Practical Sailor is your independent resource for sailboat, gear and equipment evaluations and reviews.
Let Practical Sailor be your "charts and markers" for the unfamiliar waters today's boat, gear and equipment purchases.
For more than thirty-five years, Practical Sailor has been giving sailors unbiased buying guidance, honest product reviews and authoritative gear rankings. Practical Sailor tests boats and products in use, on the water, in the water . . . and sometimes, under the water. Bilge Pumps get run. Boats get sailed. Waterproof gear gets dunked. And then we share our findings with you.
Practical Sailor will help you…
- Choose the best sailboat for your needs, your skills, your budget
- Maintain your boat's bottom with the most effective products and techniques
- Sail safer with the latest safety gear and preparation advice
- Repair plumbing problems, electrical malfunctions, broken deck hardware And so much more!
- And so much more!
Take advantage of Practical Sailor's reviews, evaluations and insights. Get a monthly subscription to Practical Sailor magazine delivered to your door along with complete access to our web archives of past reviews and articles; order one of our sailing books; instantly download a report targeted to your specific gear, maintenance or boating need.
Select your Practical Sailor products below and register now for your FREE e-letter, Practical Sailor's Waypoints.
Subscription to Practical Sailor
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Recent Practical Sailor Back Issues
Scanning the horizon for immediate advice on an upcoming sailing purchase? Why wait for the next issue to be published? Order a recent back issue and we'll ship it out within the next couple of days so you start benefiting from Practical Sailor!
March 2012
- Holding Tanks: Getting the Stink Out
- Bottom Paint Test Checkup
- Cheap and Free iPad Nav Apps
$7.50
February 2012
- Beneteau Oceanis 41
- Solutions for a Stinky Holding Tank
- WipeOut vs. Clean Magic Eraser
$7.50
January 2012
- PS Tests DIY Nonskid Options
- Search for an All-star LED Spotlight
- Iridium and Inmarsat Satphones
$7.50
December 2011
- Functional Fabrics
- Is Titanium an Everyman Metal?
- After-market Cordage Treatments
$7.50
November 2011
- Marshall 22 Catboat
- Holiday Gift Ideas
- Reviving the Galley Spark
$7.50
October 2011
- Antifouling Checkup
- Dinghy Launchers
- Sodablasting Field Test
$7.50
Sailboat Refinishing
With this fully illustrated guide, you'll learn everything you need to know about refinishing your sailboat, including:
Inside you'll find:
- Choosing the Right Materials and Tools
- Proper Surface Preparation
- Reviving and Repairing Gelcoat
- Getting a Professional Paint Finish (at Half the Cost!)
From the masthead to the galley to the keel, Sailboat Refinishing will save you time and money and make your boat the envy of the marina! Don't miss out on this special offer!
Sailboat Refinishing $11.97
Boat Maintenance: The Essential Guide to Cleaning, Painting, and Cosmetics
From marine expert and engineer William Burr, this is the most sensible guide to boat maintenance products that we've found.
Inside you'll find:
- Quick answers to typical boat problems
- Expert advice on over 150 brand-name products
- Money saving tips on when (and when NOT) to use generics
- Concise Reference Guides highlighting the best product for the job
- Weekly, Monthly, and Seasonal maintenance schedules
Whether it's your boat's wood or fiberglass, metal or plastic, rubber or fabric, with Boat Maintenance you'll save time and money and keep your boat in peak-condition, year after year.
Boat Maintenance: The Essential Guide to Cleaning, Painting, and Cosmetics $18.97
Sailors' Secrets: Advice from the Masters
This book is on back order. It will ship during the final week of November.
Sailors' Secrets contains over 1,000 tips, suggestions, evaluations, and nuggets of hard-won advice from more than 300 seasoned veterans.
Instructive humorous, biting, and challenging, Sailors' Secrets can be opened anywhere and enjoyed. Its wide-ranging chapters cover routine maintenance, understanding weather, safety at sea, storm strategies, piloting, engine troubleshooting, gear and outfitting, and simple solutions to complex problems.
