Practical Boat Owner - Summer 2023

In this issue

Rig design, pros and cons
The performance of popular sailing rigs and how they have evolved.

Irish Sea crossing
Sailing from Milford Haven in Wales to Dun Laoghaire in Ireland.

Anchoring charges and the law

Falmouth Harbour Commissioners has defended charging £15 a night to a boat owner who complained about \"being made to pay to anchor\", despite having no intention of using facilities ashore.

2 mins

Heroes' welcome for retro race history makers

Kirsten Neuschäfer has a solo, round the world yacht race after winning the 2022 Golden Globe Race (GGR).

1 min

Orcas sink yacht off Spanish coast

Four sailors were rescued from a yacht which sank following an interaction with orcas off the coast of Barbate, Cádiz.

1 min

From Canada to the UK in a microyacht

Being 6ft tall, Andrew Bedwell cannot straighten his legs in his 'just over a metre long' microyacht Big C, yet he is about to sail the boat solo across the Atlantic for 90 days, eating cold squares of dehydrated beef.

1 min

Don't risk illegal filling of gas cylinders

Alamy tsianid George Boat owners are being warned not to attempt to refill Calor gas bottles with Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) at petrol stations - which is \"both highly dangerous and unlawful\".

1 min

Jubilee year for Old Gaffers Association

Hundreds of classic yachts and working boats are to gather in Ipswich to mark the 60th year of the Old Gaffers Association (OGA), with a Diamond Jubilee Party from 3-6 August.

1 min

Magna charter

Why exotic sailing holidays abroad are not necessarily all they're cracked up to be

3 mins

Modern classic, swollen head

The many perfumes of Memory Lane

3 mins

Regattas again!

Camaraderie, competition, mussel float dodging and home-made blueberry muffins

3 mins

Tideway 10 GUNTER OR LUGGER?

The trailerable TW10 has the benefits of her sister vessel, the Tideway 12, but is lighter and easier to launch and recover by hand

4 mins

Rig design THE PROS & CONS

Peter Poland looks at the history of popular rig designs and how the different types affect boat performance

10+ mins

THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE - Cruising Europe

Sailing to the EU this summer? The Cruising Association shares its advice on what you need to know for a stress-free cruise

10+ mins

How to cross Biscay

Crossing Biscay is a rite of passage for many sailors: Rachael Sprot has expert advice on how to handle the 'Golfe de Gascogne'

10 mins

Bilge pump mystery

Zoran Glozinic buys a suspiciously low priced bilge pump with a design flaw... but it proves just the job for his project boat

5 mins

DIY £200 chartplotter

John Calton builds his own 10in touchscreen chartplotter with GPS and AIS for a fraction of the cost of an off-the-shelf system

8 mins

Learning how to restore old boats

Inspired by a stunning homebuilt yacht, Ali Wood visits the Boat Building Academy to learn how any of us can become boatbuilders

10+ mins

Understanding electrics: switches and relays

Pat Manley and Oliver Ballam demystify boat electrics, starting with switches and relays

3 mins

Essential checks for chainplates

As long as our chainplates aren't leaking, few of us give them a second thought. But should we be checking more closely? Surveyor Ben Sutcliffe-Davies explains what to look out for

6 mins

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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.