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

Cruising at its best

Safety warning after dinghy catches fire

The Ocean Globe Race is under way

Whitbread veterans mark golden year

Upcycling sails

Sixth memory lifeboat

Fair winds to inspiring offshore sailor Eric Forsyth

Circumnavigator Bill Pinkney dies aged 87

Conservation focus for Darwin200 ship

Old gaffers mark Jubilee milestone

On course to achieve the extraordinary

DIARY DATES

Regional news • News from your cruising area

Letters • Sharing your boating thoughts and opinions

WIN A rescueME PLB3 • Take part in the PBO reader survey and enter the prize draw for an Ocean Signal rescueME PLB3 AIS Personal Locator Beacon, worth £475

A little confession • The Sailfish 18 fan has had his head turned by another classic boat… made from wood

Sweating the mooring asset • Sam Llewellyn looks at ways of getting top value out of his boat’s swinging mooring

Watching boats, saving jerseys • It’s amazing what you can see from a hospital window if it’s the right hospital

Little ships and the wrong sort of waves • Why the correct manoeuvres for the sea conditions will reduce hogging and sagging stress on both ship and crew

HVO RENEWABLE DIESEL Myth or miracle? • A new generation of biofuel that’s cleaner, greener, better for your engine and less prone to microbial growth sounds too good to be true… but the facts beg to differ. Hugo Andreae reports

Industry view on HVO • The RYA, IWA and CA are working to help recreational boating transition to a Net Zero future, as the CA’s Trevor Page explains

Transatlantic first • It’s 70 years since Ann Davison became the first woman to sail solo across the Atlantic. Katy Stickland looks back at her achievement

Boats for coastal cruising • Duncan Kent chooses a selection of the best sail and motor boats under 40ft most suitable for adventurous cruising along the coast

Going dizzy on an island sailing odyssey • Ken Fowler becomes the first sailor to circumnavigate every island in England and Wales – and all done in a 4m dinghy!

THE 60-POINT Laying-up checklist CHECKLIST • PBO experts offer their top tips to keep your boat and gear in good condition over the winter months

How should I look after my diesel fuel? • Ali Wood gets some bug-beating advice from Marine 16’s Peter Weide and learns why modern diesel requires more attention than ever

FREE WATERPROOF FIRST AID BAG✝ WITH TREATMENTS

New gear • Rupert Holmes previews the latest marine products

Tried & tested • Rupert Holmes tests the personal sailing log app, SailTies, and the PBO team test a head torch and a tipple to keep the cold out!

In praise of plywood • A wonder material in the 1950s and 1960s, plywood played a big part in making boating accessible – and today it’s making a comeback. Rupert Holmes analyses what lies behind a new wave of ply boats

OTHER CONTEMPORARY METHODS OF BUILDING BOATS IN WOOD

RM YACHTS: HOW PLYWOOD BOATS ARE BUILT TODAY

A boat owner’s guide to wood • Boatbuilder and finisher Lyndon March explains which types of wood work best for different repairs and modifications on board

THE BEST WOOD FOR THE JOB

Replacing a gaiter • After seven years of regular use, a saildrive gaiter should be changed before it deteriorates to let water through the hull, warns Tony...