Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2017 i Boating

It’s the start of watersports season. Let’s make sure you’re armed with enough knowledge about the boats designed just for them. — Eric Colby (Answers on page 28) 1. There are two common types of transmissions for inboard-powered boats. One is called directdrive. What is the other? A. Z-drive B. V-drive C. M-drive D. H-drive 2. What do most people consider the biggest advantage of a V-drive? A. Cockpit and seating space B. Better hole shot C. Better ride D. More space for a bigger engine 3. If a boat doesn’t have ballast, what do manufacturers use to create and shape wakes? A. A foil that drops down at the stern of the boat B. Trim tabs C. Plates mounted vertically to the back of the boat D. All of…

I learned to water-ski behind the family’s old lapstrake Lyman with a 40 hp Evinrude. It proved more than capable of hoisting 8-year-old me out of the water on two skis. But as I grew older and wanted to slalom, it didn’t have the juice to pull me up. So I learned to get up on two skis and drop one. Here’s how. — Pete McDonald QUICK TIP If you start to lose your balance after you’ve dropped the ski, a good trick is to drag your free toes in the water to steady yourself. STEP 1 Choose a slalom ski with an open binding — also called a rear toe plate — for the back foot. Many recreational-level skis not designed for competition will have this feature. Put your…

MORE ONLINE To see a photo gallery of the Jeanneau Leader 30, visit boatingmag.com/3014. The Leader 30, the entrylevel boat for the Jeanneau Leader series, is also the only one with a fully open cockpit. Starting with a hull designed by Michael Peters, Jeanneau has managed to fit a surprising amount of living space into the cockpit and, somehow, into a cabin with an outward appearance belying its capacious and comfortable interior accommodations. The cockpit has thoughtful touches, including seatbacks that fold outward in order to create a sun pad, a backrest that becomes a helm companion seat, a mini galley with sink and refrigerator, plus a folding dining table for alfresco meals. Entertaining crew should prove easy aboard the Leader 30. Belowdecks, we admit to being impressed by the…

Y ou need look no further than the local lake, bay or harbor to confirm the popularity of stand-up paddleboards and kayaks. In fact, on some days, human-powered craft are so numerous, they can pose a navigation challenge to traditional boaters. But everyone has a right to enjoy the water in whichever way they desire, right? Why not do both? Maybe you want to raft up at the sandbar next weekend and break out the SUP to mingle with the crowd. Or you might cruise to a secluded bay, get out your board and enjoy some solitude. There are also some remote wilderness no-motor zones in the Florida Everglades and elsewhere that restrict entry to paddlecraft only. You can anchor outside and then paddle in. Really adventurous boaters take their…

The rusty treble hook was lost under the helm console of the Yar-Craft a season or two ago. The hook was found by Dan the Outboard Man when he shimmied below the console on his back. This was unfortunate for Dan and also for my good friend Chuck Larson who, as owner of the Yar-Craft, would be held responsible for the rusty treble hook getting embedded in Dan’s left shoulder blade. Stray fishing hooks top the list of hazards marine techs face, and he has no charity for the boat owner who carelessly puts him in peril. It was a classic case of no good deed going unpunished. Because the marina shop was so backed up, Dan had agreed to work freelance on a Sunday morning and install a new…

In July 2015, I purchased my first boat, a 1985 Larson Senza Cuddy, from Craigslist. I immediately took it to a mechanic for a once-over. He replaced the impeller and distributor cap, changed the oil and filters, and said it looked great and ran like a champ, which it certainly did. I took the boat out on the water, and everything worked well for a cheap starter boat. Before too long, we found ourselves paddling the boat out of the cove and into the main channel, hoping to run across another boat that could give us a jump-start. Since the maiden voyage went so well, I invited several friends for an outing. We went to Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, a 70-mile-long reservoir with 500- to 700-foot-tall nearly vertical cliffs…

