Electrical wire used on boats should be tinned (covered in solder) along its whole length. However, this is an expensive process, so most production boats have ‘automotive-type’ wire, which allows…
Yachting Monthly
How a Hurricane-Wrecked Dufour Classic 41 Won Line Honours in Her First Race During Tobago Sailing Week
Our boat Alexa – a Dufour Classic 41 – had been wrecked in the September 2004 Category Five Hurricane Ivan and had been part of the boat ‘alphabet soup’ in…
Used Sweden Yachts 390 Review: This Swedish Classic Still Turns Heads
The forecast did not look promising as we headed out of Dartmouth. A bit of sun, a bit of cloud, and a southeasterly Force 2-3. Not an ideal day for…
Marine toilet maintenance: How to keep your heads smelling sweet
All marine toilets have a functional similarity about them. The traditional method is to pump the waste directly into the sea. It’s only acceptable to pump out sewage into the…
Zhik Spirit of Adventure: ‘Water drenched the foredeck followed by the characteristic sound of water rushing into the boat’
Bang!’ Luci’s bow collided with a steep wave, filling the air with a deafening reverberation. Water drenched the foredeck, followed by the characteristic sound of water rushing into the boat.…
‘The disembodied VHF radio call had actually come from a plane’ – Lu Heikell
‘G’day Skylax. You haven’t done many miles today!’ Our greeting from the Aussie Border Force team rang out clear on the VHF radio. We hadn’t seen another vessel for days,…
Sailing the shipping forecast: Cruising around Fair Isle – ‘Sailing into Scapa Flow, a centre of the Royal Navy during both World Wars, felt like sailing into history’
The island of Fair Isle sits between Orkney and Shetland, and the eponymous sea area encompasses both of these island groups as well as the north coast of Scotland. These…
Join us for the Coppercoat Brian Black Memorial Award 2025
The Brian Black Memorial Award is Yachting Monthly’s marine environmental journalism award with the support of Coppercoat, with cash prizes worth £3,000 and £1,000-worth of new camera equipment up for…
How to prevent an earth loop on your boat
It’s impossible to get to grips with electrically promoted corrosion – as distinct from that caused by oxidation, such as rusting – without appreciating the extent, vigour and unpredictability of…
Why you might be wrong about production yachts – and why they are great for ocean crossings
As an addict of YouTube sailing channels, I am surprised at the amount of misinformation surrounding the ocean capabilities of modern boat design compared to the boats of a generation…