Forum Osmosis on a boat: will it cause my vessel to sink?

Sharon Dyche-Brookes and Johan Truter share their experiences of spending months living aboard in UK waters Sharon Dyche-Brookes and Johan Truter spent 6 months living aboard their Hallberg-Rassy 352 in marinas and anchorages along the South Coast. Credit: Sharon Dyche-Brookes and Johan Truter When we decided to experience liveaboard life and swap our house for our 38-year-old Hallberg-Rassy 352 in the UK, our primary concern was the prospect of being on the boat during winter months. I was also concerned about commuting to my part-time job and whether we could manage the financial implications of the move. To address these uncertainties, we included a six-month clause in the rental contract for added flexibility. Renting the house turned out to be the straightforward part, especially since our children had moved out and we were eager for a change. The process of decluttering years of accumulated belongings was invigorating, and by the end, we had very little left to put into storage. May 2025 came and with some trepidation, we set off. Icy decks; Sharon and Johan used disposable dehumidifiers and their Eberspächer heater to keep moisture at bay. Credit: Sharon Dyche-Brookes and Johan Truter Transitioning from a house with a garden to a compact floating space necessitates careful consideration of what to bring as you need to be prepared for both the cooler months and the summer season; it was essential to include gear for the cold, the wet and the sun due to the unpredictabil

Viveka Herzum gets advice from seasoned sailors about offshore small-boat solo sailing at the inaugural Jester Challenge Symposium If heaving to, trim the mainsheet to alter the angle the boat sits to the wind. Photo by Richard Langdon/Ocean Images ‘Rarely will you meet such a bunch of miscreants and misfits,’ event organiser David McDowall pronounced in the opening speech of the first-ever Jester Challenge Symposium. Terms of endearment for the assembled small-boat solo sailors in attendance, many of whom gravitate towards the Jester Challenge – now in its 20th year – for its focus on independent seamanship, a DIY ethic, and good old-fashioned self-reliance. A full programme of presentations highlighted key considerations for those looking to undertake a crossing, though as speakers were keen to remind attendees, ‘We are not experts!’ Rounding out the offering were presentations from rigger and sailmaker Alan Harris Guerrero of Sail Shape Rigging Ltd; offshore sailor, author, and advisor to the royals Stokey Woodall , who trained names like Sir Chay Blythe , Dame Ellen MacArthur, and Alex Thompson ; and godfather of extreme adventures Don McIntyre , as well as commercial presentations from Waypoint Liferafts and PredictWind. While some topics may have been old news for seasoned sailors, the programme offered an ideal overview for anyone looking to get offshore and created ample opportunities for further discussion. From heavy weather tactics to safety measures, communication

How do the four stages of passage planning – appraise, plan, execute, monitor (APEM) – work in the age of the chartplotter? Craig Burton, head of training operations at the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) shares his advice on using waypoints. By using an electronic chart system all watchkeepers have access to key information, particularly on chart displays at the helm. Credit: Tyler Olson/Alamy The electronic chart system (ECS) is a key aid to creating a passage plan that allows us access to all the necessary information throughout the passage. Access to this information is essential for monitoring progress and for signposting each step of the plan. To be clear, we aren’t just adding a route; we are adding as much of the whole plan to the ECS as possible. Of course, there are no reasons why we cannot continue to use pen and paper, but by using an ECS all watchkeepers have access to key information , particularly on chart displays at the helm position. Waypoint best practice: markers for action Figure 1: Describe the waypoint in its name. Credit: RYA Key to this is the way we consider the humble waypoint. If we focus on waypoints being a marker for an action or decision then the waypoints can be given a descriptive name , such as a change in speed limit, an alteration of course, a prompt to call harbour control with the appropriate VHF channel. A planning waypoint list might look like figure 1 (above). Depending on the particular system you’re using, you can use a standalone

Polly Robinson looks at the options for those wanting to book a holiday afloat in UK waters Scotland offers unparalleled cruising grounds. Credit: Oliver Beardon UK boating holidays offer an accessible and rewarding way to experience life afloat, whether you don’t own a boat, want to try a different type of vessel, explore new cruising grounds or simply sail with like-minded people. They also provide an excellent opportunity to build confidence, develop skills and enjoy the UK’s coastline from the water. The UK is blessed with an extraordinary variety of sailing grounds. From the sheltered harbours and busy waterways of the English south coast to the wild, dramatic scenery of the west coast of Scotland, our coastline offers something for every style of sailor. Reflecting this diversity is an equally broad range of vessels for charter , from traditional wooden craft to modern performance yachts and dedicated training vessels. A charter in the UK is a great way to build skills or sail with like-minded people. Credit: Sail Britain For those new to sailing, UK boating holidays provide an easy entry point. Many companies require little or no prior experience, with professional skippers on board to manage navigation and decision-making. This allows guests to relax, learn at their own pace and enjoy the surroundings. Other holidays combine cruising with structured training, enabling participants to leave with recognised qualifications such as Competent Crew or Day Skipper. Whether y

