Practical Boat Owner Magazine - Summer 2024

In this issue

Tried & tested
Buoycatcher-Max boat hook and Rooster Aquafleece robe in use.

Vital passage plan
The importance of not totally relying on electronic chart plotters.

Troubleshoot engine failure at sea
5 top causes for engine break down and how to prevent them..

No kill cord or lifejackets were worn during fatal powerboat crash

A kill cord and lifejacket are useless unless worn-that's the warning from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), following its investigation into a powerboat crash that killed a 32-year-old woman and five-year-old girl on 2 October 2022.

2 mins

Orca sink yacht in Strait of Gibraltar

Spain's maritime rescue service, Salvamento Maritimo, has reported that a 15m (49ft) yacht sank in Moroccan waters in the Strait of Gibraltar following interaction with a pod of orca.

1 min

Cream tea carnage at sea

The crew's 'scone mad' on a Thames barge

3 mins

Dominant minimalism

Every yachtsman's a superyacht owner

3 mins

Playing with coloured sails

Maintaining an hourglass-shaped balloon and ratcheting up the log numbers

3 mins

Seaworthy dinghies for less than £500

For low cost traditionally-styled GRP trailer-sailers, consider the Foreland and the Otter available at bargain basement prices

5 mins

Boats for restoring under £20,000

Duncan Kent picks the best sub-35ft sail and power boats to look for when aiming to undertake a restoration on a budget

10+ mins

30 WAYS TO GET AFLOAT

From tall ships to small dinghies, you needn't own a boat to sail. Ali Wood looks at the options, and how skippers can also find crew

10+ mins

IZIBoat: simple sailing

Rupert Holmes sails an innovative catamaran design intended to widen participation in sailing among those with little time to get on the water in more conventional craft

7 mins

Sail the Atlantic with strangers

Would you sail across the Atlantic with someone you've just met? Ali Wood meets the cruising crews who've done just that

10 mins

Five top causes of engine failure and how to prevent them

Jake Kavanagh talks to Sea Start marine engineer Nick Eales about how to avoid the five major causes of an engine breakdown at sea

10+ mins

Multihull sail work

Brush up on multihull sailing skills before heading off on charter with Gavin Le Sueur's guide to spinnaker handling, tacking and gybing

4 mins

Read all stories from Practical Boat Owner

Practical Boat Owner Magazine Description:

Published by Time Inc (UK).Practical Boat Owner is Britain's biggest-selling boating magazine, trusted and respected by all its readers. A source of useful and helpful information for both power and sail boat owners, PBO helps you get the most from your boat acting as a forum for interacting with like-minded individuals.