Innholdsfortegnelse for July/August 2018 i Boating

AOMAIS SPORT II THE BOOM: The smallest of the three, it can fit in the pocket of your cargo shorts. It’s rated IPX7, making it submersible, and it comes with an inflatable pad to help it float. THE BUST: It has decent sound, but it lacks the volume of the others and can pair with only one other Aomais speaker. PRICE: $30.99; aomais.com JBL EXTREME THE BOOM: The priciest unit is also the loudest, with the best sound quality of the three. The lithium-ion battery lasts for up to 15 hours. It can be connected with other JBL speakers to amplify the sound. THE BUST: Splash-proof but not submersible. At 4.7 pounds, it’s the heaviest of the three. PRICE: $299.95; jbl.com ULTIMATE EARS BOOM 2 THE BOOM: This middle-priced portable…

The Saint Lawrence River will always be a challenge for any size boat. Strong currents are the rule. Big ships ply these waters. One night in 1995, I launched my 1972 Boston Whaler in Chippewa Bay, New York. The primitive channel had no markers or lights, just winding shoals and rocks. A safe return on a calm night might only be possible with radar, night vision and GPS. All I had were a road map and a compass. I secured the kill-switch safety lanyard, and the new 75 hp motor and depth finder came to life. A 6 hp “get home” motor was in place (it helped catch more fish too), and I had a spotlight. I was on a timetable, just off work. The VHF radio reported a chance…

There’s a style that’s right for you, but our testing revealed some interesting facts about their function. Even razor-siped soles will occasionally pick up a small stone. Boat shoes should not pick up rocks or sand. They should not scuff or smudge the deck. They should dry quickly because they will get wet. And they should stick to a moving deck wet or dry, and usually dry. All sizes listed are men’s. TRACTION TEST Most importantly, boat shoes should be able to grip hard, wet surfaces. We created a test ramp with textured plastic-covered particle board and, using a protractor, designed a gauge to reflect the angle of incline. Next, we put 10 pounds of lead shot in each shoe and raised the test ramp to see when the shoe…

My default attitude for many imported yachts, especially ones that have proved popular across the pond, is with measured cynicism. Do they really understand North American boaters? In the case of the Jeanneau Leader 9.0, it was simply an arched eyebrow, like the ones perfected by French-bistro waiters. But the Leader 9.0 strikes all the right chords. It’s perfect for fun, for sun, for weekending, or for just hanging out on the water. There might not be as much culture gap as I’d thought, or perhaps this Jeanneau just has the right stuff. As the Cap Camarat 9.0WA in Europe, it’s proved very popular — for good reasons. The starting point is a 16-degree deadrise hull designed by Michael Peters, which quickly underlined his skills with offshore boats during our…

VIKING 44CC It’s unclear who built the first flybridge, but it’s easy to argue sport-fishing convertibles would be among the first. Nobody benefits from that lofty view like fishermen. In fact, Viking doesn’t offer the 44C with a lower helm, which perfectly illustrates an angler’s commitment to that view. Viking will protect the bridge with acrylic side curtains, and when air conditioning and heating are added, there’s no weather short of rough seas to keep you from having fun. We’ve already discussed the docking advantages, and no offshore skipper is going to wink at a 20-minute wait for a bridge — he’ll just get his crew up that much earlier. Because offshore anglers are long-range fishermen, the Viking 44CC doesn’t pull punches on comfortable accommodations. Two main staterooms offer queen…

Manitou’s designs are easily recognized, due to the stylized fiberglass deck fencing and seating arrangements — not to mention the gorgeous paint jobs. But it’s underneath where the design, setup and rigging produce the speed and handling characteristics that make these ’toons favorites among the performance and show-off fanatics. Manitou VP of Operations Dave Curtis designed and patented Manitou’s V-Toon hull design, drawing on his extensive snowmobile/motocross racing and performance pleasure-boating background. Manitou employs a larger (27-inch-diameter) center tube between the two smaller 25-inch-diameter outboard tubes. This arrangement effectively presents a V shape to the water, which delivers a ride akin to that of a V-hulled runabout. This design, coupled with strategic placement and shape of the lifting strakes and spray rails, produces flat cornering and strong acceleration, along with…

