Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2015 i Boating

Ask any boater: There’s no place like a lighthouse — especially on one of those dark and stormy nights. Now you can have one of your very own. That’s right: Waterfront property (that’s a guarantee), excellent views, bragging rights out the wazoo! How’s this possible? Following Sept. 11, when the U.S. government realized that the true danger to Americans lay not in boating accidents but in terrorism, it slashed the Coast Guard’s budget for upkeep of structures. Ever since, the Coasties have literally given away six to eight lighthouses every year. “It’s a smoking deal for waterfront property,” says Nick Korstad, proud owner of Borden Flats Lighthouse in Massachusetts. The easiest way to start is at disposal.gsa.gov/LighthouseProgram. The government offers two kinds: There’s the type you buy at auction and…

This month we’re all about celebrating power, whether it’s compression or combustion, whatever makes your boat go. Maybe you’re not sure of your best power choice, so here’s what we recommend. 1 Take a look at our head-to-head comparison of an outboard, sterndrive and jet drive in the same boat model. Go to boatingmag.com/outboard-vs-sterndrive-vs-jetdrive. 2 If you’re thinking about repowering, follow the seven tips at boatingmag.com/seven-engine-repowering-tips. 3 Choosing for a pontoon? We’ve got you totally covered at oatingmag.com/boats/choosing-right-pontoon-boat-engine.…

A boat heater can help extend your boating season by keeping crew members comfy when there’s a chill in the air. One of the most effective for inboard or sterndrive boats is the Heater Craft hydronic marine heater, which works much like your car heater, using hot cooling water from the engine and a variable-speed fan to feed warm air to vents at various places in the boat. Before installation, lay out the system to make sure the mounting location of the heating unit and the routing of the hoses will work. You might also need to adapt some of the plumbing fittings depending on how the cooling system on your particular inboard engine is configured. Here’s an example of how we installed the twin-outlet 28,000 Btu Heater Craft 200…

A ROUND TWO YEARS AGO THE GERMAN builder Bavaria Yachts imported its acclaimed Virtess 420 Fly, a boat that had previously garnered a European Boat of the Year award. Bavaria applied the same sound construction techniques to its Sport 360 Coupe, a smaller and sleeker vessel with an enclosed helm. We noted that right away taking a seat at the wheel. The windshield mullions are solid and sturdy, yet thinner than what you’d find on comparable boats, allowing for an unobstructed view from the helm. The helm seat has both a flip-up bolster and a flip-down teak footrest, as well as a molded-in toe rest in the console. This gives the captain choices — sitting or standing depending on conditions and personal comfort. Our test model came equipped with twin…

MAXIMIZING INTERIOR SPACE AND stowage was a design goal for the 19-foot-2-inch Larson LXH 190 OB, and both the broad bow and outboard power contribute in that regard. Up front, the wide gunwales are clipped off in a “pickle fork” bow peak to create a wider seating area. Larson says its proprietary VEC closed-mold process, which forms the hull and stringer grid as a single piece, drops the bow sole about 2 inches for more legroom and additional stowage space below each seat. Because it’s VEC, all the stowage has a smooth, easy-to-clean finish. EXTRA POINT Like a belt and suspenders, the combination of gas struts and snap-down pin fittings on the hinged seat bases will keep them secure on the highway. The clever boater appreciates the weight- and space-saving…

THIS ISN’T THE FIRST TIME A MARINE-ENGINE COMPANY HAS PRODUCED A PURPOSE-BUILT ENGINE specifically for sterndrive and inboard applications (remember the MerCruiser 470?). But by and large, Mercury Marine and others have always used marinized General Motors and sometimes Ford engines. The new Mercury 6.2L that I tested is a completely new animal from the oil pan up. New Evolution Available as either a 350 or 300 hp engine, the 6.2L boasts great intake noise reduction and better efficiency. Merc engineers designed a new air intake resonator and combined it with a simple 180-degree change in the air intake for the throttle body EFI. Facing the intake aft eliminates a large portion of intake and engine noise, especially when the throttle is cracked. Simple! A new scrolled intake manifold with…

Can cool technology really make you think you’ve died and gone to heaven? Yup, I’m here to tell you it can. We had our boat for 10 years before I finally broke into the piggy bank and bought an autopilot (the very essence of cool technology). Oh my gosh, I thought, this is the best thing I ever did for the boat — and for us. Now we can let go of the wheel and pay attention to other stuff while Buzz (we named it Buzz because of the little sound it makes when steering) keeps us on track. So, yeah, a piece of cool technology can really make you think you’ve died and gone to heaven. If you don’t want to actually die and go to wherever you’re likely…