NAUTICAL NO-NO This bow thruster literally disappeared from under a boat that was about a week old. The culprit? Extreme corrosion caused by electrical current leaking out into the water. Here’s the inside story: The bow thruster was installed under a berth in the forward cabin. Unfortunately, the person who installed the bow thruster at the factory neglected to install an insulating rubber boot on the DC positive terminal that supplied power to the motor. The new owner decided to use the extra space under the berth for storage and must have bumped something into the positive terminal, bending the lug so that it touched the case of the motor. This created a low-level electrical contact with the housing that went directly to the thruster’s lower-drive unit, which allowed battery-level…

A spotlight is one of the handiest marine accessories to have aboard. It can help you find a navigation aid or landmark in the dark. A spotlight can also help you find things dropped in the water — if the thing floats, or the water is shallow and clear. It can also be a safety aid, used to signal for help or warn other boats of a hazard in the water. Here’s what to look for in a marine spotlight, whether for your existing boat or as an option aboard a boat you are buying. — Kevin Falvey BUILT-IN This rugged ACR RCL-100 LED searchlight tilts and rotates. HAND-HELD This West Marine LED spotlight is waterproof and runs on a rechargeable battery. BUILT-IN The particulars of the installation have a…

SCAN ME Watch a video highlighting key features of this boat by scanning this tag or visiting boatingmag.com/3012. At the dock, the Supra SE 550 doesn’t need any signs to tell you the making of an epic surf wake is hidden under the multicolored, highly glossed gelcoat. There need be no carnival hawker saying step this way for the boat of your dreams. No bullhorn or any other retail tricks will be needed to coax watersports enthusiasts and day-cruising fanatics alike to slip behind the helm of this machine. A It is clear there is ample horsepower beneath the engine hatch. Its Indmar Raptor 6.2-liter 440 hp beast rumbles quietly, awaiting you to shove off, loop a rope over the tow point, and surf its unparalleled wake from left to…

MORE ONLINE Check out the surfing action in this boat’s wake at boatingmag.com/ sea-ray-slx-w-230. How about a single inboard 23-footer that’s easy to maneuver dockside and creates excellent wakesurfing waves? Try Sea Ray’s SLX-W 230. We put a novice boat handler at the helm for part of our test. Utilizing the optional Mercury Marine Joystick Piloting for Inboards (JPI), she docked the boat with ease in a breeze. JPI is intuitive: Bend the stick and that’s the way the boat moves, including sideways. The software coordinates bow and stern thrusters with the shifting of the engine’s gears. nder the hatch, our tester concealed one of the first engines to come off the line in Mercury’s Towsports Inboard series. With power and torque characteristics optimized for low-speed operation and carrying ballast,…

PULL POWER MercCruiserÕs new 6.2L tow-sports V-8 inboard comes in 370 and 320 hp versions. Mercury MerCruiser’s new 6.2-liter V-8 series includes two inboard motors designed to deliver torque curves and features that optimize the performance and enjoyment of wakeboard and wakesurf boats, as well as old-school ski boats. This engine is built from the main bolts up by Mercury and is also available in sterndrive iterations. Offered in 320 and 370 hp inboard tow-boat versions that make 400 and 410 foot-pounds of maximum torque at 3,750 rpm, respectively, the push-rod platform features multiport electronic fuel injection and two valves per cylinder. Both models are engineered to run on 87-octane gasoline and weigh in at 862 pounds. Freshwater closed cooling and DTS (digital throttle and shift) are optional for both.…

THE SUPREME S226 creates a fun wave that can be adapted to suit riders of all ages and skill levels. Besides that, with its pickle-fork bow and custom vinyl wrap, it’s a boat that will turn heads on the water. The Supreme’s V-hull design and Stinger Wake Plate help create the wave. Thanks to the QuickFill ballast system, this Supreme is ready to be surfed in mere moments. QuickFill floods the ballast using gravity, and it takes the stress out of a chore that’s usually time-consuming. It produces 1,000 pounds of ballast in minutes. Toss in Supreme’s Plug and Play ballast bags, which add another 1,100 pounds of ballast, and you’re looking at a boat that has awesome displacement for generating waves. You can also opt for QuickSurf on the…

