Sun exposure can make the plastic parts in this style of mainsail furler brittle, and broken pieces can damage the furling line. I explain why I’m not a fan of ...

Moving a traveler onto a catamaran hardtop means that structure has to withstand enormous sailing loads. A gybe can suddenly load the mounting and cause chaos. ...

Gozzard Yachts builds only a handful of customized bluewater boats each year instead of chasing production volume. I think staying small and family-owned has ...

Both engines are diesels, but one uses simple mechanical injection while the other relies on an ECU-controlled fuel rail for greater efficiency. I would weigh ...

A covered sail is not worn out simply because it is old; I judge it by miles, flogging, and sun exposure. A sailmaker’s needle should pop through tight Dacron, ...

A cockpit that looks comfortable at the dock can feel completely different once the boat heels 15 degrees. I look for a secure spot on the leeward side where a ...

A wide stern creates enormous aft cabins because it carries the boat’s volume and buoyancy all the way aft. I do not love that underwater shape offshore, so I ...

CE Category A is the offshore design category used on many production sailboats, but I do not think the badge tells buyers enough about real bluewater ...

In episode 79 of Secondhand Sailors, we update you with some surprise information: We are currently headed towards Europe! Today we let you join us for our ...

Moving the engines aft creates more interior space, but it also places the rudders ahead of the propellers. I would test low-speed maneuvering on each engine ...

For decades, cruisers gathered in Grenada because it sat just below the hurricane box that shaped many marine insurance policies. In July 2024, Hurricane Beryl ...

A ship's hull behaves like one enormous beam, bending through hogging and sagging as wave crests and troughs support different sections. Push that steel beyond ...

In a moving Northern Hemisphere hurricane, rotation and forward motion combine on the starboard side of its track, creating stronger winds and more violent ...

Fantome's hull was built from thousands of overlapping steel plates, caulked and fastened by hand with red-hot rivets. That was the same basic method used on ...

Rio Dulce has sheltered sailors from hurricanes for generations, but its entrance lies behind a sandbar with only five or six feet of water. A massive schooner ...

Finished in an Italian warship yard in 1927, this 282-foot yacht began as "Flying Cloud". She then passed from an English duke, to a Guinness heir, and ...

A hurricane does not steer itself; larger wind patterns high above it, called steering currents, carry it like a cork in a river. When those currents weaken, ...

In October 1998, the 282-foot riveted-steel schooner Fantome entered the western Caribbean with 31 people aboard and Hurricane Mitch building over the horizon. ...

At $100,000, a Lagoon 42 can look like an incredible bargain, and I think these boats make spacious, fun cruising platforms for the Caribbean. However, I would ...

Early-season hurricanes often form far across the Atlantic, giving sailors time to watch them develop and track their approach. In October, the western ...

Sharks, rocks, and pirates are not what scare me most when I sail offshore. Hurricanes are unpredictable, impossible to outrun, and powerful enough to ...

Standing rigging progresses from standard 1×19 wire to compact strand and finally to solid rod, with each step increasing strength and stiffness while reducing ...

A 12-inch change made while building the Valiant 40 left its sail plan out of balance with the keel. Adding a bowsprit corrected the problem, improved the ...

This 2012 Hughes 40 weighs less than five tons despite its 40-foot length and massive 30-foot beam, giving it the ingredients to be an exceptionally fast ...