Practical Boat Owner

Legendary solo sailor Jon Sanders has made landfall in his home country of Australia as he nears the end of his 11th world circumnavigation. The 81 year old moored in Bundaberg, Queensland, on 22 October before being required to self isolate on his S

Production is under way in France on what is being billed as the world’s first truly recyclable, solar-electric boat. The LBV35 catamaran is being developed by Ibiza eco-charter firm La Bella Verde and Les Sables d’Olonne boatbuilder Innovation Yacht

Natasha Lambert is attempting to become the first person to sail across the Atlantic using sip and puff technology on her Bavaria Nautitech Open 46, Blown Away. The 23 year old, who was born with quadriplegic cerebral palsy, will be sailing with the

Ambitious proposals to increase Scotland’s offshore wind capacity to 11 gigawatts (GW), providing energy to over eight million homes by 2030, has been announced by the Scottish Government. Currently Scotland has 5.6GW of consented offshore capacity,

Boaters are being urged to fit carbon monoxide alarms to their vessels after two men died on board the 9.14m motor cruiser Diversion on the River Ouse in York. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has issued a safety bulletin warning of th

The Receiver of Wrecks is trying to trace the owner of an autonomous vessel which washed up on a remote Scottish island. The surfboard-sized Wave Glider was discovered among rocks near Heanish on the Isle of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides by a dog walke

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The ninth Vendée Globe Race started 8 November in Les Sables D’Olonne, France. As we went to press 32 skippers were still racing their 60ft monohulls solo, non-stop, 25,000 miles around the world. But the question for this column is: who will win the

Organisers of the annual Poole Harbour Boat Show have announced the event won’t take place until 2022 due to the uncertainty caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Poole Harbour Commissioners (PHC) said it needed to ‘refocus’ its resources on ‘core

Last weekend my husband and I retired from sailing. We covered more than 100,000 miles on our adventures and met scores of wonderful people. I’m sure that there are many readers who would join me in wanting to thank all those wonderful people who mak

Halyards need taking out if you’re unstepping the mast or the line needs replacing. It’s pretty straightforward, but there are a few steps to follow to make sure you don’t create more problems in the process. Replacing a failed halyard at sea is an e

The Canal & River Trust has extended its online passage booking service. Bookings can be made for Thames Lock, Braunston Tunnel, Saddington Tunnel, Blisworth Tunnel, Boston Tidal Lock, Newlay & Kirkstall Forge Locks, Bingley Three and Five Rise Locks

Weather forecasting has changed enormously over the past few decades – there’s now a bewildering array of apps and websites that have the potential to give quite fine-grained data. But at the same time, the way in which we receive and interact with w

Mad about the boat Dave Selby is the proud owner of a 5.48m (18ft) Sailfish, which he keeps on a swinging mooring on the picturesque Blackwater estuary in Essex Self-isolating has never been a problem for me. In fact, I’ve been following government g

It was with considerable trepidation that my wife and I left our 45ft schooner Britannia all alone to face a Category 4 hurricane in a marina at Titusville, on the east coast of Florida, near Cape Canaveral, USA. The monster storm named Matthew headi

Last autumn two friends and I spent a few days pottering along the Charente river from Sireuil heading west and back. We were fortunate with the weather and the countryside was magical. We travelled along leafy tree-lined waterways, past rolling vine

The coronavirus pandemic has focussed attention on the joys of motorboating, and the freedom it offers for family ‘bubbles’. And there is huge downward pressure on boat prices – fully specified packages in particular – meaning some options are cheape

Lightweight, planing motorboats are very susceptible to being blown off course when not under power. This is can be awkward when coming up a channel to a mooring and there’s a need to put fenders and warps out. It’s manageable when you have crew, but

PBO Digital is the best way to get the full magazine experience if you’re unable to buy your regular copy at the newsagent or supermarket. But it’s not quite as straightforward as simply browsing the shelves! You can get a digital, or electronic, ver

The Down East 45ft boats, built in California in the 1970s, are beamy, heavy displacement ocean cruising boats. Yet they were fitted with navigation lights so puny I wouldn’t even consider fitting them on a dinghy! The port and starboard lights on Br

I grew up messing about in small boats. My childhood summers were spent in a remote Highland sea-loch and there were toy boats to sail, then lilos, then an inflatable canoe, and of course our clinker-built 12ft dinghy (with Seagull outboard) which to

Funny how small ideas in life often turn in to bigger ones. The Yodare challenge is definitely one of those. What started out as sailing around one solitary island in 2015 has now morphed into sailing round all the islands in England and Wales – that

Marine engine mounts are designed to isolate engine vibration noise from the boat’s structure, but it seems all too often that manufacturers install engines on mounts that do not isolate as well as they could. My mounts were 13 years old and I wanted

We’re all familiar with the questions that arise when looking for a new boat. Is it the right size and does it need work? How does it sail and is it within budget? Next you might look at the specifications – LOA, waterline, beam and draught – and may

For standard mainsails, boom covers are essential and relatively easy to find readymade, or to make. But it’s a different story for in-mast furling rigs, which don’t need the boom protecting, instead the more awkward bit of the mast just above and be

Essex Police Marine Unit have increased patrols along the Rivers Blackwater and Colne following a rise in antisocial behaviour, particularly from people speeding on jet-skis. The unit recently added two additional police officers to its team. Acting

This boat had been laid up for some years and had been sorely neglected. Inside, all the seats and supports were rotten and their fibreglass cladding was either split or delaminated. Also the external fendering was loose in parts. The rudder hung loo

Help. Somebody has turned the thermostat down! Here in Annapolis, one day we were struggling to sleep in the sweltering heat, the next we were furiously digging out and airing ‘slightly mouldy’ duvets from the bilges. Where did I put that bag of wint

Got a question? Email pbo@futurenet.com CORROSION Q My 2004 Hanse 312 has been sailed on the East Coast and is moored in the River Orwell since we bought her in 2012. For the eight years before that she was sailed in fresh water. She’d been antifoule

Boat ownership is obviously the raison d’etre of this magazine, but it’s not for everyone and even those for whom DIY has been a religion, there comes a time when sharing responsibility might start to sound more attractive than being in sole charge o

Unless you have an autopilot, once you have worked out the ‘course to steer’ someone has to steer it. New helmsmen sometimes struggle to understand that the compass card stays still and they should steer the boat’s lubber line (A) to the number you w