Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2015 i Boating

1 INSULATION Look for an insulated floor to help prevent hypothermia. The RescYou Pro six-person has an insulated double floor to help stem hypothermia when floating in cold-water conditions. 2 UP AND IN Boarding ramps are better for entering the raft than ladders. 3 BETTER THAN ONE Make sure the raft you choose has at least two independent buoyancy chambers. 4 BAG IT Ballast bags, like the four 15-gallon bags on the Viking, help keep the raft stable in heavy seas. 5 BIG ENOUGH? How big is your crew? Look for a raft that meets the Coast Guard standard for 4 cubic feet of space for each person on board. Viking offers rafts for four, six or eight crew members. 6 FLASHER A strobe light on top helps rescuers find…

WHEN YOU BOARD A FORMULA THERE’S an expectation of crisp, sporty lines, above average attention to luxury and comfort, and performance that comes from a company steeped in hot-boat heritage. Formula’s 330 CBR boasts all that and helps define the category of luxury day boat. The twin 430 hp MerCruiser sterndrives proved as responsive to the smooth, short stroke of the throttles as a light switch. When they’re on, they’re on. At high speed, the 330 CBR rides smooth, as would be expected for a boat of its length and weight, but what is not expected is its nimble grace in hard-over turns and its ability to hold speed in them when many boats its size would slow. Joystick controls made the 330 CBR easy to dock in tight spaces,…

WE SAY When does size not matter? When a boatbuilder uses many of the same amenities found on its bigger vessels on the smallest craft in its lineup. Take the Cobalt 200 — and in particular the 200S version we tested — which possesses fit and finish comparable to all of Cobalt’s runabouts. The “S” in the name stands for Cobalt’s sport cockpit layout option. The standard 200 has a rear-facing chaise lounge configuration with a rear-facing backrest on the port console. The S-package consists of forward-facing seating in front of the port console. But the backrest is adjustable so that it can be converted to a rear-facing lounge or fully reclined for a sun pad. One of my favorite features is the signature flip-down swim step on the extended…

The new HDS Gen3 from Lowrance (lowrance.com) reflects the latter. Available in 7-, 9- and 12-inch models, these MFDs combine lightning-fast processors with advanced sonar and chart-plotter technologies. Icon-driven scrolling menus offer access to built-in functions like StructureScan HD and CHIRP sonar, as well as an advanced GPS/chart plotter with built-in Insight USA charts. Even the GPS antenna is built in. You can also run Insight HD and Pro and Insight Genesis, as well as C-MAP MAX-N+ and Navionics electronic charts. Wireless connectivity lets you directly upload mapping and software updates. You can add modules such as Lowrance Broadband radar, SonicHub, SiriusXM, Class B AIS, DSC VHF and Lowrance Outboard Pilot. Lowrance has included a full keyboard to augment the touch-screen display, giving captains the choice, recognizing that buttons are…

Learn more about Wi-Fi range extenders at boatingmag.com. Do you want more Wi-Fi range for your boat? Well, you’re the client, and to get what you want, you need to create a bridge to your local network. Most modern marinas boast a powerful local network using commercial routers and a high-gain antenna, such as the Shakespeare 5248, but if you’re moored at the network’s outskirts, you may have a problem. Or if you’re one of those lucky backyard boaters, getting your house Wi-Fi to the dock isn’t easy either. We tested these devices to solve your problems. Netgear EX6100 Range Extender $80; AMAZON.COM This dual-band Wi-Fi bridge works on both a 2.4 GHz and 5G router. Plug it into any 110-volt outlet between your router and the areas of weak…

March is adventure month here at Boating, and that means it’s time to get out and explore. Not sure where to go? 1 There are six great boating adventures for you to check out at boatingmag.com/bound-boatless-man. 2 Or try making a long-distance trek on a personal watercraft. Visit boatingmag.com/pwc-touring. 3 Why not try swimming with whale sharks? Find out how at boatingmag.com/baja-california-whale-sharks.…

I have always had two boat brushes — one that’s soft for general cleaning and another with stiff bristles for stubborn areas of the nonskid sole. In a stroke of brilliance, Shurhold Industries has created one brush that does both. The new Combo Deck Brush has an outer ring featuring soft fibers for gentle cleaning, while a recessed middle section is armed with stiff bristles for serious scrubbing. I employed the brush to clean the boat, on the morning after a particularly messy evening of lobster fishing, and found the softer red fibers good for sudsing the deck and upholstery. I also used it gently on a few stubborn spots on smooth gelcoat surfaces. When it came to dried pieces of bait on the deck, I pressed harder with the…

If it’s time for a new rub rail on your boat, your choices include semirigid or rigid vinyl models that need to be heated as you bend the material around the stern quarters and bow and require special procedures to join the sections. Over time, however, the joints can separate, creating unsightly gaps in the rub rail. Another choice is a flexible, seamless rub-rail system from companies such as Mate USA (mateusa.com) and Taco Marine (tacomarine.com). Such a system eliminates issues with gaps and is simple to install, as we demonstrate using the Mate USA Radial 40 kit that features a 52-foot coil of 15/8-inch-wide PVC rub rail, eight 6½-foot sections of semirigid track, a pair of end caps for boats with outboard wells and a joint piece for rub…

