Practical Boat Owner newsletter archive

What happens if you cross the bows of a ship in contravention of at least four of the Collision Regulations? You end up in court, as Lt Roland Wilson found this month in a hearing to establish why, during Cowes Week 2011, he crossed so close to the bow of tanker Hanne Knutsen as to catch his spinnaker on her port anchor.

In the December issue of Practical Boat Owner. on sale today, we bring you in-depth coverage of this landmark case from recently-retired RYA chief examiner James Stevens, and ask why it was necessary to spend seven days and court costs of £100,000 establishing the truth in a case which the MAIB declined to investigate, citing the absence of lessons to be learned.

If you believe the ads at this time of year, Christmas is a time to spend money, which is why we’re offering some great advice on how to save it. Our test of proofing products could be just what you need to get another season’s life out of those slightly leaky oilskins — we were surprised at the wide discrepancy in performance between products, and came up with a clear recommendation which is best.

Meanwhile, regular contributor Barry Pickthall explains how he rescued a nearly-new inflatable from a skip and got it back on the water for a fraction of the cost of a new one, reader Davide Biondi successfully manages to glue a polythene exhaust muffler and reader Martyn Langford explains how he saved a fortune treating his Westerly Corsair for osmosis by carrying out most of the long-winded parts of the job himself.

To get a flavour of Martyn’s work, visit our online photo gallery. There’s plenty to read over the holidays, including an interview with record-breaking sailor Paul Larsen on how he hopes his fast foiling catamaran designs could change the face of commercial and leisure sailing, a test of a new yacht from Dutch builders Winner and a detailed guide to the Orwell and Stour rivers, perfect for a bit of winter sailing or maybe just for planning next year’s cruising.

David Harding visits a reader’s boat that is struggling to make ground to windward despite new sails, and on the project boat we finish a few small jobs which make a big difference to her appearance, and make a start on renovating the mast.

Finally, if you are looking for a few Christmas gifts, don’t miss our gear pages, including a test of 11 multi-tools designed for sailing. We put them through their paces, including a corrosion test to see whether they can really stand the marine environment.

Put it this way — you don’t always get what you pay for. With all this and plenty more, don’t miss this issue — and don’t forget that we have some great deals on subscriptions and gift subscriptions, both print and digital. Visit http://www.pbo.co.uk and click ‘Subscribe’ for more information.

David Pugh

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