The award-winning Brazilian photojournalist is a vocal advocate for protecting whales and sharks worldwide. While he’s frequently recognized for his remarkable underwater images, he earned special acclaim while working in the Arctic two years ago. There, he befriended and photographed a female narwhal — one of the rarest whales in the world, often called the unicorn of the sea. MORE ONLINE! To read the full interview online, go to boatingmag.com/danielbotelho. What inspired you to do this? I did a coast-to-coast backpacking trip in the United States at age 16, and I went home with 70 rolls of film. After that trip, photography never left my life. What’s most challenging about underwater photography? You are in an environment that is not natural to humans, sometimes burdened with big, heavy diving gear…

Ford Trucks’ optional new Pro Trailer Backup Assist on its 2016 F-150 pickups eases the task of backing up a boat trailer. With the Pro Trailer Backup Assist engaged via the menu in-cluster display, a small dial to the right of the wheel steers the trailer in reverse. I found the system remarkably intuitive. Once you get the trailer pointed where you want it, let go of the dial and the rig automatically straightens itself out (even if jackknifed) as you continue to use the accelerator and brake to back up. There is a one-time setup process for each trailer. You place a small checkerboard sticker on the trailer tongue, and then the menu guides you through a series of calibrations. It takes about five to 10 minutes. The truck…

SEA RAY’S 270 SUNDECK OB MELDS A SPORT boat’s handling and style with several layout elements of a deck boat. Powered by a single outboard, it offers shallower draft and enhanced corrosion resistance versus sterndrive power and lower sound levels underway compared with a jet. Big enough to transit open stretches of water, the 270 Sundeck OB remains trailerable. In all, it just may be the perfect runabout. Or is it? The broad bow of the Sea Ray 270 Sundeck OB indicates its deck boat DNA, and delivers oodles more lounging room than the V-shaped space of a bowrider. In fact, close inspection shows that this boat has less taper aft than most runabouts as well, and so provides extra roominess throughout. Aft of the deep, draining cockpit a broad…

WE SAY Saying that pontoon builders are expanding the boundaries of their boats’ capabilities is beginning to sound like a broken record. Yet I’m going to say it again because Bennington’s 30 Club is another boat that shatters preconceived notions of a pontoon. At over 30 feet long and with a 10-foot-wide beam, the 30 Club has the deck space to hold 21 people. Bennington adorned our test model with its Club layout, one of five possible floor plans for this 30-footer. No matter the layout, the running surface underneath is the same: three 25-by-32-inch elliptical pontoons. Lifting strakes and foils improve performance and handling; we executed tight turns with inboard heel at 30 mph on test day. The Yamaha outboards displayed some serious midrange oomph, kicking to a new…

WE RUN A BOSTON WHALER 270 DAUNTLESS WITH SINGLE- AND TWINOUTBOARD ENGINES. WHICH WILL BEST SUIT YOUR BOATING STYLE? 27-foot center-console boat with a single engine? What a silly idea. It’s surely underpowered and missing twin-engine redundancy. It must be an unrealistic loss-leader that Boston Whaler set up to attract customers whom the sales folks will quickly convince to upgrade to a proper pair of twins. Or is it? In today’s boating world, we assume that a 27-foot center-console has a deep-V hull (20 to 24.5 degrees of deadrise), weighs 5,000 to 6,000 pounds, and is designed to run offshore. Ergo, it needs twin engines. That’s a reasonable assumption, but it’s not always true. We ran the same model boat with both a single Mercury 300 hp Verado and twin…

The first time I ran a boat with a step hull, I was a bundle of nerves, my mind abuzz with stories of stepped racing hulls, throttles pinned, the driver hanging onto the ragged edge of control, each high-speed run fraught with the potential for disastrous spinouts or a stuffing of the bow. My test boat, however, was no racing machine. Rather it was a Contender 35ST center-console saltwater fishing boat powered by triple 300 hp outboards. The ride was indeed exhilarating, but the boat also proved delightfully easy to drive, eventually quelling my case of nerves. Even at wide-open throttle across 3-foot seas, the step hull never exhibited a hint of instability. High-speed turns were smooth and predictable. On down-sea runs, the bow refused to dip or stuff into…

