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1 day ago | 
practical-sailor.com | Darrell Nicholson
Irwin Yachts had been in operation for 27 years, one of the true old-timers in the fiberglass sailboat business, when we first talked to them regarding the Irwin 34. They had just weathered the roughest storm of their history, having settled with their creditors and recovered from Chapter 11, when many other companies in similar situations were folding. Irwin’s recovery was marked by the start of a new production 50-foot cruiser.
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2 weeks ago | 
practical-sailor.com | Darrell Nicholson
It only makes sense that a 41-foot boat will be significantly faster than a 37-foot sistership, right? That a 41-footer will have significantly larger living spaces and greatly improved accommodations? And, that the bigger boat will have more room on deck for entertaining purposes? Or does it?
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3 weeks ago | 
practical-sailor.com | Darrell Nicholson
Hunter Marine began building auxiliary sailboats in 1974, largely as the result of the first oil embargo and the new energy consciousness that followed. Founded by Warren Luhrs, Hunter began as a division of the powerboat-maker Silverton Yachts, which was interested in expanding its offerings and taking advantage of the new interest in saving fuel.
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4 weeks ago | 
practical-sailor.com | Darrell Nicholson
For nearly 30 years under the direction of designer and CEO Bob Johnson, Island Packet accomplished what few modern boatbuilders have been able to do—produce more than 2,000 boats targeted at liveaboard and passagemaking sailors who plan to spend months, if not years, on their boats.
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1 month ago | 
practical-sailor.com | Darrell Nicholson
In its 10th anniversary issue in 1980, Sail magazine named the Catalina 22 the boat that had represented the breakthrough in trailer/cruisers in those 10 years. There is no denying the popularity of the Catalina 22: more than 10,000 of the model we review here have been built, and that doesn’t include the Sport models now being sold. For many buyers, the Catalina 22 is their first “big” boat and an introduction to the Catalina line. Many remain with Catalina and buy up within that line.
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1 month ago | 
practical-sailor.com | Darrell Nicholson
Running the wires for new electronics requires your best cursing vocabulary, lots of sweat, twisting body contortions, luck, and the occasional bandage. For tips on how to make this job easier, we turned to PS contributor Bill Bishop. A professional marine-electronics installer, Bishop has many ingenious ways to thread a wire from point A to point B. The most important tool in the wire-pulling arsenal is what electricians call fish tape or simply a fish.
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1 month ago | 
practical-sailor.com | Darrell Nicholson
Photos by Drew FryePulling hoses is generally low on the fun list. They are in bad places, jammed onto crusty hose-fitting barbs, and have stiffened over the years. As part of our long-term tests, we needed to wiggle loose a few of the sanitation hoses were testing to see how they were looking on the inside–a job much less pleasant than new installation. After flushing the hoses well with clean water and vinegar, testers donned rubber-coated gloves (for better grip) and firmly rocked the hoses.
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1 month ago | 
practical-sailor.com | Darrell Nicholson
When the Cape Dory 30 entered production in 1976, it was the largest boat in the expanding line of the Taunton, Massachusetts boatbuilder. In 1986, when production ceased, over 350 Cape Dory 30s had been built, and what had been the largest boat in the company’s fleet was one of the smallest.
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1 month ago | 
practical-sailor.com | Darrell Nicholson
Connecting two standard-size wires is pretty straightforward: Grab a ratchet crimper, adjust it to fit the crimp connector, strip the two wires to fit into the butt connector, slide the wires into the connector and squeeze the crimper. The required materials are readily available: butt connectors for inline splices, ring connectors for terminal blocks and a dab of anti-corrosive grease for the bolts and rings. Done right, these connections can survive some extremely tough conditions.
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1 month ago | 
practical-sailor.com | Darrell Nicholson
The Hunter 33 had the odds stacked against it from the get-go. The 33-foot family cruiser debuted in the fall of 2011, when the domestic sailboat market was stuck in a ditch, marketing budgets were slashed, and the U.S. boating industry was grasping at threads of good news. Four months later, Hunter Marine’s parent group Luhrs Marine filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Against all odds, however, the 33 sold well.
