Practical Boat Owner

Recovering a ‘real life’ man overboard (MOB) is something I’ve fortunately never had to do. The latest figures (page 7) from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) have left me pondering about how successful I would be if it did happen. Of t

Latest figures from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) reveal that 47% of reported man overboard incidents from recreational boats ended in a fatality. The MAIB examined 308 man overboard (MOB) incidents from recreational and commercial

An Isle of Wight sailor was lost at sea during the Junior Offshore Group (JOG) cross-Channel race from Cowes to Deauville in Normandy, France. JOG Yacht Racing confirmed that the man lost overboard from X332 Alexa, a 33ft yacht in the Cowes-Deauville

Lively conditions challenged the 1,100-strong fleet of yachts of all shapes and sizes during the annual Round the Island Race around the Isle of Wight. The ever-popular sailing event, organised by the Island Sailing Club (ISC) on 1 July, saw shifting

Southampton International Boat Show (SIBS) will celebrate ‘Women in Marine Day’ by shining a light on many of the remarkable achievements and successes by women. The SIBS Foredeck Stage will feature talks and presentations by leading personalities an

An invasive sea-squirt has been discovered at Jersey’s Elizabeth Marina. The Carpet Sea-Squirt (Didemnum vexillum), known as Sea-Vomit, was found in four small colonies under several pontoons in May during routine monitoring with an underwater camera

I’ve been a regular Windermere user for over 30 years, with a boat kept on a swinging mooring for 14 years. Over the past five or so years there has been an increase in abandoned, floating, rotting wrecks. There must be dozens; there are at least six

A 195.4m (640ft) cargo ship lost power and grounded on Wolf Rock Lighthouse off the Isles of Scilly, for 30 minutes, before drifting off towards Mount’s Bay, Cornwall. HM Coastguard coordinated the response on 10 July which saw 28 volunteers from Sen

Naturally, one never really owns a boat such as Lady Osmosis of Romford, one is merely her custodian for one’s time on earth… You can substitute the boat name of your choice here, because anyone who has ever walked into a yacht club has heard the sto

After singing the praises last month of Yann Quenet, the Breton microyacht adventurer/philosopher working towards escaping for another lap of the world, I turn to a British adventurer who’s happy to make Brittany the centre of his cruising world. I a

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Right around the UK in a small boat is a long sail, close to 2,000 miles in fact if you include Ireland. Along the way you’ll likely encounter almost every kind of weather and sea state, so having the right boat is paramount. Over the past 100 years

For 35 years I have been keeping a record of the global movement of sailing yachts by obtaining the number of arrivals in several key locations around the world. During this period there has been a steady increase in those numbers; the most significa

Every few years my wife, Brenda, and I hire a boat on the Norfolk Broads for a rest and some good walks. Over the years we’ve hired many types of boats from traditional Broads sailing cruisers to modern, comfortable motor cruisers but our favourite f

It’s the middle of the night, you need the loo and the marina toilet block is just too far away. Or maybe you’re canal-boating, camping in a boatyard or star-gazing from your trailer-sailer. Aside from doing the business overboard (a big no-no inshor

THAT’S JUST £4.99 £3.62 AN ISSUE EXCLUSIVE step-by-step guides to every seasonal hands-on boating job Verdicts on the latest gear, boat tests and more! SAVE money on the shop price FREE DELIVERY direct to your door NEVER MISS another issue YOU’RE IN

Price: From €109,159/£93.507 ex VAT Contact: benteyachts.com Bente Yachts has new owners and is growing on its initial success with the Bente 24 by launching a new Bente 28. Designed by Judel and Vrolijk, the 28 is relatively beamy (2.99m/9.80ft) wit

Whenever making changes to any boat, it’s a good idea to write down as much as possible about the idea. Sometimes this is called a mission statement. Let’s take a typical situation and use it as an example of how to achieve a change in the cabin. The

Firstly, if your boat was built before the inception of the Recreational Craft Directive (RCD), which came into force on 16 June 1998, then you won’t need to worry about the next few paragraphs from a compliance point of view. Those of you who own bo

Splashing out on top-quality oilskins can sometimes lead you to expect to feel the value in heaviness: gear that could keep you cosy in a blizzard. But the reality is that bulky items take up vital space, have a limited weather window and when you’re

How many of us follow the full engine winterising schedule, especially if you keep your boat in the water? I’m probably one of many who have limited this to simply changing oil and filters and ignored flushing through the engine cooling system, espec

My Trusty T23 was great for enjoying Chichester Harbour at 4-5 knots, but going any further was a bit of a strain. Every time you let go of the wheel she would quickly veer off course. If there’s more than one crewmember this isn’t such a problem, bu

Bought in 2018, Barberry is our 1984 Maurice Griffith-designed Barbican 33 and we’re only her third owners. When she came to us she was in beautiful condition and had been lovingly maintained by her previous owners, who’d sailed her for 18 years. How

Plywood boatbuilding has been popular for years – it’s cheaper, quicker and more accessible than traditional building methods – but in the past you’d need to loft the plans onto the plywood or use large, full-size paper plans to transfer to the panel

1 We emptied the under-sink cupboard so Fraser could decide the best place to mount the UV unit and filter, and where to run the plumbing and electrics. At the same time, we decided where to site the tap. Part of that decision was influenced by the s

◼ Most boat systems use flexible pipe for their water supply, unlike the more rigid pipes used in domestic settings. The stiff piping is more easily compatible with push-fit fittings like those provided, but it doesn’t really work for the flexible ho

Many new (and some not so new) yachts are not fitted with headboards to their bunks, probably to reduce manufacturing costs. My wife has a convenient bulkhead to lean her head against but on my side of the bunk, the mattress ends with a sheer drop to

Following a two-year pause from cruising habits in our Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 349, Scoundrel, we were ready to set sail again. The hiatus was partly due to me being overseas in Malaysia and also because of the Covid-19 pandemic. We’d enjoyed a very suc

When cruising, tides and current are important. But how accurate is the tidal information available, and how can you best use routing apps and software to navigate in tidal waters? Wherever we have current (tidal or other) this will always influence

Turning in a tight space is best broken down into a series of pre-planned steps. Even experienced skippers take a deep breath when presented with a very small space, especially if it’s windy. So, it’s best to practise when the conditions are not too

Q When will something be done about pot markers? On a cruise west from Gosport this May, I estimated that around 1% of pot markers met legal requirements. Sailing round Portland Bill, with the usual confused wind and narrow inshore passage, I was ob

Dubbed The Land of a Thousand Lakes, sailors can choose from lively marinas that can accommodate 300-plus boats to very small, family-run pontoons and countless possible creek anchorages–especially out of peak season. The biggest reservoirs of Śniard

How do you get from one lake to another? My brother Jack, a ferry captain, wanted to know this when I said I was off to sail a cruising yacht on the Masurian Lake District. “And, where is it?” The vast network of more than 2,000 lakes is in the north

Lake sailing in Poland is very different from coastal sailing. There are no tides to contend with and because you can find a marina or pontoon wherever you are, there’s no requirement to plan a day’s sailing. You can simply go where the wind takes yo

1 When coming in from the sea in the UK and Europe there are red can buoys to port (left) and green conical buoys to starboard (right). Remember they should be on the same side as the boat’s nav lights, or remember ‘the skipper left his red port wine