Practical Boat Owner — January 2018

Contents PROJECTS · SEAMANSHIP · GEAR REVIEWS · CRUISING · MAINTENANCE

BRITAIN’S BEST-SELLING BOATING MAGAZINENo. -$18$5<£4.

WOODEN BOAT: BUILT BY HAND

How a couple built their dream from scratch

Class associations:

the inside knowledge

PRACTICAL

CRUISING GUIDE

Fitting a diesel heater on a budget Replacing a leaky metal fuel tank

Rebuilding a

Yanmar 1GM

Cleaning non-slip

deck covering

Filtering paint

and varnish

The timeless

appeal of

Tenby

TESTED

STAY IN

CONTROL

Top tips to improve

your sails and rigging

BUYER’S

GUIDE

TO WIFI

ONBOARD

72 Timeless Tenby

Ali Wood visits this charming resort

and port in West Wales

72 Idyllic Ionian anchorages

Georgina Moon on peaceful places

to drop the hook in Greek waters

42 Refining a rig

How to improve your boat’s

performance under sail

52 Buyer’s guide to wifi

on board

Duncan Kent examines the

proliferation of wifi boosters and

routers on the market

58 New Gear

This month features a weather

forecasting app, digital AIS

transponder, a breathable jacket and

other Christmas present ideas

5 Waiting for the tide

6 News

10 Regional news

12 Readers’ letters

14 Dave Selby

16 Sam Llewellyn

18 Andrew Simpson

36 Ask the experts

76 Practical projects

98 Sketchbook

Cover photo: Moody 31 Pilgrim by David Harding

(Sailing Scenes)

Welcome to the January 2018 issue

32 Rebuilding a Yanmar

An inexpensive way to restore an

engine that has seized up

38 Monitor a starter battery

A DIY idea to permanently display

the charge in your starter battery

69 Gelcoat repainting

How and why to use one-pack

paint on a yacht’s topsides

80 Fitting a fuel tank

Rob Gibson on how he replaced

the rusty tank on his Trapper 500

83 Restoring hull shine

When polishing no longer works,

Mike Pickles says try respraying

86 Filtering varnish

Make your paint and varnish last

by fi ltering the congealed lumps

48 Chastised by the sea

Charles Godden regrets not acting on

concerns about his anchor stowage

39 Reinforcing a dinghy hull

Step by step guide to using woven

cloth to reinforce a GRP hull

46 Cleaning Treadmaster

Richard Hare rids his deck of mould

66 Installing a Planar heater

An inexpensive diesel system

PRACTICAL

86

72

80

32

42 46

52

60

26

REGULARS

GEAR

CRUISING

SEAMANSHIP

SAVE

MONEY AND

SUBSCRIBE!

Great offers on

page 51

20 Class Associations

Dedicated enthusiasts of the

yachting world offer boat owners

sound advice and a social network

26 Daysailer with a difference

The Drakkar 24, a spacious day boat

that is fast and easy to sail

BOATS

The Drakkar 24, p

60 A family affair

The story of how a couple built their

own dream 30ft wooden motor boat