Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2016 i Soundings

While archaeologists spar over treasure hunter Barry Clifford’s claims to have found Christopher Columbus’ flagship off Haiti, amateur historian Manuel Rosa thinks there is reason to suspect the explorer credited with discovering America fudged what happened to the Santa Maria in his journal to mislead the Spanish crown. In a shot across Clifford’s bow, a UNESCO archaeological team sent to dive on his find off Cap Haitien reported that it could not have been Columbus’ flagship. Nieto Prieto, former director of Spain’s National Museum of Underwater Archaeology and an expert on Spanish shipwrecks, says bronze or copper fasteners found at the wreck site near Coque Vieille Reef were used in 17th- and 18th-century shipbuilding. Columbus’ vessels — the Pinta, Niña and Santa Maria — would have been built using iron…

As investigators probed the loss of El Faro and lawyers sued on behalf of some of the 33 crewmembers lost when the cargo ship sank Oct. 1 in Hurricane Joaquin, Maine Maritime Academy mourned the loss of five of its own in the disaster. “This terrible tragedy reminds us that nothing in life is certain,” academy president Bill Brennan told the college’s 950 students at a gathering on its campus in Castine. Maine Maritime lost five graduates when the 790-foot U.S.-flagged roll-on/roll-off, lift-on/lift-off carrier went down in 15,000 feet 35 miles off the southeastern Bahamas’ Crooked and Acklins islands. They were the ship’s captain, Mike Davidson, class of 1988; second mate Danielle Randolph, 2005; and third assistant engineers Mitchell Kuflik, 2011, Mike Holland, 2012, and Dylan Meklin, 2015. “Our community…

Your options for powering an electric windlass vary with boat size and type. Powerboats and sailboats have different considerations in terms of available space, weight placement and charging ability for a remote battery. These considerations are unique to every boat and must be weighed carefully. Windlass motors demand high current consumption for brief periods, so cabling must be sized for a maximum 10 percent voltage drop. Powering from an existing battery bank is the simplest method, as a means of recharging is already available and all that’s required is adequate cabling and suitable overcurrent protection. However, using the existing bank, which is typically aft, may require very heavy cabling because of the distance from the bank to the bow. The high cost of cable and the demands of running heavy…

FOR A RENDERING OF THE SHOW SPACES AND A MAP, VISIT soundingsonline.com/miamishows Among the nautically obsessed who trek each February to the big boating extravaganza in Miami, some are unaware that these events are actually two independent boat shows that run simultaneously. Both are due for big changes this year, so here’s a primer to get you up to speed. 600,000 square feet of exhibitor space at the Miami boat show Miami International Boat Show Feb. 11-15 Although court challenges remain, the 75th annual Miami International Boat Show is expected to go on as planned at a new venue, Miami Marine Stadium Park & Basin on Virginia Key. The city of Miami is investing $20 million to redevelop the land around the abandoned waterfront stadium into a “flex park” —…

Dieter Loibner’s “Taking It To The Extreme” in the November issue was a brilliant piece of sailing journalism. I have been following Comanche’s progress since I saw her under wraps at the Hodgdon yard in Maine. (They revealed nothing, said it was secret). The innovation and skill in the build continues a tradition of New England and Maine boatbuilding that dates back to the 18th century. Her speed, too, follows in the wake of the Mainebuilt clipper ships that set records. Loibner told the Comanche story from every angle — design, build, purpose, results and insight into the personalities of both owner and skipper — so well that I felt briefed on the whole process. Comanche’s story has been told in some of the other excellent yachting magazines, but I…

If you love wooden boats, there’s a good chance you’ve been smitten by a couple of Sam Devlin designs. After more than 35 years in business, there are hundreds of Devlins afloat around the world, from skiffs to daysailers to tugs. Devlin is the king of stitch-and-glue building, which he says results in a stronger, better one-piece boat that is faster to construct, requires no expensive molding and is easier to maintain. The process involves using wire sutures to hold panels of wood together until they are joined permanently with epoxy and fiberglass tape. Fiberglass or Dynel cloth is used to sheath the entire hull, and any exposed wood is coated with epoxy. The last step is coating the boat with high-quality marine paint. The results speak for themselves —…

Protector Targa 30 LENGTH: 30 feet, 6 inches BEAM: 9 feet, 6 inches HULL DRAFT: 2 feet, 1 inch DEADRISE: 23 degrees WEIGHT: 7,900 pounds FUEL CAPACITY: 130 gallons PRICE: $249,000 (fully rigged, with engines and electronics) CONTACT: Protector Boats, Warren, Rhode Island, (508) 332-8381. protectorboats.com When it comes to boats these days, “supersize me” seems to be the trend. This year saw introductions of a 53-foot center console with quadruple 557-hp engines strapped to the stern, a 31-foot pontoon boat with triple 300-hp outboards and a few big sportfishing yachts powered by as many as 5,200 ponies. Even rigid hull inflatables seem to be getting in on the “bigger is better” action. A Google search shows 24- to 46-foot center console and enclosed pilothouse RIBs with as much as…