In 2012 Humminbird introduced 360 Imaging ($1,499) , which employs a puck-style transducer on a retractable shaft. When lowered in the water upon activation, it sweeps the area around and under the boat much like radar. Instead of reading the scan in past tense, this scan puts you in the middle of a circular real-time image (right) on a compatible Humminbird MFD. Instead of recoloring fish, it relies on the high, bright contrast of such targets to reveal them. Both 360 Imaging and StructureScan 3-D are effective in revealing fish and their cover and contours beneath the surface. Both allow setting GPS waypoints by touching sonar targets on the screen. Now that I’ve seen how these tools work, I doubt I’ll ever enjoy fishing as much without them.…

When Roger O’Neill sold his large manufacturing company in 1998, he started to spend a lot of time on boats, but not in the way you’d imagine. Instead of living the cruising life, he put his nautical passions into restoring classic 28 Bertrams and Blackfins. His rebuilds grew so popular with fans that one asked if O’Neill could also apply that kind of craftsmanship to a pontoon boat. Out of that, the O’Neill Craft was born. “I call it a poncruiser,” said O’Neill. “It’s a cross between a classic cruiser and a pontoon boat.” O’Neill’s custom poncruisers cost in the six-figure range, once prohibitive in aluminum pontoon boats but now becoming more common. He builds a Hardtop version and a Sportsman, which has an open cockpit with a retractable canvas…

A DAY ON THE WATER THESE DAYS COULD INVOLVE blasting tunes through a stereo system more powerful than what was found in most 20th-century homes, working the ice maker and blender, and utilizing a slew of electrically actuated gadgets on your boat. All of which can take a collective toll on your 12-volt system. Traditionally, the batteries rejuvenate via the alternator that’s been factory-installed in whatever choice of power you have on board. But with everything running all the time, and more time spent juicing at low or idle speed, is it time for a high-amp alternator? For guidance, we reached out to Richard Jones, the owner of Wakespeed, a company that builds high-amp alternators, mostly for the tow-boat industry. “The concept of the highoutput alternator isn’t new, although it’s…

THAT HUNT YACHTS’ 32 CC PERFORMS better than most boats should come as no surprise, given Hunt’s legacy and the fact that many other builders utilize Hunt’s design services. Notable is that the 32 CC maintains better than 1 mpg efficiency no matter how hard and how fast you run it. The 32 CC also achieves plane without an abrupt hump, an ability appreciated for the clear sight lines it provides as well as for being related to this boat’s ability to maintain plane at just 11.8 knots. Staying on top at slow speed is appreciated for maintaining steerage in rough weather or while running in the dark. Hard-over turns at 5,000 rpm proved the boat will tolerate overexuberant helmspersons (or emergency maneuvers). EXTRA POINT Your boat name and hailing…

WE SAY Starcraft’s 186 Superfisherman combines aluminum torsion-beam construction and 19 degrees of deadrise at the transom. That means that this dual-console can tame the big waters where anglers find walleye and lake trout. Twenty-eight-inch-high gunwales in the cockpit offer security, while the 58-inch-long by 68-inch-wide bow platform provides plenty of room to fish. Three custom pedestal seats fit in six separate seat bases, letting you mix and match the seating. A pair of jump seats fold open from the 79-inch-wide rear casting platform. Eleven-inch-wide carpeted gunwales can be fitted with optional rod-holder tracks. The bow comes pre-wired for a trolling motor. Keeping your gear secure is lockable stowage for rods up to 8½ feet under the vinyl nonskid sole, as well as locking stowage in the sides for rods…

3-D Sonar We’ll say it right up front: With StructureScan 3-D sonar from Navico, you peel back the water on a Lowrance or Simrad multifunction display (MFD) to reveal fish, weeds, ditches, wrecks and whatever else lurks beneath the water’s surface — all around you. When I saw it, I struggled not to applaud. It is that good. — Randy Vance Some of our readers might remember being impressed with the first paper graphs introduced in the 1970s. They offered only a thin slice of that coverage without context of its surroundings. Thirty years later side-scan sonar gave a 2-D look at the bottom that was — and still is — revolutionary. Compatible with Lowrance HDS Gen3 (left) and Simrad NSS and NSO evo2 MFDs, StructureScan 3-D matches GPS points…

The Cold Cooler Coleman provided three of its new Esky 55-quart bear-proof (label says it’s certified so) coolers. The latches are firm silicone and swing away, allowing the corklike lid and gasket to close snugly without snagging the latches. The hinges are integrated — probably helping with that bear problem. Two inches of insulation on the sides and 2½ inches on the top and bottom keep it cold inside. The shell has antimicrobial and ultraviolet protected surfaces. Attach a hose to the small drain (smaller drains allow less warm air to enter) to carry the water off the deck, if you desire. For fast draining, open the oversize drain and stand back for a gusher. Keepers on the drains hold them to the threads unless you want to remove them.…