Practical Sailor

LOVE HITCH AT THE CLEW Regarding your recent report “In Search of a Snag-free Clew,” (see PS February 2024), even luggage tags can catch on wire shrouds. The smoothest knot at the jib clew, in my view, is a clove hitch. With this knot, the...

Have you been wanting to add a bootstripe to your boat but aren’t sure how to do it? Perhaps you have a bootstripe already but need to raise the waterline and bootstripe. Looking around the boatyard for inspiration might not be much help. Many...

Vaporized alcohol stoves have long been praised for their safety and simplicity. For decades, Origo’s popular vaporizing alcohol stove dom­inated the small boat market, but times have changed, and propane is the standard in a modern galley. A propane stove installation is complex, bulky,...

When we downsized from a cruising cat to a sporty trimaran, we also downsized to an Origo stove. Familiar to many small-boat sailors, the simple stove has a reservoir that you fill with fuel. A wick draws fuel up from the reservoir to the...

By law, ethanol is subject to considerable taxes and restrictions on sale unless denatured (rendered undrinkable) by adding solvents or other unpalatable ingredients. The list of ingredients used for denaturing is long and contains many toxic solvents, including acetone, benzaldehyde, n-butyl alcohol, methyl isobutyl...

In “Stopping Wood Rot,” December 2023, Practical Sailor busted the myth that you can reliably seal wood with epoxy. Some sailors have suggested that penetrating epoxy is different because it soaks into the wood. True, penetrating epoxies can soak into cracks, rotten wood, and very...

In the quest for speed, sailors endlessly debate sail trim, the best cloth, the hottest cut, and which folding prop will do everything. In reality, nothing slows you down more than a dirty bottom, the primary motivation behind Practical Sailor’s trademark bottom paint trials. A...

We think of ourselves as sailors, but we all depend on reliable power to propel us in and out of harbor, through calms and often to assist in storms. A good diesel can provide 10,000 hours or more of faithful power, but this depends,...

The practical aspects of your solar panel system will be governed by the design and size of your sailboat, your overall project budget (% DIY project) and how you currently use your sailboat versus your future plans for your boat. The intent of this...

What jobs can push down on your ‘to-do’ list for later, and will there come a time when you really regret doing that? Sometimes the answer to that question is obvious. If the engine won’t start or the main halyard fell in a heap...