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

News • News and current affairs from the world of boating

PBO editor steps down

Marine diesel in Northern Ireland

Cocaine haul seized from yacht

‘Low level’ CO exposure

Funding for Maiden’s World Tour

Sunseeker’s carbon-cutting win-win

Waste-carbon racing yacht?

Studland voluntary no anchor zone

John Merricks Sailing Trust to close

Big names support ‘Generation JOG’

DIARY DATES

Regional News

Letters • Readers share their thoughts and opinions

Better than ever… • Essential monthly highlights from the world of online sailing channels with Kass Schmitt

Midsomer Maldon races • The town regatta gets deadly serious…

Scary monsters • Seeing is believing but, below the surface, things are not always quite what they seem

Against the grain • Do landlubbers appreciate good seamanship?

Which kit boat? • You don’t have to be a boatbuilder to make your own dinghy. You can row, paddle or sail these elegant boats even if you’re a beginner, says Roger Nadin

Viking Seamaster 27 • Peter Poland gets behind the wheel of this British-built river cruiser

8 lighthouses in 18 hours • Owen Moorhouse recalls a cruise along the coast of New South Wales and reflects on the history and landmarks of his home waters

MV Krait and Z Special Unit

A brief history of Jervis Bay

Boats back on track • From the boom in ‘staycation’ yacht sales to waiting lists for new boats, the marine industry has bounced back after Covid, reports Peter Poland

Spotted at the show: Francis Benali

Cruise on the Mon and Brec Canal • David and Ann Berry take their first full cruise as inland waterways boat owners voyaging along the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal

Mon and Brec potted history

Return to Orkney • Charmian Entwistle discovers ancient ruins, remote lochs and challenging headlands on a four-week Scottish cruise

Trip planning

Resources

New Gear • Rupert Holmes looks at the latest useful marine gear

Christmas gifts • Rupert Holmes selects gift ideas for the practical boat owner

Scilly escapades • Having built a Mirror dinghy and taken it to the Isles of Scilly on a ferry, Peter Baylis and friends realise they may have overlooked a few details…

Wild Bird takes off • Tony Preedy relives a frightening episode from a cruise in Mallorca

PROJECT BOAT RESTORATION Installing new seacocks • Ali Wood swaps the corroded and unsuitable metal seacocks for smart new composite ones on the Maxi 84 PBO Project Boat

Types of seacock

Safety standards

Maintenance is key

Skin fitting installation

Upgrading valves on an Avon Redcrest • Alan Green sets up a heated temporary workshop to replace his old Avon dinghy’s inflation valves in the depths of winter

PROJECT BOAT RESTORATION Hull & keel prep • Ali Wood gets to work scraping, grinding and priming the PBO Project Boat hull… and makes some mistakes along the way

Threading halyards • Chris Joyner breaks with tradition to rethread halyards with a magnet

Guardrail padding • Federico Ramirez gets comfortable at the helm

Ask the experts

Where is all the radio power going?

Restoring a kicking strap

THE PBO EXPERTS

Sicily success...