Although I have sailed boats fitted with every conceivable make of folding or feathering propeller, I have long-term experience of only three. When we acquired our 1973 Norlin 34, it was equipped with a vintage two-bladed Martec Geartec folding propeller.
Reading the water is an important skill you should practice often to ensure there’s always water under your keel
We have an extra solar panel we keep unmounted on deck so we can move it where the sun is brightest. This leaves us with two loose wires running across the deck that are easy to trip over. My husband, Dave, found this unacceptable and decided to sheath the wires with an old piece of doublebraid rope.
Finding a place to locate solar panels on a small boat is a challenge. We wanted our two 50-watt panels to be adjustable, but secure. Ultimately, we were able to meet both criteria by mounting them on the lifelines of Eurisko, our Creekmore 34.
Negotiating a reef inlet, be it in the Bahamas or the South Pacific, requires precise navigation and skilled seamanship. Detailed charts are essential, and you should always consult any local sailing directions you have onboard in advance.
It is surprising to me that so few sailors are also fishermen. When joining a new boat for a passage, I often ask to see what kind of fishing gear the crew has on board. Almost always, I receive a puzzled look, or perhaps a mildly apologetic one, as my fellow sailors wonder where they last saw the jumbled mass of line, hooks and lead weights they call “gear.”
When I first purchased my 1987 Beneteau First 375, I had visions of mimicking the exploits of Tania Aebi, the Martin family and other daring sailors I admired.
Back in the day I owned a salty gaff-rigged ketch named Autant. Traditional to a fault, she had no electricity, plumbing, winches, roller-furling or any other modern conveniences. Nor did she have an engine, though there were plenty of times when I wished it were otherwise. Like it or not, those years I spent cruising without an engine were emphatically educational.
Eventually everyone wraps a line around a prop. I was told this on my first-ever job as a captain—leading teenagers on liveaboard dive-training trips in the Leeward Islands—and bragged about being the only skipper not to have done so.
My 42-foot Pearson ketch, Silverheels, was originally built with a shallow anchor well on the foredeck that could not accommodate the long anchor rodes needed for serious cruising. While converting the shallow well to a deeper chain locker, I decided I wanted a fore-and-aft partition so I could carry two separate rodes.
Innovation and perseverance deserve to be rewarded, especially when it comes to something as important as anchoring. Mantus Marine has continually improved their chain hook
From first glance, you can tell that the Sun Odyssey 415 has the clean, easily recognizable lines of a Jeanneau, and there’s a reason for
An overnight gale stirs up trouble for one trailer sailer.
On this day in 1901, Sir Francis Chichester KBE was born. The British sailor held the record for the fastest circumnavigation at nine months and
This week, The Famous Project has announced the crew roster for their all-female around the world speed record attempt. They hope to set a new
Today we celebrate the birthday of America’s Cup legend Dennis Conner. Though famous for his comeback and three victories in the Auld Mug, Conner is
Paul Meilhat’s french-flagged IMOCA 60 has won Leg 5 of The Ocean Race Europe. They completed the 1,600 mile stretch from Genoa, Italy, to Boka
On September 15, 1835 HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin on board for a five-year voyage as the ship’s naturalist, reaches the Galápagos Islands. During this
The 2026 Best Boats nominees highlight innovation, diversity, and design—offering something for every sailor and every adventure.
A major powercat brand is turning towards new horizons with the announcement of three new sailing cats to join their lineup.
