Practical Boat Owner

Published by TI Media Limited 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.

Practical Boat Owner

Black magic

Trade union support for the #SaveOurService campaign

UK volunteer coastguard win paycut ‘halt’

Why did Martin Groom get dismissed from the Coastal Rescue Service?

Return of the dinghy derby

George Taylor put the ‘practical’ in PBO

Buoyancy aids recalled

Biocide-free antifouling paint ‘works best’

Lobster pot campaign gains momentum

DIARY DATES

Near-perfect Round the Island Race

Regional news

Letters

Channel hopping • Essential monthly highlights from the world of online sailing channels with Kass Schmitt

The law of the jumble • One man’s junk is now another man’s junk

Red sails in the sunset? • Any colour as long as it’s not black

Check the small print • Would your insurance cover an injury on board? The sad answer is possibly not…

FREE ACCESS TO OVER 160+ ISSUES when you subscribe to…

The Mackerel Boat • A forerunner to the Drascombe Luggers and Dabbers, a 16ft open boat designed by the late, great, John Watkinson

Bavaria 36 Cruiser • Hanse 350 | Beneteau Oceanis Clipper 343 | Dufour 36 Classic

Owners’ experiences

Behind the scenes at Hartley Boats • Ali Wood learns how batches of resin, gel coat, glassfibre and foam core are turned into a fully made modern dinghy

Boated Out’s Ollie Boyes • Phil Clandillon talks to Southwold YouTuber Ollie Boyes about crossing the North Sea in a £1,400 trailer-sailer

Copland Harrier 20

‘Lobster pots need to be clearly marked’ • Gerard and Gina Versluis explain why they support the Cruising Association’s Lobster Pot Campaign

Liveaboard lessons • Sharon Dyche-Brookes and Johan Truter share their experiences of spending months living aboard in UK waters

Paper charts versus electronic charts • There’s an accelerating shift away from paper charts, but how best to use predicted data from digital aids in real-world situations?

Predicted vs real tidal data study

Paper reprise

Overnight passages • Rupert Holmes looks at the skills needed to tackle your first all-night passage with confidence

Racing a Beneteau First 36.7 • This sporty cruiser keeps Ali Wood on her toes as she joins a novice crew at the BVI Spring Regatta

SAVE 32%!* WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE • Expert advice and step-by-step guides to every hands-on boating job, impartial in-depth gear and boat reviews, practical cruising tips… and more!

Which tender? • The range of inflatable and rigid-hulled craft that can serve as yacht tenders is bewilderingly varied. Here’s how to pick the right one for you

New gear • Rupert Holmes looks at the latest marine products

Tried & tested • The PBO team test a knife, jacket, deck trainers and kids’ camera

Upgraded Orca navigation system

THE ULTIMATE MARINE GEAR

Vote for the best Marine gear & SERVICES • The finalists of the Sailors’ Choice Awards have been announced–vote for your favourite

Mastering gel coat • As Drew Maglio begins repairing gouged gel coat on his motor cruiser, he uncovers a deeper problem

Critical systems • Richard Thomson reflects on contingency plans to get you home

Flush through a heat exchanger • Mike Attree shares his tips for maintaining this vital but easily clogged part of your engine’s cooling system

Keel know-how • Rupert...