Innehållsförteckning för September 2025 från Practical Boat Owner

Never give up! When I first met military veteran Craig Wood in 2021 I wrote about his round the world voyage to raise awareness of sailing with disabilities. His tenacity shone through, and I remember being staggered that he’d made no modifications to his Beneteau Oceanis 46; he just got on with it, determined to sail no matter what. Fast forward four years and he has now gone further – making history by becoming the first triple amputee to sail solo, non-stop, and unsupported across the Pacific Ocean (see page 7). Weeks later, Jazz Turner (page 6) finished her solo, non-stop and unassisted circumnavigation around the UK and Ireland – the first disabled person to complete the feat. Her voyage aboard her 1975 Albin Vega 27 is also equally inspiring.…

Sailors cruising Greece are being asked to keep an eye out for one of the world’s rarest seals and contribute to the protection of these mammals, writes Susan Smillie. In the Inner Ionian archipelago, a popular charter destination, there have been increased sightings of the Mediterranean Monk Seal around Formicula island. As a result, the islet has been shielded with restricted access zones ahead of high season. Details can be viewed via the iSea website at isea.com.gr. The Mediterranean monk seal is one of the world’s most endangered pinnipeds, with fewer than 1,000 left globally, almost half of them in Greece, and is classified as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Unregulated marine tourism has threatened this fragile population, as crowds of boaters descend…

Sixty influential names in British wooden boatbuilding and heritage marine engineering businesses travelled from across the country to Norfolk to discuss the state of their industry. Guest speakers at the Abbey Boat Builder-hosted event in Reedham called for a unified approach to promote traditional British boatbuilding skills alongside modern boatbuilding. Jim Dines, Heritage Marine Foundation founder, said: “We need to make the UK aware that there is a shortage of young people entering the industry and to bring it to the attention of young people that there is a viable career path in the industry. “The skills learned in conserving, maintaining and operating traditional vessels of all types are transferable into modern vessels, both sail and motor, as well as the commercial industry; this is not the case the other…

Lose the wires PBO’s excellent coverage of practical matters for boating, (PBO, Summer 2025), included ‘Freeing a seized furling swivel car’ and a long letter dealing with the ever-present risk of rigging failure, and the regular need for expensive replacement of the rig. In neither article was the point made that doing away with wire rigging, and having a much simpler, more reliable and efficient unstayed rig would naturally obviate all these problems. Perhaps the cruising sailor should be more aware of this, and choose to sail boats which have a rig better designed for light crews, which will serve in all weathers, on all sailing courses, without the need to visit the foredeck, and maybe abandon the ‘Marconi’ rigs originally created for racing, as in the Solent in the…

The north end of Jura and the south end of Scarba stand like gate pillars under a low grey sky. They draw closer. Then I am between them. Strange things are happening to the surface of the sea: there are little whorls and eddies and odd creases, as if the water is wringing its hands. The boat is a 22ft open yawl. I am flying, out of pure cussedness, a cruising chute. A flaw in the wind. The chute snaps back. I am thinking that while this is slack water neaps and there is hardly any breeze at all, to engage with the Gulf of Corryvreckan in an open boat is perhaps not sensible. A puff of steady breeze. The heartbeat slows. A rough cone of rock on the Jura…

Early summer was a bit of a non-event for Karima and I. We’d got the mast up in late April, but between one thing and another, it took a fortnight to get everything set up. The forestay caused bother, because I realised that in the stress of crane/boat interaction, I’d set it up wrong, with both prongs of the forestay wire on one side of the foot attachment. I sat for a few moments looking at it in dismay. The only way I could see of fixing it was to loosen the backstay right off, attach both jib and spinnaker halyard to the pulpit, winched as tight as I could manage, and take it off to reattach properly. It was a teeth-gritting moment. The forestay was still pretty tight. Once…

Even in tolerably calm weather, the deck of a yacht is an unstable working platform. Taking the way off and turning into the wind to hoist or reef sails can make it very insecure indeed. Heaving-to may be a better option. For your own safety, you must always wear a safety harness and be clipped onto a lifeline. Clipping and unclipping to safety lines as you move around the deck can be frustrating. The temptation to speed up the action by not clipping on must be resisted. Falling overboard would really ruin your day. Personal safety and efficiency in sail handling lie in reducing the need to work on deck to a minimum and devising ways of handling sails from the cockpit. Sail handling determines the minimum number in the…

Retiring from an offshore race once because I deemed that a broken mainsail batten made it too dangerous for the yacht to continue, it was only when tied up in Falmouth that the crew noticed a more serious problem with the rudder. To the crew’s credit, although tired from racing, all lent a hand in addressing the problem, with bodies bent double and heads craned into areas to test play in the steering quadrant and view as much of the rudder system as they could with the boat still in the water. Out of sight is out of mind quite often with a sailing yacht’s rudder. It answers when we turn the wheel and even supplies us a little haptic feedback as reassurance when under way, or quite a truckload…

