West country farmer, Matt Dale, prefers using his boat to working on it - but sometimes, even he has to bite the bullet and get his tools out

We’d love to hear from you. Write to us at yachtingmonthly@futurenet.com or by post at Yachting Monthly, Future PLC, 121-141 Westbourne Terrace, Paddington, London W2 6JR

Mike Reynolds and his wife Nicki sailed over 5,000 miles to the Azores, Canaries and across the Atlantic to the Caribbean while repairing three separate leaks

Send your questions to our experts at yachtingmonthly@futurenet.com

Nick Burnham: Theoretically, in very extreme conditions you could position yourself stern-to a large breaking wave and then stop the boat, but why would you?

HAVE YOUR SAY IN PRINT AND ONLINE