Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2016 i Boating

Applying vinyl graphics on a boat ranks as a methodical do-it-yourself project. To learn more, we sought guidance from Chris Youngash, owner of Wrap Works (wrapworks.com) in Costa Mesa, California, and a 15-year industry veteran. We followed along as he installed a boat name on a Pathfinder Tournament 2200 bay boat while it sat on a trailer. In ordering a graphic, make sure the shop utilizes high-performance cast-vinyl material, Youngash says. It is less likely to shrink than the vinyl used at a neighborhood sign shop, and it’s UV stabilized. Both parameters are critical in a marine environment. Cost depends on the size, colors and complexity. The 11-by-72-inch digital print we installed cost $125. Most vinyl-graphic shops also offer design services (minimum $75 at Wrap Works) to guide you, either…

HERE’S THE THING: THE GALEON 385 HTS IS A yacht so well-built that some U.S. builders might be well-advised to use it as a benchmark. MarineMax is importing it not just because the exchange rate makes it attractive in U.S. dollars, but also because the Galeons are built to high standards and thoughtfully designed. The 385 HTS is a Euro-styled hardtop express cruiser from English mega-yacht designer Tony Castro, whose designs for Galeon have consistently earned European Powerboat of the Year awards, including in 2016. First take: This boat has amazing natural light. There are big windows around the cabin house, a huge sunroof that glides open quietly, an atrium effect in the lower salon from several skylights, and more skylights over the owner’s stateroom forward. Second take: Wow! Look…

DESIGNING ROOMY OUTBOARD BOATS under 20 feet in length is tough. Many look stubby and ride hard, especially in the short chop of the shallow coastal bays for which they are built. But those many don’t have the benefit of a SeaV2 hull and construction done by a Grady-White lamination crew. Those folks are now turning out the elegant 191 Coastal Explorer, a small bay boat with a shallow but nice-riding bottom, plus graceful Carolina raised sheer and bow flare. Want to know what difference that excellence-oriented lamination crew makes? Look at a photo or watch a video of the 191 CE running and note how its reversed chines and lifting strakes turn down spray. The crew has carefully made the hull’s fabric and resin follow the sharp corners of…

WHILE BIG SIX- AND EIGHT-CYLINDER OUTBOARDS MIGHT grab the lion’s share of headlines, midrange outboards represent the meat and potatoes of use by boaters. Generally defined as outboards ranging from 75 to 115 hp, this class reigns as one of the most popular, particularly on lakes and rivers in Middle America where midrange engines power many of today’s pontoon and aluminum fishing boats. Honda Marine’s new BF100 ups the ante in the midrange arena. It brings variable valve timing and lift to the category and offers a host of other advanced features, including Lean Burn Control for greater fuel efficiency and Boosted Low Speed Torque (BLAST) for better hole shot. Weighing 360 pounds (dry with a 20-inch shaft), the new inline fourcylinder stands as the only 100 hp outboard, giving…

“Ouch!”; “Whoa!”; “S&#*!” Steep, capping waves and dark holes jarred our brains, compressed our spines and knocked the wind from our chests in halfpronounced expletives as we crossed the howling passage between Catalina Island and the California mainland on a bad afternoon. Every part of every crew member ached. As the captain, my strategy consisted of slowing down and slogging it out. That was as smooth as I could make it. Or was it? Could the ride have been more comfortable? Maybe. Over the years, various systems and products — from simple to complex — have emerged to ease the impact when the going gets rough and help avoid injuries. One of the most remarkable products consisted of a suspended deck. In 2005, Boston Whaler introduced the Active Deck Suspension…

I’ve never driven a boat before today when I put my hands on the wheel of a brand-new 30-foot Sea Ray 300 SLX. The situation makes me nervous. Very nervous. I’ve been in boats — lots of boats. I’ve fished aboard bass boats, jon boats, flats boats and other boats that propelled me through the water while I stood on them so I could go fishing. (Hey, I wasn’t paying attention to what kind of boat I was in — just to the places that boat could get me.) I’ve even laid down at least three Benjamins for a kayak of which the single redeeming quality is that it keeps me upright while in the water. But I’ve never actually operated a boat. So that’s why I’m in a class…