IT WAS ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH MY SEA trial of the Cruisers Yachts 390 Express Coupe, while motoring in a rather choppy Lower Bay south of New York City, that a memory of the mantra from an old TV beer commercial hit me like a rogue wave: Tastes great! Less filling! Like the brew in the ad, the 390 EC proved possession of two features generally thought incompatible. Open cockpit! Climate controlled! Every boat’s a compromise, right? Well, yeah. But check out the key elements Cruisers Yachts developed to ensure that the 390 EC serves both as a day boat and a cruiser. For one thing, it features an accordion like Taylor Made sunshade that is like nothing I have seen before. Closed, it thwarts rain. Open it up and the…

FILLING A SLOT IN THE YELLOWFIN YACHTS stable between the 24 Bay and the 29 center-console, the new 26 boasts a step amidships and reflects a blend of offshore- and bay-boat features. An upright 50-gallon livewell behind the helm seating and available twin outboards appeal to offshore anglers, while the elevated aft casting deck caters to inshore fishing enthusiasts. The Yellowfin 26 handled predictably whenever we brought it about at high speed with the U-Flex power-assist steering. With 20 degrees of deadrise at the transom, the 26 sliced smoothly through the 2- to 3-foot seas outside the inlet. EXTRA POINT Seat backs in the aft platform lift up in each corner so crew members can take a load off while cruising to a new fishing spot. The splatter-style nonskid sole…

Boston Whaler Everglades Grady-White EXHIBIT A: Pursuit C 260 Center-Console Take a Walk The deck layout of the C 260, like those of nearly all CCs, allow you to move 360 degrees around the interior, offering unfettered access along the rail. This is a great advantage when fishing, especially when following a speedy prey around the boat. With a DC, it is virtually impossible to fight a fish down the rail. Dock Line Logic All-around rail access of the CC design simplifies the task of manning lines. You can stand anywhere along the gunwale, catch a line and walk it either forward or astern to cleat it off. With a DC design, you just can’t do this. Also, the windshields on some DCs interfere with access to the cleats amidships.…

1 Remove the cotter pin and loosen the nuts — a short piece of wooden 4-by-4 between a propeller blade and the boat hull keeps the prop from spinning. Leave one nut where it isn’t quite contacting the hub — about a quarter-inch gap — to stop the prop once it comes loose. We left a larger gap to illustrate. 2 Slip one arm of the Algonac over the hub close to the strut. The other arm fits over the tail end of the shaft. Snug the upper screw to hold the Algonac in place and then tighten the screw at the end of the Algonac farthest from the prop. This pressures the propeller by “pinching” it toward the end of the shaft. 3 The prop should pop off the…

ANYONE WHO FOLLOWS THE LATEST TRENDS in boats — especially those of us who do it for a living — has taken note of the rapid rise in popularity of pontoon boats over the last few years. So it’s no surprise that Bayliner — a company with an ear well tuned to its customers’ feedback — decided to build a boat that appeals to pontoon lovers. Bayliner’s new Element XR7 is a pontoonish boat without the actual aluminum pontoons. Instead, the deck is mated to an honest-to-goodness fiberglass hull, providing an alternative to boaters who love the spaciousness of a pontoon layout but aren’t so enamored with aluminum. ■ NOTEWORTHY In a nod to its pontoon competition, Bayliner protects the XR7’s rear-facing loungers with stainless-steel rails that match the boat’s…

WE SAY Testing World Cat’s 295DC (Dual Console) gave us a chance to compare this hull with its predecessor, the 290DC, which we ran a year prior. World Cat elevated the space between the two sponsons by deepening the hull. The new model reached 30 mph in 6.4 seconds — one second quicker than the 290DC. The updated hull achieved a higher top speed — 47.7 mph versus 46.5 mph for its predecessor. The 295DC remained fairly flat while cornering with the SeaStar Solutions power-assist steering. The port console houses a head compartment with a VacuFlush toilet and vanity with a sink and freshwater faucet, as well as storage for four fishing rods (up to 7 feet). You’ll find a 30-gallon livewell abaft the port bench seat and a 185-quart…

You see them sometimes, the über-wealthy. A Citation Jet taking off for Steamboat or Bermuda. A Ferrari Spider growling along Pacific Coast Highway. Or a Fairline yacht idling past Coral Gables mansions. But you hardly ever see an über-car towing an über-boat to some über-destination. So, like, what’s up with that? Maybe the rich are too busy running hedge funds to take an awesome road trip with an epic car and boat. Since they won’t do it, last summer we decided to give it a try. Turns out, mighty rare are Ferraris with trailer hitches, but Porsches are another matter. The Stuttgart, Germany, company’s Cayenne SUV was actually born and bred to tow, with the range-topping Turbo S belting out 550 horsepower from its 4.8-liter, twin-turbocharged V-8. To put that…

You know the tune. Now try singing it like a sea chantey because marine engine maker Volvo Penta is about to head out on a surfin’ safari. And thanks to an invite by Bryant Boats, Boating got to throw a board in the woody, come along, and share the news with you. THE GREEN ROOM We were granted official clout, so we didn’t have to scale the razor wire surrounding the top-secret Volvo Penta Test Center on Chesapeake Bay to see a prototype of the Forward Drive, a new forward-facing dual-prop drive designed expressly for wakesurfing. The pulling, or “tractor,” props of the Forward Drive are tucked under the boat and about 27 inches farther forward than the props of a Duoprop sterndrive, and thus 27 inches farther away from…