Boston Whaler continues to update its Outrage line with the addition of the 330, which supplants the 320 Outrage, a boat that had been in production for about 10 years. New from the keel up, the 330 Outrage was designed to tackle rough offshore water, says Jeff Vaughn, Boston Whaler vice president of sales, marketing and customer service. “With the Outrage models, we’re more concerned about offshore performance than with any of our other boats,” he says. The boat rides a variable-deadrise vee-hull with full-length hard chines and lifting strakes. “Nailing the center of gravity is one of the keys to a soft ride, and Bobby has done that,” says Vaughn, referring to Whaler naval architect Bobby Garza. Garza designed this and the other three Outrage center consoles — the…

The Trumpy Estate in Annapolis, Maryland, embodies traditional understated elegance, maritime history and spectacular views of the Severn River. This and more influenced Nels and Kristen Olson to buy the property five years ago. “Everything centers around the water,” says Nels Olson, an executive with a seniorlevel talent firm. “In this neighborhood, folks don’t ask what you do. They ask, ‘sail or power?’ ” He ranks himself a powerboater. Now the Olsons have found a new home more suited to their young family, and they have the estate on the market for $4.495 million. Designed and built by John Trumpy Sr. of the renowned yacht builder John Trumpy and Sons, the 1.1-acre landscaped property includes a three-story, five-bedroom, 4-1/2-bath home, 85 feet of bulkheaded deepwater frontage, a dock with two…

Chris-Craft has launched a new dual console range, and the first model is the Calypso 26. Designed as an all-around dayboat, it’s a versatile platform for water sports, fishing and day cruising. The Calypso 26 has a curved tempered-glass windshield with a walkthrough to the open bow and wraparound lounge seating. The cockpit includes a fixed bench aft, and port and starboard seats that retract to free up space. There’s an electric grill and sink abaft the helm seat and an enclosed head with a sink in the port console. A starboard transom door and stainless three-step boarding ladder make for easy access from the water. Roomy storage compartments can be found from bow to stern, including in-sole ski/rod storage. The Calypso 26 rides a deepvee hull, and a single…

Coast Guard crews conduct more than 17,000 search-and-rescue missions each year in a wide range of conditions and situations. Reading reports of these missions, it’s clear that the crews often rescue people who are ill-prepared for the emergency. That was not the case with a rescue conducted this fall. About 3 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13, the Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound command center received a mayday call from a 32-foot powerboat over VHF channel 16. The boat was taking on water off Watch Hill, Rhode Island, and the two aboard required assistance. The boaters said they were wearing life jackets and that the operator had a personal locator beacon. Watchstanders diverted a 45-foot response boat from Station New London to the scene, issued an urgent marine information broadcast…

Columbia, Resolute, Reliance — so many great boats came from the mind of Nathanael G. Herreshoff. But the graceful little daysailer shown here, which he designed in 1914, is the only one that bears his name. A century after this boat was first sailed on Massachusetts’ Buzzards Bay, the Herreshoff 12½ is an acknowledged classic, prized for its easy sailing, comfort and stability, with active fleets and a national association. “It’s such a classic design,” says H Class champion John Fisher on the class website. “It handles rough weather, wind and waves very well.” That was the idea. Yachtsman Robert W. Emmons II commissioned Capt. Nat to design a small sailboat for his sons and their friends, one that would be easy to handle on the choppy waters of Buzzards…

Among those who’d been drawn to Raymond Hunt’s little waterfront office in Marblehead, Massachusetts, was a Canadian-born inventor named Albert Hickman. During the prewar period, Hickman, an 1899 graduate of Harvard and onetime provincial governor of New Brunswick, had set aside a writing career to develop what he would call the “Sea Sled.” The boat’s twin hulls funneled air beneath them to, as was said, “ride on air.” High-speed seaworthiness with relatively modest horsepower was the result. Hickman was single-minded in his devotion to the idea, which he patented, and he built a successful business at his factory in West Mystic, Connecticut. Postwar, he opened an office at 201 Devonshire Street in Boston. A 1948 ad in the Boston Globe for his 13-foot Sea Sled read: “Model 13 outboard, the…

DTS+ Solo Water Treatment System FCI Watermakers’ new DTS+ Solo is a standalone version of its Dockside Treatment System. It can purify as much as 3,000 gallons of dock water a day for drinking, cooking, cleaning and storage, according to the manufacturer. FCI says the system removes 99 percent of dissolved solids and 100 percent of viruses, cysts and bacteria. No additional pumps are required to operate it, and the unit can be bulkhead- or deck-mounted. $2,300. FCI Watermakers, West Valley, Utah, (801) 906-8840. fciwatermakers.com CR Spotless Washing and drying the boat is Zen for some, but for most it’s a chore that takes too much time. The CR Spotless deionization and filtration system will “cut cleaning and polishing time in half” because it eliminates drying and leaves a spotless…