Practical Boat Owner

Published by Time Inc. (UK) Ltd 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

Waiting for the tide with the editor

News • News and current affairs from the world of boating

My near-miss up a mast

New squad to develop future Olympic stars

‘Ordinary crew’ wanted for global sailing race

Invitation to female offshore passagemakers

Marine micro-organisms mission

UK drops National Flagship plans

New award for ‘most valuable asset’

DIARY DATES

Regional News • News from your cruising area

Letters • Readers share their thoughts and opinions

Plastic classics • A vintage boat doesn’t win the same admiration as an elderly car – but it should!

Beachcombing • How wrecking became a fine art on the dangerously rocky Isles of Scilly

Rudder bother • You know something’s up when you’re going round in circles with the tiller straight ahead

Working boats for leisure • Strong and often cheap, retired working boats make good leisure vessels if you don’t mind fettling to repurpose them

The Maxi with the most • Why has the Maxi 84 proved so popular since her launch 45 years ago? David Harding sailed Maximus, the ‘work in progress’ refurbished PBO Project Boat, to find out

17-20ft POCKET CRUISERS • Whether you’re moving on from dinghies, or downsizing to a boat that’s fun without being a financial millstone, here’s a trailer-sailer market guide

Azores and back THE SCENIC ROUTE • Phil Taylor dusts off the charts and turns a winter dream into reality after overhauling his Sabre 27 for a bluewater cruising adventure

Slow boat through the mountains • James Wood discovers the joys and challenges of narrowboating in the Brecon Beacons

Changing times • Alasdair Kirkpatrick tells Ali Wood about narrowboat innovations including a fully accessible design plus hybrid and electric propulsion

Back to (sea) school • James Wood gets to grip with navigation, passage planning, tides, buoyage, Colregs and more on his RYA Day Skipper Theory course

New Gear • Rupert Holmes gets an early look at the latest ideas

Tried & Tested • Will Renilson improves boat handling aboard his Jersey 36

Sunk boat salvage • Marsali Taylor reports on the salvage efforts to raise a wooden vessel at Aith Marina that attracted spectators despite the mizzle and smirr

THEN AND NOW The safety factor • Cruising legend Jimmy Cornell compares his latest world cruising survey results with findings he first published in PBO 40 years ago

FREE WATERPROOF FIRST AID BAG WITH TREATMENTS

PROJECT BOAT RESTORATION Replacing the running rigging • It’s time to replace the lines on our Maxi 84 cruiser. Ali Wood gets some expert tips on mousing and splicing from XP Rigging

Selecting the right gear… • Coming into a crowded marina late at night after a great day sailing across Lyme Bay, Andrew Carter’s feathering prop failed and jammed in ‘full ahead’ – even when engaged in astern

Watch your wash • Debbie Moore takes her camera to sea as a favour to a friend and experiences the turbulence of on-the-water photography

Practical projects • Great ideas and tips from PBO readers

Ask the experts • Got a question? Email pbo@futurenet.com

Braving Bass Strait • Owen Moorhouse recalls an attempt to sail through the notorious southern Australia short cut on a voyage from Sydney to Melbourne

Sketchbook • Off-season,...