Sailors' Secrets: Advice from the Masters $13.97
Spurr's Guide to Upgrading Your Cruising Sailboat
Just about every sailboat—used and new—can make a good cruiser, but only if the hull-deck structure, rig, and systems meet certain standards. Spurr’s Guide to Upgrading Your Cruising Sailboat tells you what those standards are, and gives you all the help you need to refurbish and upgrade every structure, surface, fitting, and system on your boat—stem to stern, project by project. This all-in-one guide leads you step by step to a seaworthy, crew-friendly boat with top-notch cruising performance. Not only will you learn what to look for when you buy a new or used boat, you'll also learn how to reinforce your boat’s hull and structural components, redesign and replace rigging, upgrade electrical systems, and much more.
Spurr's Guide to Upgrading Your Cruising Sailboat $20.97
This Old Boat, 2nd Edition
Since it first appeared in 1991, Don Casey’s This Old Boat has helped tens of thousands of sailors refurbish older fiberglass boats and has become a revered classic among boat rehabbers.This second edition is revised from first page to last with new information on electrical systems, diesel engines, refrigeration, resins, plumbing and more. Plus, more than 600 newly created illustrations enhance the book’s beauty as well as its utility.
This Old Boat, 2nd Edition $34.97
Boatowner's Illustrated Electrical Handbook
Whether you take to the sea under power or sail, bounce around the bay in your runabout, or cross oceans in your cruiser, you’ll find everything you need to maintain, repair, and upgrade your boat’s DC and AC electrical systems with this comprehensive and fully illustrated guide.
Boatowner's Illustrated Electrical Handbook $24.47
The Voyager's Handbook
This inspirational and comprehensive manual leads you step by step through every aspect of choosing, planning, and following the voyager’s life. Using three example boats representing three cruising lifestyles—Simplicity, Moderation, and Highlife—Beth Leonard helps make your bluewater dreams come true, whether you’re sailing on a shoestring or a CEO’s pension. Starting with the things you can’t do without—an enthusiastic crew, a seaworthy boat, and, of course, money—Leonard offers sage advice on how to select crewmembers who are truly committed to the voyage, how to choose the right boat for you, and how to find just the right approach to financing your voyage and making the most of every dollar spent.
The Voyager's Handbook $27.97
Offshore Sailing
In a book that is sure to become a classic, internationally respected boatbuilder, yacht manager, and delivery skipper Bill Seifert shares his hard-won solutions to a host of boat design, construction, and equipment issues and seamanship dilemmas. Unlike other books on the subject, Offshore Sailing doesn’t just tell readers what to do for safe and comfortable passage making; it shows them how to do it with clear, step-by-step instructions and nearly 200 detailed drawings and photographs.
Offshore Sailing $19.57
Boat Owner's Mechanical & Electrical Manual
If it's on a boat and it has screws, wires, or moving parts, it's covered in Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual. When you leave the dock with this book aboard, you have at your fingertips the best and most comprehensive advice on...
Boat Owner's Mechanical & Electrical Manual $34.97
Practical Sailor's E-Books
What's an E-Book? An E-Book is a PDF download you can purchase now and immediately download to your computer. Simply select your book(s) and complete the order form as instructed. You'll then receive a confirmation with instructions on how to download your E-Book. Click it and read it on the screen or print it or save it to your computer for later use. Check them out now! They're exclusively sold by Practical Sailor.
Gelcoat Restoration & Maintenance
Downloadable E-Book
IS YOUR HULL HEALTHY?
Protecting your boats exterior is an absolute necessity, but it can be a time-consuming and muscle-straining job. But with Practical Sailors Gelcoat Maintenance you’ll save time, energy, and money by using the right products the right way.
In this detailed new publication every type of cleaner, wax, polisher, and restorer is tested (some for results up to 3 years!) and reviewed – the Practical Sailor way!
DID YOU KNOW?
- Wax offers little UV protection (regardless of these manufacturers claim!)
- There’s a good reason you should NOT use an acrylic coating on a new boat
- To scrub-away a waterline stain, find a cleaner with a low PH
- The best product to remove salt deposits is right in your kitchen cabinet
Plus, you’ll get a step-by-step regimen in topside maintenance that will keep your boat clean and shining, all for less than $50 a year in materials!
So keep your gelcoat in great shape, and stop wasting money on products that don’t do as advertised. Get this time (and money) saving publication today!
SPECIAL OFFER! BUY 3 MARINE CLEANER PUBLICATIONS FOR THE PRICE OF 2! YOU GET ONE FREE! CLICK HERE!