When I bought Reservation, my Elizabethan 23, in 1980, it never occurred to me that we’d still be together years later. Just a few months before I’d lost my Corribee off Portland Bill and, although the Elizabethan was not quite as handsome, she was the most suitable boat I could find for the shallow waters of Christchurch Harbour. Although only a little longer, she seemed much larger, her maximum beam being further aft at the main bulkhead instead of by the shrouds. She’d been completed by her owner and, to be fair, for a dentist rather than a boatbuilder he’d done quite a good job of her. She later passed to a second owner but was then sadly neglected. Although only five years old when I found her, she was…

Sailing together for nearly 60 years, my wife Ann and I have for much of that time been members of The Cruising Association. Ann started as a novice, but soon became our chief navigator, and this was in the days even before Decca, let alone GPS, when navigation offshore on a small sailing boat required genuine skill. We sailed as joint skippers, and each stood our own watches on overnight sails. We took our Yachtmaster certificates together and, for a time, Ann taught Yachtmaster theory. However, gradually over the last 10 years her memory and general skill level have become degraded, although she is still physically pretty fit. She can no longer sail the boat without detailed instructions for nearly every task. And the instructions have to be free of…

A century on from the first UK drink-driving laws being introduced, there is still an ‘unusual loophole which allows non-professional mariners to sail around the UK while under the influence of alcohol’. The British Ports Association (BPA), the collective voice for the ports industry, has renewed its call for policymakers to introduce prescribed alcohol limits for recreational boaters, such as those sailing yachts and personal watercraft users. Professional mariners are already subject to clear alcohol limits under the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003. BPA chief executive Richard Ballantyne warned that alcohol use in the recreational marine environment “remains widespread.”. He believes that alcohol limits could be “readily implemented within the existing legislative framework.” He said: “The Maritime & Coastguard Agency and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch both agree that…

Sailors and berth holders around the world are invited to nominate their favourite The Yacht Harbour Association (TYHA) Gold Anchoraccredited marinas and staff for an excellence award. The accolades, sponsored by Haven Knox-Johnston, shine a spotlight on those going above and beyond to deliver great customer experiences and environmental excellence across the global network of TYHA-accredited marinas. Eight categories include best: Coastal Marina (under 250 berths); Coastal Marina (over 250 berths); Inland Marina; International Marina; Superyacht Marina; Marina Team; Sustainable Marina; and Employee of the Year. Winners will be announced during an awards ceremony at the Southampton International Boat Show. Cast your vote before the deadline of midnight on 29 August 2025. ■ pbo.co.uk/marina_awards…

Members of the Royal Thames Yacht Club celebrated their club’s 250th anniversary with a ceremonial flotilla of more than 30 boats. The fleet set sail from West India Dock on 28 June, travelling upstream to Tower Bridge. Here, after a salute off the Royal Navy’s HMS President and bridge lift, the procession continued into St Katharine Docks for a party. The six-mile journey featured an array of power and sail vessels, including Dunkirk Little Ship Tahilla. Sir Francis Chichester’s Gipsy Moth IV, Oyster Dama de Noche, Spirit Yachts’ Oui Fling and cutting-edge TP52 Gladiator, symbolising the club’s evolution from schooners to foiling monohulls. All but one of the fleet transited the lock on free flow, which was a rare and historic moment for the 200-year-old St Katharine Docks. Pageant flagship,…

The term maritime innovation usually brings to mind bustling ports, sprawling factories, and urban coastal cities, rarely a quaint seaside town. Yet, nestled among the rolling cliffs of Lyme Regis, a small startup is quietly challenging ‘business as usual’ in the leisure marine industry, putting sustainability at the company’s heart. “What we’re trying to do is not only push sustainability, but also push what’s possible,” says Otto Marples of BlueTree Boatbuilders. Marples and his co-founder, Obioma Oji, met at the Lyme Regis Boat Building Academy during their boatbuilding course. They came from different backgrounds — Otto, rooted in marketing and operations, Obi, in design and academia. On paper, the two might have seemed an unlikely team. But they quickly became friends and launched their eco-conscious marine startup. Now, three years…

There are many reasons why people want to buy a motorboat – the recent Covid-19 pandemic (and a generally unstable world) being one of them. With immediate turn-key power, and usually plenty of it, a mile-eating top speed, ample range, and often very comfortable accommodation, a motorboat can become a home-from-home. During the pandemic, many also became remote offices and ways to escape lockdown, so sales rocketed. Some people were even buying a 50-footer as their very first boat, because they wanted the internal space. For those looking to move from sail to power, or just get out on the water, the choice of motorboats is bewildering. However, experienced sailors generally have a good idea of the type of boat they’re looking for, while newcomers will also know whether they…