Wakesurfing and wakeboarding are all about getting big air, and sometimes it takes more than what’s in the boat. Adding weight in the right places in your boat is one of the best ways to influence wake size and shape. We took a look at three ballast bags in a similar weight range. BALLAST 1 Fits inside the engine compartment of a V-drive boat. RONIX EIGHT.3 TELESCOPE THE HEAVY: The Eight.3 Telescope is called a V-drive sac because it’s designed to fit in the rear compartment of a V-drive boat, which is how the typical tow-sports boat is powered, but Ronix says owners of direct-drive boats also like the bag because it holds 800 wake-shaping pounds. Made from the same material as the Fly High sac, it features a trapezoidal…

DIY + Weekend Workbook SKILL LEVEL 1 OF 5 FINISH TIME Approx. 2 hours TOOLS AND SUPPLIES • SeaStar Solutions Helm Service Kit, No. HP6032 ($9.99, westmarine.com) • SeaStar hydraulic fluid ($24.99 per quart, jamestown distributors.com) • SeaStar Steering Fill Kit, No. HA5438 ($15.92, wholesale marine.com) • Socket wrench and deep socket set • Torque wrench • Box/open-end wrench set • Phillips-head screwdriver • Phillips-head socket (for torque wrench) • 4-inch wheel puller ($31.80, lowes.com) • Cup and clean shop rags (to catch and clean up spilled hydraulic fluid) • Marine grease The most ubiquitous hydraulic steering system for outboard-powered boats is made by SeaStar Solutions (previously known as Teleflex). Helms for the company’s BayStar (helm model HH4314-3), SeaStar (helm model HH5271-3) or SeaStar Pro (helm model HH5770-3) are among…

You know you didn’t hit bottom, but suddenly hatch hinges clatter, and a tingle in your feet travels up your spine. Jeff Fay, owner of Fay’s Boat Yard off New Hampshire’s Lake Winnipesaukee, explains how to track down and fix inboard engine vibrations. First, don’t overlook the propeller. A floating four-by-four can knock a blade out of pitch without visible signs. Check the shaft too. “If the tip of a propeller blade is bent over, there is a good chance the shaft is bent,” Fay says. Place a dial indicator at the taper and rotate the shaft, looking for no more than two-thousandths of wobble. Check long shafts in the middle for no more than fivethousandths variance. Struts don’t become misaligned without a hard grounding, but cutlass bearings can wear…

SCAN ME To watch our video review of the Chaparral 246 SSi Surf, scan this tag or visit boatingmag .com/3013. When you look at the brands that play in Chaparral’s waters, there are only a handful: Cobalt, Monterey and Sea Ray are the first three brands our team ponders. These are the companies that make a top-quality runabout with a trimmable drive for smooth riding in rough seas, ultimate maneuverability and easy maintenance. Those are all attributes of these premium luxury runabout builders and the running characteristics key to sterndrives. But that paradigm is changing and the field of competitors narrowing thanks to Volvo Penta’s new Forward Drive system that creates a drive system with the W best of both sterndrive and pod-drive systems. And the new twist they bring is…

With my feet planted on a surfb oard and gliding on a perfect wave behind a loaded MasterCraft XStar, I had one goal in mind: to let go of the rope. It went against everything I’d learned about tow sports over the years of water skiing, wakeboarding and wakeskating. The rope has been an essential part of the equation. But here, today, to do this right, I had to let go and let the boat’s massive wake do the work. Thankfully, I had Travis Moye calling out to me from the back of the boat, teaching me how. getting started The Boarding School sits on an 88-acre plot of land with three interconnected private lakes, about a half-hour drive from the Orlando International Airport. Turning onto the road into the…

How to keep electronics in top shape Touchscreen displays make marine electronics easier and faster to use than ever. Once you use a touchscreen, you’ll never want to go back to the old-fashioned push-button mode of operation. Th ink in terms of today’s touchscreen smartphones — would you ever want to go back to a flip phone? Today’s marine units are built tough for life aboard a boat. Yet some simple steps will ensure that your displays — be they touchscreen or not — stay clear and last as long as possible. STOW If your electronics displays are bracket-mounted, remove and stow them indoors between trips. This will minimize weather exposure and thwart would-be thieves. Transport your equipment securely between the boat and storage location. Keep displays where they won’t…