You don’t have to pursue an award-winning finish in order to transform a neglected, rotting, 12ft sailing dinghy into a perfectly safe and serviceable craft, as David Pugh reports The new bulkhead epoxied in place. The lashing holds the hull in shape while the epoxy sets My first memories of my tatty-looking 3.6m (12ft) Tepco sailing dinghy date back to learning to sail on my uncle’s boat as a teenager. Modified years ago for use as a tender, in time, its weight and size prompted my uncle to replace it with a younger, sleeker model. Since then, the boat has seen little love, and dinghy repairs are now badly needed. The ‘tatty-looking’ 3.6m (12ft) Tepco sailing dinghy Neglect is no friend to any boat; however, when I turned the hull the right way up most of the timberwork fell off in a shower of rotten splinters and woodlice. At some point in its history, the gunwales and some of the knees had been replaced with plywood , which had rotted and delaminated beyond repair. The forward bulkhead and half deck, also plywood, were in a similarly poor state, but the solid hardwood thwart and side benches had survived well and could be retained. However, the plywood panels below them, intended to enclose polystyrene buoyancy blocks, were scrap. Although some of the woodwork was cosmetic, knees, gunwales and bulkheads provide much of the hull’s rigidity, so something had to be done. Tear down before dinghy repairs Our first step was to rip out all of the rotten timber. A demolition bar m

Drew Maglio explains how he replaced the shattered windscreen on his Chaparral 2550 SX motor cruiser Repairing the shattered windscreen on the boat took Drew longer than expected. Credit: Drew Maglio The first sign of a problem was when I unclipped the cockpit cover protecting my 1995 Chaparral 2550 SX and realised the port-side (passenger) boat windscreen was uncharacteristically frosted. Perplexed, I pressed further, discovering smooth pebbles of crystalline material on the carpet. I then took a closer look at the windscreen and realised the tempered glass windscreen had shattered. My wife, Hannah, and I were completely shocked and dismayed; when we’d left Soul Rebel three months earlier, the boat had been under a full mooring cover and a cockpit cover, but somehow the damage had occurred. Finding no obvious cause, I covered my pride and joy back up and we left, leaving the boat to sit for a few weeks while I filed our insurance claim. Drew had to remove the remaining shattered glass before he could replace it. Credit: Drew Maglio Eventually we returned to Soul Rebel to clean up the mess, which necessitated making matters worse before things could, mercifully, get better: we had to break up the broken windscreen still in place, which shattered into thousands of tiny pieces, to remove and then dispose of the glass. Such a process was very time-consuming, taking five hours. Despite our best efforts, I still occasionally find small, oblong pieces of glass in the crevices of th

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston talks to Ali Wood about self-steering, plum duff and why he was told to ‘slow down’ for his round the world finish Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. Credit: Ali Wood “They told me to slow down. I could have finished at 9 o’clock in the morning,” Sir Robin Knox-Johnston says of his record-breaking solo circumnavigation back in 1969. It’s a warm spring day and we’re tacking in the Solent, not on his famous ketch Suhaili (though he’s promised me a tour later), but a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 410 . Together with novice sailors from the Little Ship Club, we’re returning from Cowes after our own circumnavigation – around the Isle of Wight – where yesterday Sir Robin Knox-Johnston raced against Mike Golding OBE and two other yachts in the club’s inaugural Conquer the Island challenge. Sir Robin Knox-Johnston with the Little Ship Club crew. Credit: Ali Wood Yesterday I had the honour of racing with Mike Golding, and now I’m cruising with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. In between pinching myself, I’m receiving an education on everything from plum duff to astronavigation and the maintenance of wooden boats. The funny thing is, Sir Robin and I actually met last night on Cowes High Street, when neither of us could read the key code for the Island Sailing Club rooms. I didn’t realise, as I emptied my 40lt dry bag on the pavement in search of reading glasses, that I’d be sailing with him today. Did I prepare notes? Nope. Does he mind? No, it seems he has infinite patience for my non-st

Loreto Rodriguez, who has written for Practical Boat Owner, has won the Yachting Journalists' Association's Young Journalist of the Year Award for 2026 Loreto Rodriguez was presented with the YJA Young Journalist of the Year Award 2026 at the Southampton Boat Show. Credit: Emma York/YJA Loreto Rodriguez has been named the Yachting Journalists’ Association (YJA) Young Journalist of the Year 2026, sponsored by Henri-Lloyd, recognising outstanding emerging talent in marine journalism and media. The winner was announced at the Southampton International Boat Show on Friday 18 September, with the award presented on the Boating Stage at 4.30pm. The YJA Young Journalist of the Year Award celebrates the next generation of talent working across marine media. Open to those aged 30 and under, the award recognises the changing face of journalism and accepts written and visual content, including photography and video. Entries for the 2026 award showcased the breadth of talent working across marine journalism today, covering stories from across the UK and at international events, with YJA members invited to vote for their Young Journalist of the Year from the shortlisted finalists. Loreto Rodriguez was announced as the 2026 winner during the presentation at the Southampton International Boat Show. Speaking after receiving the award, Loreto Rodriguez said: “I’m just buzzing. I’m just so happy. I’m very proud of how far I’ve come from last year’s portfolio I sent. So, I think that’s very good