Have you ever wanted to design a fishing lure? As a child, I often carved small plugs, fished with homemade Creepy Crawlers, and even fashioned artificials out of bubble-gum shapes and allowed them to harden around a hook. Still, I ached to one day have a lure sold as part of a professional lineup. Fifty some years later, I finally got the chance when Panther Martin President Cecil Hoge told me, “Let’s see what you’ve got.” My first idea was a new take on spinner-baits, but Hoge wasn’t overly impressed. My second pitch, however, was a hit. I suggested elongating the thin body of an old Panther Martin soft-plastic minnow called the Vivif to look more like a sand eel than a bunker. Next, I added a large dorsal fin,…

BALL FENDERS Ball fenders are ideal for larger boats because, when properly inflated, they are harder to crush on impact. They are also better for boats with a lot of bow flare because they are wide enough to keep the lower hull sides from hitting the dock. The caveat? If left inflated, they take up more space, which makes them better for boats with large stowage capacities. What size should you get? For round fenders, West Marine recommends 2 inches of diameter for every 4 to 5 feet of boat length. So, a boat in the 30- to 35-foot range should use 21-inch-diameter ball fenders; a boat with a length overall of 50 feet or longer should use the larger 27-inch size. MISSION SENTRY FENDERS These new-style fenders were designed…

If you’re in the enviable position of trying to decide between 35 feet or 42 feet of a triple-outboard-powered Scout, you’re in luck: Scout can meet you in the middle with its new 380 LXF. At 38 feet 6 inches long and a hair over 12 feet wide, the 380 LXF we tested used three Mercury Verado 350 outboards (Yamaha engines are also an option) to punch on plane in 9.4 seconds and from dead idle to 30 mph in 10 seconds flat. Top speed was 56.4 mph at 6,500 rpm, with the Verados turning 18-pitch Mercury Revolution 4 XP propellers. The 380 is second in command to Scout’s line-leading 420 LXF, but it gives up little ground to its larger sibling. We ran the 380 through some sloppy wind-driven…

While crossover tow boats are not new, in the past, makers presented either a ski-based boat that didn’t wakeboard or surf very well, or a wakeboat that didn’t ski very well. In response to that demand, several manufacturers have introduced true crossover boats capable of doing it all. The Super Air Nautique GS22 stands as a prime example. Utilizing hull features from other, world-record-setting Nautique boats, the GS22 is surprisingly capable in its versatility, in large part because of the customization capabilities of the Nautique Configurable Running Surface (NCRS) tab at the transom. This tab, controlled via a touchscreen at the dash, can be adjusted to change the wake’s shape characteristics based on a rider’s preferences. For the GS22, the NCRS has a ski setting, helping the boat sit at…

On a sunny day in August 2013, a pontoon enthusiast named Brad Rowland fired up the triple 300 hp Mercury ProMax 300x engines on his 25-foot South Bay tritoon and hammered the throttles. He proceeded to rip down the speed run at the Lake of the Ozarks (LOTO) Shootout at a staggering 114 mph, setting a Guinness World Record for the fastest pontoon boat … ever. Wow. To get that record, Rowland had to do a ton of setup and modifications to his boat, as well as tweak the engines and propellers. But going fast in a pontoon boat is no longer as uncommon as you’d think. Several builders we interviewed, including Forest River, PlayCraft and Manitou, offer pontoons that can fly. So, if you’re tired of plodding around the…

This marine-electronics first allows boaters to connect to a UAV, then control the drone and view images from its camera using the Axiom display. The patent-pending technology is currently compatible with DJI Spark and DJI Mavic series UAV video drones (see “Compatible UAV Models”). Features include single-button launch/track/record functions, GPS link for various follow modes, and real-time video streaming to the MFD. It works like this: First you need to update your Axiom or Axiom Pro with the latest Raymarine Lighthouse software — version 3.5 — a free download directly to the MFD. Then pair a drone such as the DJI Mavic Pro (shown left, $1,299, store.dji.com) with the MFD. Press Take Off to launch the UAV and track it with a live-chart display on one side of the Axiom…

