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5 articles
Boat jumbles and online listings can furnish a boat for pennies — or fill your lockers with expensive maybes. Here is how UK boaters can inspect winches, blocks, lifejackets, pumps and electronics before parting with cash, plus what should always be bought new.
Most boat toolkits are a museum of things that seemed sensible in the chandlery and useless on the pontoon. Here are the twelve tools that genuinely justify their space and weight aboard a UK sailboat or narrowboat — plus what to leave in the garage and how to keep the rest from rusting solid between trips.
A practical UK guide to choosing and rigging mooring lines, springs and fenders for tidal rivers, coastal pontoons and canal locks. Includes sensible diameters, budget-versus-premium picks and the fender mistakes that make berthing harder than it needs to be.
Most glove drawers on British boats are a museum of near-misses: salt-stiff odd pairs, split seams and palms worn through at the winch. This guide cuts through the brand noise and sets out what actually works on UK coastal passages and canal locks in 2026.
Some marine gear is worth every penny. Some is a commodity in a salty box. Here are five chandlery staples where UK boaters can save real money without cutting corners on safety.