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Some of the more common failure modes of the metals used in boats are generally quite well understood by yacht owners today, when internet searches and forums make topics that used to be solely the realm of specialists readily accessible to all. However, some means by which metal parts can break remain somewhat more clouded in mystery, few more so than stress-corrosion cracking (SCC). In a similar fashion to fatigue cracking, SCC is one of those failure mechanisms that can remain hidden for a long time, suddenly giving way when stress levels cross a certain threshold, which, as is the way of these things, is usually at the most inconvenient time for the sailor. To be technically correct, I’m discussing the version of it that occurs in chlorides (such as…

Getting fed up with the yearly grind and expense of antifouling Koto’s bottom I decided to switch over to Coppercoat. Doing so would cost a small fortune up front but I reckoned I’d break even after five years, and not having to spend hours and hours on my back each year would be priceless. Given the expense I wanted to make sure I made the best chance of applying the Coppercoat correctly. To do so would mean sandblasting off the old coatings back to the clean gel coat and then re-priming. When I first bought Koto I’d applied antifoul primer but as it went on it rained unexpectedly and over the years this caused issues – each time the hull was pressure washed various bits of this layer delaminated, taking…

Looking back at our disastrous first trip aboard Kay, we were under-equipped and complete novices who were convinced we could bring her down the river from Wargrave to Shepperton in a couple of days. We were loving it – we thought we’d bought the entire Thames – but within hours we were in trouble as first the engine started cutting out and then Ron fell into a lock! Even though burly chaps appeared from nowhere to yank him out of the water, we had to leave the boat at Windsor for a week and our son had to come and help crew us home. On 15 July 2016, we were beyond thrilled to be on our way to complete the purchase of Kay – our very first boat. Kay is…

There are many different reasons for wanting to sail, own a boat or be on the water. For some, boating is a social activity to visit hostelries in different locations, while others like the freedom of being away from terra firma or to be at one with nature. Me – I like exploring and if I can find an anchorage that even those with a chart plotter are reluctant to enter, I want to be there. Oh, and I love maintaining my Fairey Atalanta A142, Sugar Plum. By chance, I saw a program on BBC Scotland about an inland Loch on Skye that archaeologists had identified as having been used by the Vikings, as a haven for their long ships. That definitely had to be visited. My wife had a…

“The big problem I had was doldrums. I had a week of drifting. There were times where I gained miles backward, which is shocking, and the effect it has on the kit when the sails are just ‘bang, bang, bang, bang’ – when there’s no wind but waves. I was like, ‘Oh man, the battens are gonna snap’. So I ended up taking the sails down and truly drifting.” Craig Wood has become the world’s first triple amputee to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted across the Pacific Ocean. After 7,506 miles, Wood sailed his 41ft Galileo catamaran Sirius II into Hiroshima, Japan, on 24 June at 0100 (BST) – 90 days after he left Puerto Vallarta in Mexico on 25 March at 1645 (BST). The former Army rifleman from Doncaster,…

A public consultation has opened to gather views on plans for tackling Invasive Non-native Species (INNS) in Britain. Recreational boating – and the topics of angling, horticulture, zoos, and pets –are the focus of Pathway Action Plans (PAPs) to suggest best practice and key actions for stakeholders such as Government, agencies, businesses, individuals and clubs. Share your views with the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs via Citizen Space by 18 August. ■ pbo.co.uk/INNS_survey…

Spectators of the 100th Rolex Fastnet Race can follow the world’s largest offshore yacht race in multiple languages. Race organisers have partnered with Interprefy, which will provide ‘professional interpretation, AI speech translation, closed captions and subtitles across key moments of the race, including trophy ceremonies and masterclasses’. ‘Remote simultaneous interpretation (RSI) between English and French’, plus support for additional languages, can be accessed via the Interprefy mobile app. The Centenary edition of the biennial race, which at the time of going to press was due to set sail on 26 July, will see thousands of competitors race 695 miles from Cowes, Isle of Wight, to Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France. ■ pbo.co.uk/fastnet…

SOUTH COAST & CHANNEL ISLANDS Missing sailor found The body of a solo sailor whose yacht ran aground on a Cornish beach is believed to have been found off the coast of France. Misty Blue, a yacht belonging to David Sycamore, 75, who had been sailing home to Mevagissey from France, was discovered aground at Chapel Point, Portmellon on 13 June. A major search involving HM Coastguard helicopter and aircraft, Devon & Cornwall Police and RNLI lifeboats, was stood down on 14 June. In early July, the British Embassy in France called Devon & Cornwall Police to advise that “a fishing boat had located the body of a man off Brittany.” A police spokesman said: “The family of 75-year-old Mevagissey boat skipper David Sycamore, who was reported missing last month,…