Debuting in North America just around the time you read this, the new Jeanneau NC 1095 capitalizes on the advantages of outboard engines. This midsize cruiser promises the comfortable and convenient combination of performance, efficiency, quiet, and ease of use and maintenance. The NC 1095 will be the flagship of Jeanneau's NC line, with a hull specifically designed to excel while utilizing up to twin 300 hp outboard propulsion. Beyond outboards, key features include an innovative layout that gives the owners a choice of having either two or three staterooms. Imagine privacy for an extended family or three couples. The enclosed head includes a separate shower, a freshwater toilet, and an opening port along with the stylish fixtures, fittings and cabinetry. The galley is “up” in the deckhouse abaft the…

Maybe it won’t plane quickly enough, the rough-water handling is unpredictable, or the propeller ventilates in hard turns. For many, top speed is the issue; who wouldn’t want a few more miles per hour? Whatever your speed concern, it can probably be improved — though it may not be cheap or easy. Here are eight tips for improving speed and acceleration. VIDEOS AND PHOTOS: DOCUMENT THE PROGRESS What once was a pain (a friend with a camcorder) is now easy-peasy. Have your buddy use a phone to video your boat at speed so you can critique its performance. This is a great way to show setup experts and prop shops. Look to see if all or most spray exits the boat at the transom (none or very little exiting the…

Sometimes I feel guilty about the way we test powerboats. We warm them up, firewall the throttles, spin the helm for some hard-over turns, and once we’ve made a few, we steer back over the doubled-up wakes to see if the boat can handle the rollers without rattling the screws and fasteners. It’s not so much “rode hard and put away wet” as it is put away panting. But the 385SE barely noticed our abusive handling, and when we finished, it was like a horse still too frisky to walk to the paddock. It’s cause to pause when a boat like this can jump up on plane (in about 4.5 seconds) and hit a top speed of over 57 mph, but that’s what the three Yamaha F300 outboards did to…

Those are my favorite words in Alan Jackson’s ballad “Drive.” It poignantly records the moment in boating that imprints the experience permanently in boaters’ must-do-it brain sector. I remember my first boating experience exactly that way. My first boat ride, in a 15-foot Starcraft, infected me with the boating bug at age 10. But 30 years ago, the infection went airborne the first time I rode on the flying bridge of an Islamorada sport-fisher. From the bridge, I could spot fish invisible to the crew in the cockpit. A sea turtle passed below, rounding a coral head in 30 feet of water. Everywhere I looked, the navigable water was topaz, and the passages between coral and sandbars were as evident as if a chart was laid across the sea. No,…

Watching a 27-plus-foot pontoon rise up on its sponsons and rocket down the lake at 60-plus mph is, well, surreal. It’s like watching a Boeing 777 lift off. Your first thought is, “How does it fly?” In the case of the pontoon (and the 777, for that matter), it’s a matter of meticulous engineering, testing and plain-old brute power. A big ’toon is long, wide and heavy, and blows through the air and over the water like a brick — so it needs big engines, and years of setup savvy, to get it flying. Much of the initial groundwork accolades for fast pontoons must certainly go to one man: Jim Dorris, founder and owner of PlayCraft Boats. Dorris has built, set up, won races and set records in just about…

When he walked into the Lake View Inn, our old friend Malcolm Sohm was greeted with a resounding chorus of “Goof! Goof!” It was not a derisive chant. Only the IRS and the DMV know the man as Malcolm. To the world at large he’s known as Goofy, a nickname he’s owned since 1972. How Malcolm became Goofy is a long story that involves green beer for lunch on St. Patrick’s Day, a Santa suit and a minibike, and an ill-fated dare to lap the halls of Oshkosh High School. “What a goofy thing to do!” exclaimed Principal Rohm as Malcolm lay sprawled on the terrazzo. It was that easy. Life for Goofy and his wife, Terry, took a turn for the worse in 1995 when their 21-year-old daughter was…