Boating is the world's foremost magazine for boating enthusiasts. Written by experts for those who love the sport, the editorial covers the waterfront -- from runabouts to sportfish convertibles to luxury showpieces, and everything in between.
“I duct-taped myself in place aboard a Fountain last week and collected fuel-burn numbers at over 90 mph. Still want the job?” WHEN I FIRST JOINED THE crew at Boating, back in the days before Al Gore invented the Internet, and we still used real film photography, David Seidman explained to me the use of a device he’d created called the Seid-Flow. The Seid-Flow was a graduated canister, fitted with valves and intended to be plumbed into a boat’s fuel system so that Boating’s boat testers could collect fuel-burn data. Besides no Internet, accurate fuel-burnrate data for gasoline marine engines was also scarcer than gull’s teeth in those days. But because boaters relied upon fuelburn-rate information to help them make their boat-purchase decisions, as they do now, Seidman invented the…
Underwater welding is dangerous work: Its 15 percent fatality rate makes it 1,000 times more deadly than law enforcement. When Bernacki came to the Divers Institute of Technology 22 years ago, underwater welding was more of a temporary fix until engineers could find a permanent solution. Today, these wet welds are becoming permanent. We asked Bernacki, the head welding instructor, about the job. MORE ONLINE! To read the full interview, scan this tag or go to boating mag.com/welder. How did you get into this job? I went to dive school in ’93 because I was a welder, and I was moving to Hawaii, so I figured I’d add that to my skills. What makes it so dangerous? Danger comes in all different forms: cold water, murky water, etc. The most…
E-SeaRider Marine Medium Teardrop Longneck THE COMFY: It measures 33 inches wide by 44 inches long by 30 inches tall and contains 12 cubic feet of packing. It provides full body support from the top of the head to the back of the knees for those up to 6 feet 2 inches tall and 230 pounds. Twin handles let users hang on and can serve as tie downs. It comes in a wide variety of colors. THE HARD: At $119.95, it could be tough to buy enough to keep everyone happy. (This is true for all three beanbags we tested.) The name is easiest to get wrong in a Google search. PRICE: $119.95; e-searider.com Ocean-Tamer Marine Teardrop Medium Longneck THE COMFY: It’s designed with a flat, round bottom that provides…
Boeing’s new Echo Voyager submersible is pretty cool. You cruise out of the inlet, jump on a waiting tender to go back ashore, and then meet your boat days later, hundreds of miles away. In the interim, the boat navigates itself, unmanned, to that cruising destination. Science fiction? Nope. Boeing’s new extra-large unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) does exactly that, saving the time, expense and weather constraints of a large, crewed submarine tender. After a short tow into open water, “With the mast raised, radar and AIS help Voyager sense and avoid other craft,” says Dan Tubbs, who oversees sea and land projects for Boeing Phantom Works. Dodging ships is easier beneath the waves, where Voyager cruises for two full days before surfacing for a six-and-ahalf-hour, diesel-powered recharge. Once arriving at…
Highway Towing Taking your boat on a road trip? You should know that towing laws vary from state to state, particularly if you have a boat with a beam wider than 8 feet 6 inches. Take this quiz to see if you’re ready to hit the road. — Eric Colby (Answers on page 28) 1 How many states require a wide-load permit for trailers wider than 8 feet 6 inches? A. 50 B. 48 C. 47 D. 45 2 Texas is known for having difficult wideload requirements. What surety bond value does the Lone Star State require for towing a wide load? A. $1,000 B. $2,500 C. $5,000 D. $10,000 3 Prior to towing a wide load, which state requires the boat’s insurance company to fax a specific form? A.…
IN HIS SEAMANSHIP COLUMN FOR BOATING’S JULY 1960 ISSUE, Elbert Robberson wrote: “In daylight, objects around you are easy to identify. They are big or little, short or long, round or square, and they appear very plainly to be bridges, docks, land, beacons, buoys, or boats of various kinds heading one way or another. But at night, all of these familiar shapes disappear, and all that is left are pinpoints of light: some white, some green, some red, orange or whatever. If you cannot ‘read’ these lights, you should be ashore, preferably at home, studying navigation lights.” A lot about boating has changed in the decades since Robberson penned these words, but the need for understanding navigation lights is a seamanship skill that still applies today. This is precisely why…