MORE ONLINE! To read the full interview online, go to boatingmag.com/belowdeck. You grew up in Saginaw, Michigan. Did you boat there? I didn’t have any exposure to boating in Michigan. The closest I came to any boating was fishing for perch on Saginaw Bay — in 12 feet of water. What was your first job at sea? I took a job as a delivery mate on a boat, and it just bit me hard. My first trip was on a sailboat just quietly gliding through the water. I thought, you know, you can actually get paid to do this? When I came back from that delivery, I told the wife, “You know, I think it’s time for a career change.” How did you get on Bravo’s television show Below Deck? I…

TAPE IT UP Burnish tape by rubbing its edges with a tool handle to create a crisp line. DEWAX NO VOC: The mold-release wax must be removed from new hulls. Apply Pettit’s Bio-Blue Hull Surface Prep 92 with a short-nap roller to a 5-by-5-foot area. Scrub with a Scotch-Brite pad, wipe with a wet sponge to remove residue, and rinse the sponge and surface often, changing the rinse water often. DEWAX VOC: Tried and true solvents, such as Pettit’s Dewaxer D-95, work too. Apply a wet coat in a circular motion liberally and wipe dry with a clean cloth. Change cloths often, lest you reapply the wax you just removed. Clean at least four times to ensure complete wax removal. SANDING: After dewaxing, you need to give the hull some…

WHEN YOU THINK OF “COUPE,” WHAT comes to mind? Does an enclosed helm with a plush salon and accommodations belowdecks? Sure, but what about speed and sportiness? Not often, but when a boat like the Cobalt A40 Coupe comes along, you can think that too. Many coupes we’ve tested in this size range hover just shy of the 40 mph range, with handling and acceleration you’d describe as safe and predictable rather than aggressive. With the A40 Coupe, you get a taste of performance in your coupe. Testing on a small freshwater lake with limited areas to run full speed, we worried we’d run out of room before compiling our performance numbers. Turns out, we shouldn’t have. While spooling up the Volvo Penta D4 diesel sterndrives to climb onto plane…

WE SAY The Express 32 is the first pilothouse model from Ribcraft. The Express 32’s seven-chamber Hypalon tube is fit for rugged service and provides a cushioning effect as the boat comes down on a sea. Meanwhile, the tube offers excellent stability at rest. During our sea trial, the boat’s proud bow and super-sharp 60-degree entry cut head seas down to ripples while the tube and the hull’s strakes damped spray. Twin 300 hp Mercury Verado outboards provided plenty of performance, complemented in the harbor by Mercury’s Joystick Piloting system for outboards. The Express 32’s cockpit and pilothouse offer a range of options for fishing, cruising and other duties, like race-committee work, with multiple seating options. Ribcraft is accustomed to custom modifications. Likewise, the standard cabin offers cushioned benches port…

PLANS A, B AND C Headed out to fill the fish boxes? Nobody wants to burn a hundred gallons of fuel for a few peanut dolphin, nor do we want to spend five hours chumming for yellowtail snapper only to release 80 percent of them because they were too small. Hence the need for homework. First, seek advice from locals who live in the area you plan to fish. Find out what’s been running and what your best bet will be when you go. Plan for a primary target species, with one or two alternatives. Then go back to your electronics, remembering that many of the systems you use on board can also be accessed through your home computer as well for planning purposes. To start, try something like Roffs…

To understand how Doppler works, think of the differences in sound from a siren on a fire truck speeding toward you, then away. The processors in the Furuno DRS4D-NXT and Garmin Fantom series sense such dynamic differences in the radar returns to identify and highlight approaching targets. Furuno calls the Doppler system in its new NXT dome radar Target Analyzer. A similar feature in Garmin’s Fantom open-array radar series is known as MotionScope. In both systems, targets moving toward your boat at 2 knots or more are painted in a contrasting red color. “With the Furuno ARPA (automatic radar plotting aid) on, the red targets also get an echo trail, and an audible alarm is sounded,” says Eric Kunz, senior product manager for Furuno USA. “There’s no need to set…