The deftest pirouette this side of the Bolshoi Ballet was executed by Rob, and Alfie demonstrated the lassoing skills of a rodeo champion. Meanwhile, the youth of Ipswich eyed us with the kind of bemused consternation you’d expect if a travelling circus had just landed in town from another century. All that had happened was skipper Rob had swivelled the 82-ton Thames barge Thistle with the poise of a ballet dancer on points and Alfie, the mate, had tied us up. Hours before, on passage from Maldon, we’d passed Felixstowe container port, which had brought in the youngsters’ vapes, Ipswich Town football shirts and the e-scooters and bicycles scattered about them on the quay. In a time gone by Thistle, built in 1895, would have delivered the necessities and luxuries…

Purchasing the same model of boat twice is usually a sign that it’s a good boat. In my quest to find the perfect trailer-sailer I’ve owned two Smacks Boats – one was fast, the other more comfortable. The fast boat was called Neva after the river in north-west Russia. Neva’s previous owner, an East Coast woman, had equipped her for racing with lots of minor adjustments, all designed to increase speed. Her beautifully made large sail was from North Sea Sails and Neva had a reputation for being the fastest Smacks Boat on the East Coast since she won many class races. She was too fast for me, being a dinghy cruiser with little interest in racing, but keeping her upright did improve my agility. Eventually I decided to change…

Westerly Storm 33 | Sigma 362 | Beneteau First 345 | Jeanneau Sun Rise | Dehler 34 | Catalina 34 | Hallberg-Rassy 34 | Etap 35i During the 1970s and 1980s, Sadler Yachts was one of the UK’s best-known boatbuilders, producing a range of serious sea boats that remain popular as cruising yachts today. In a sense, the firm grew out of the success of the David Sadler-designed long keel Contessa 26 from 1966 and the Contessa 32 of 1970. Sadler’s son Martin subsequently founded his own yard in which the Sadler 25, also designed by his father, was built. This was followed by the Sadler 32 in 1979. In many respects, this was a considerably updated Contessa 32, with more freeboard and accommodation volume, but still with good performance…

Whether you’re buying a new boat or refitting an older one, the cockpit deserves consideration; probably more than you think. While a spacious saloon or forepeak cabin is appealing, the cockpit is where you spend most of your cruising life and, if you’re double-handing, you’ll need it to be geared up for quick and easy sail handling if conditions change. Perhaps you have a big racing crew, who keep tripping over each other? Or family and friends who prefer to dine around a big sociable table. Whatever your sailing style, there are ways to enhance your cockpit, but you may have to compromise a little too. What makes a good cockpit for one crew is not the same as another. While older boats tend to have deep, narrow cockpits, providing…

One of the few things you can be certain of is getting old and with it the decline in your abilities to manage a boat. It is inevitable, so learning to live with and adapt to ageing will prolong the period you enjoy sailing. Many (including me) will make the move from sail to the dark side (power boating) as the ropes get too much or being in the weather becomes too unpleasant. Usually, this change extends the period you can still enjoy being on the water by several years, but then the progressive wearing out of your body starts to cause problems. I’m now in my eighth decade, having been sailing for over 50 years, and I am now at this stage. Finding ways to prolong my motor boating…

After weeks of preparations and maintenance of our Dufour 36 Classic we left Mindelo in Cape Verde, bound for the Caribbean. We were one of 11 boats leaving that day to begin an Atlantic crossing. Shortly after leaving the protection of Mindelo Bay, we encountered extreme conditions of wind and swell. Conditions improved as we moved away from the islands and we thought the worst was over. But then our Raymarine mechanical linear drive Type 1 autopilot stopped working. I discovered that the rose joint connecting the ram on the autopilot to the rudder quadrant had come adrift, probably due to the impact of the constant waves behind us after we departed from Mindelo. So I simply screwed it back in and the autopilot began working; I hoped that would…

ELECTRONICS Maintaining compass accuracy Q I have been advised that a VHF radio should not be installed closer than 1m away from a magnetic compass. Does this also apply to the aerial lead? Is it possible to shield the compass from the radio and leads? Sue Johnson James Turner replies: I don’t think you can shield the compass from much. You can swing the compass and remove a lot of the errors and then quantify the remaining errors. But I don’t think the coaxial cable is going to interfere with the compass – when there’s a signal going through it it’s held in by the coaxial shroud. A bigger concern is that spanner in the locker. That’s the typical one – the cockpit locker with a tool kit in it, with…

Take care with tenders and outboards, says Dick Everitt…