The best marine equipment and services as chosen by the sailing public have been announced at the inaugural Sailors’ Choice Awards Run by sister sailing titles, Practical Boat Owner and Yachting Monthly , the aim of the awards is to highlight the products and services that boat owners and sailors genuinely value, trust and recommend. The shortlist of nominees was based on the number of times each had been nominated by the public and then the top three in each category were put forward to a public vote. Sponsored by Haven Knox-Johnston, the awards celebrated marine excellence across 10 categories. The winners were as follows: Deck Equipment: Hydrovane Electronics, navigation & communication: Savvy Navvy Clothing & accessories: Heni-Lloyd Ocean PRO range Maintenance & boat building products: Bruntons Autoprop Engines & outboards: ePropulsion eLite Safety gear: Spinlock Deckvest lifejacket range Domestic systems eg. plumbing, air con, heating, cooking: Renogy Bifacial solar panels Dinghy, tender & water toys: 3D Superlight Twin Air 270 Insurer (overall provider): Haven Knox-Johnston Customer service award: Icom UK “It’s fantastic just to be nominated, and then, of course, to win the safety category for our Deckvest VITO AFS lifejacket is even better,” said James Hall, Marketing and Sales Manager at Spinlock. “It’s a product we’ve had in development for many, many years, having had the opportunity to take a fresh look at flotation and in-water performance. “The fact that is is th

Tony Nield improvised a jury rudder from a headboard after the aluminium rudder on his Seal 22 failed in the Menai Strait Tony fashioned a jury rudder from one of the bunk headboards he had previously made. Credit: Tony Nield The original rudder of the Seal 22 is a ruggedly constructed unit comprising a heavy stock laminated from marine plywood which hangs on the transom, with a pivoting blade of 8mm boiler plate. As far as I know, these original rudders do not fail but are very heavy to ship and unship, especially for trailer-sailing. For this reason, many owners have been tempted – as I was – to build a lighter one. I decided to substitute 10mm aluminium for 8mm steel for the plate: given that the density of aluminium is only about one-third that of steel, there would still be a substantial weight saving. A friend who is a consulting engineer reassured me that this should be sound: the increase in thickness should compensate for the lower strength and stiffness of the aluminium. Tony Nield’s Seal 22, dried out at Beaumaris in Anglesey, Wales. Credit: Tony Nield For this experiment I managed to scrounge the aluminium (of uncertain ancestry) from a friendly scrap dealer. Having cut out the blade with a jigsaw – a long, slow job – and having profiled the leading and trailing edges with a rasp (more blisters), I was still not convinced of the strength of the finished part, so I devised a test unknown to British Standards. I rested the blade horizontally on the ground, on a hous

Sunsail's third annual Funding the Future initiative attracted a record-breaking 85 entries - up 35% on last year - but Paignton Sailing Club's Mums on the Water campaign to honour the 'silent heroes of sailing clubs' won. Paignton Sailing Club will use its Mums on the Water initiative to give the silent heroes of sailing clubs a chance to have a go themselves. Credit: Sunsail Yacht charter and sailing holiday provider Sunsail has named Paignton Sailing Club as the winner of its 2026 ‘Funding the Future’ award for its Mums on the Water initiative. The club, which was presented with a £6,000 grant during the Southampton International Boat Show , will use the funding to increase involvement among female beginners while supporting wellbeing and building confidence on the water. The initiative will provide female-led coaching and beginner-friendly tuition, with subsidised sessions helping to make sailing more accessible. It will also highlight progression routes into wider club membership and volunteering, helping participants stay engaged beyond the initial sessions. Now in its third successive year, the popular Sunsail Funding the Future initiative drives funding directly to local sailing clubs, helping to elevate grassroots participation. Mums on the Water will boost inclusivity Attracting 85 entries, a 35% increase on 2025, it invited clubs to demonstrate how they could attract more women and girls to the sport, increase their participation levels and create more inclusive en

Regular servicing of your winches will optimise their efficiency and prevent premature wear. Stan Cockeram explains how to go about it, and suggests some simple checks to avoid mid-season failures Lay the parts out logically when dismantling a winch An aspect of boat many people are still intimidated by is winch servicing. Serious cruisers (aren’t we all?) are likely, but by no means certain, to service their winches as part of the process of laying up or recommissioning , but many winches go on for years without being given a second glance. Nevertheless, an annual service confers distinct benefits. Without servicing, a winch will become less efficient and will wear out prematurely. How often do you hear people complain that they are going to need new winches because their existing winches aren’t powerful enough? It’s amazing how much efficiency and power can be restored by a proper service. And to begin with, if you are using, say, an 8in handle, try a 10in one – that will give you 25% more power instantly. Tools and consumables needed for winch servicing The essential winch servicing principles apply to nearly all conventional capstan yacht winches. Assemble information, tools, consumables and parts for your winch Open and dismantle the winch Degrease the parts Inspect all parts of the winch Replace broken or badly-worn parts Reassemble, lubricating as you go Close and test the winch. Manufacturer websites should help you with service instructions and diagrams. You will nee