For most of the country, it’s time to get your boat prepped for the season. When getting ready to launch your boat, make it part of your maintenance routine to include the following: 1 Detail your boat’s engine. Find out how at boatingmag.com/detail-yourboat-engine. 2 If that antiquated trailer can’t make it through one more run to the ramp this spring, take the time now to research a new one. We have some important trailerbuying tips for you to consider at boatingmag.com/boat-trailer-buying-tips. 3 Also, our outboard expert provides some DIY tips for checking your spark plugs in the spring. Go to boatingmag.com/boating-spark-plug-diy. Captain’s Test (ANSWERS FROM PAGE 26) 1 A. “Caged” switches have a knob on the side for this purpose. 2 B. Let the old separators collect any junk and…

[1] TWO-PUMP MINIMUM Redundancy is tough to beat where safety is concerned. I like pumps arranged one higher than the other, the high one never seeing service — and so not wearing out — unless things get really bad. [2] PUMPS GALORE Bilge pumps should be installed in all compartments that can hold water. Often there will be space between bulkheads beneath the cabin sole, for instance, or beneath the sole of a center-console head. Check it out. SMOOTHBORE HOSE Forget the cheap corrugated stuff sold as “bilge hose.” The ridges decrease our pumps’ capacity by 20 percent. Smoothbore hose, which is either reinforced vinyl [3] or sanitation hose [4], is more durable and doesn’t impede flow. [5] HOT WIRED Bilge pumps are the only circuit that should be wired…

EN ROUTE TO ROUND POND, MAINE, TO TEST the Padebco V25R, we were expecting a Downeaststyle open day boat with classic lines, custom craftsmanship and fine teak. We were not expecting a time to plane of 3.8 seconds or a hole shot comparable to a ski boat. Powered by a pair of 150 hp Yamaha outboards, the V25R flat-out scoots, hitting 48.2 mph at 6,100 rpm and providing a nimble feel. It boasts the near-plumb bow and sharp entry you’d expect from a lobster-style boat, but the bottom design is more conventional runabout with hard chines and two lifting strakes per side. The result is a sporty performer that’s up to tube-towing duties and makes quick work of cruddy conditions. The V25R is available with single or twin engines. Padebco…

WE SAY Manitou’s 23 XT X-Plode is one of the slickest-looking, smartesthandling performance pontoons we’ve tested. Stepping aboard through a distinctive billet-aluminum bow gate, we found ourselves beckoned by plush seating that includes stern seats that convert into a pair of large, aft-facing lounges; twin Millennium Falconinspired captain’s chairs amidships; and wraparound lounge seats forward. The 23 XT X-Plode’s deck is surrounded by double-walled fiberglass side panels with an aluminum wakeboard tower overhead and a raised fiberglass helm console — all of them complementing this ’toon’s dynamic design and color graphics. The X-Plode’s performance is equally dynamic. Twin 23-inch-diameter V-Toons flank a 27-inch-diameter center tube. These combine to create a mono-hull ride experience. We noted a wide-open-throttle speed of 53 mph on the touch-controlled Smart Screen readout, an easy-to-read, high-tech…

There’s a line from one of the all-time greatest guy movies, The Godfather, in which the aging Don Vito Corleone character says offhandedly to his grown son, Michael, “I like to drink wine more than I used to. Anyway, I’m drinkin’ more.” To paraphrase Don Vito, when it comes to boating, I like to sit down more than I used to. Age catches up with us all, and, as a result, many of us don’t stand at the helm as much as we did when our backs and legs were younger and more resilient. Yet some helm seats are not a lot more comfortable than standing while running in rough seas. Seaspension has not only recognized this, but it has also developed a relatively affordable shock-mitigating seating system that pampers…

New-age solid-state marine radar systems from brands such as Furuno, Garmin, Raymarine and Simrad all transmit a relatively long, compressed pulse over a wide range of frequencies. By processing the relative strength of the returning frequencies, these radars can more accurately gauge the sizes and distances between targets than oldschool radars using magnetrons. Pulse compression also combines outstanding long- and short-range target detection. Simrad’s Halo pulse-compression radars, for example, can see targets as close as 20 feet and (in the top-of-the-line Halo 6) out to 72 nautical miles. Such pulsecompression benefits are also available in Furuno’s NXT, Garmin’s Fantom series and Raymarine’s Quantum CHIRP dome radar. On the Furuno, Garmin and Simrad systems, you can view two range scales at once in a split-screen mode (seen left on a Simrad…