d run out of bread a couple of days…
How to make your own hammock or cockpit tent from a simple tarpaulin
You may find yourself in need of one (or all) of the following at some point: a sun awning and maybe something to keep the dew off in the evening…
DIY danbuoy flag preservation trick that costs pennies
Like many offshore boats we have a danbuoy which is mounted outboard and attached to our rescue horseshoe lifebelt. Having had to replace the flag a few times, despite having…
Basic sewing skills for boat owners to protect sails from chafe
Chafe damage has always been a problem on yachts, and owners are generally advised to preserve their sails by adding protective devices to the rigging. However, we don’t want baggywrinkles…
How to get the last of the sealant out of the tube
It’s often the case that you just want to use some sealant for a small project, which means of course that most of what you’ve paid for can get left…
How to build a Baby Tender – the miniature clinker boat baby cradle
I first saw a cradle boat at a wooden-boat show years ago, and thought to myself: ‘When I have kids, I’ll build one of these’. Fast forward a decade, and…
How to make a heavy duty boathook
As the owner of a Moody 29 with a swinging mooring on the River Cleddau, I sometimes found wind and tide tested my extending aluminium boat hook. Despite much searching…
Make your own drawstring kit bag without metal eyelets – US Army style
A ‘ditty’ bag was traditionally used by sailors for their personal items aboard ship. It was smaller and a bit fancier than a basic sea bag – the classic nautical…
Twin galley sink won’t drain – what do I do?
During our first season with the boat, domestic harmony was somewhat marred by a problem with the sink drain. We have a double sink and every time we pulled the…
How to fix the spindle on a Portland Plotter
In a mad fit of inspiration, I decided that after 50 years of cruising I needed to take my Yachtmaster offshore exam. So out came the Portland plotter in earnest.…
How to make your own cockpit awning as a DIY practical project
We needed more shade on Aderyn Glas, our Moody Eclipse 33 we keep in the Ionian, and our small boom tent was not up to the job. It was time…