Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2017 i Soundings

Gray’s Reef This image of Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary, off Georgia, is from an equirectangular panorama created from a stitched composite of six pictures taken around a central point. Photographer Bill Goodwin used a Sony ILCE-6000 camera with a fisheye lens. The photo is from NOAA’s new virtual dive gallery, which contains 360-degree images of Gray’s and four other national marine sanctuaries: American Samoa, the Florida Keys, Flower Garden Banks and Thunder Bay. Visit sanctuaries.noaa.gov/vr for the virtual experience.…

Grady-White may have cemented its reputation for durable and seaworthy boats by building center consoles, cuddies and walkarounds, but today the company is also a player in the expanding dual console market. With the introduction of the Freedom 215, the builder’s dual console lineup consists of 11 models. Grady-White says its aim with the Freedom 215 is to offer a smaller boat with many of the same features as its larger dual consoles. The new boat has loads of comfortable seating, including bucket seats at the transom, plush companion and helm seating, and a convertible bow lounge. There’s also room for fishing rods, and a tow pylon can be inserted at the transom for water sports. “The 19-degree progression of the running bottom on our Freedom 215 exclusive SeaV2 hull…

Jess Wurzbacher holds a master’s degree in tropical coastal management from Newcastle University (U.K.) and a 200-ton Master license. She sailed all over the world as chief scientist and program manager for Seamester and is a PADI scuba instructor with more than 1,000 research and training dives to her credit. All this makes her ideally suited to her current gig as executive director of the non-profit organization behind Rhode Island’s tall ship, Oliver Hazard Perry, the first oceangoing, full-rigged ship to be built in the United States in more than 100 years. Wurzbacher may not be sailing the ship, but she’s certainly steering its course. First memory of being on a boat: I set foot on a sailboat for the first time in 2004 when I joined Seamester as scientist aboard…

After several years of high-horsepower introductions, outboard manufacturers have shifted their focus to the midrange, with Yamaha debuting a much lighter 90-hp 4-stroke and Evinrude pushing out 2-strokes from 150 to 200 hp with its G2 technology. Meanwhile, the popularity of wake surfing and other tow sports has prompted the arrival of new wave-shaping propulsion systems created through boat and engine manufacturer partnerships. Mercury announced that its Joystick Piloting technology can now be used in applications with inboard power. Sea Ray uses the Mercury joystick on its new 230-W SLX, an inboard boat built with a new system consisting of trim tabs, fins and ballast tanks that controls the wake. Chaparral also has a wake-surfing line, but it uses Volvo Penta’s Forward Drive and Malibu’s wake-surf system. Volvo Penta at…

Are you a catboat lover? Check out our video: soundingsonline.com/ boat-shop/on-sailboats Two catboats run before an afternoon zephyr, returning home at the end of a day’s sail. There’s a delicate luminosity, a glow of diffused light, a sense of gentle movement in Peter Arguimbau’s 20-by-30 oil painting. It’s a simple work, but the story behind it is complex and delves deep into art history. Arguimbau calls himself a luminist, after a group of artists from the second generation of the Hudson River School, a 19th-century art movement. These American artists had a painting style characterized by capturing the effects of light on landscapes, attention to detail and a contemplative perception of nature. Frederic Edwin Church, John Frederick Kensett and Sanford Robinson Gifford were among this group of artists. Arguimbau studied…

Hella LED Lamps Hella’s dual-color Sea Hawk XL lamps measure about 6 inches wide by 2 inches high by 2 inches deep. Each lamp has two rows of bright white LEDs producing 680 lumens and a third row of alternate color LEDs. Red preserves night vision, blue enhances the boat’s appearance, and warm white matches interior conditions. The polymer-ceramic housing is sealed to the IP67 standard, and the Grilamid lens resists damage from impact, UV exposure and chemicals. $299-$314. Hella Marine, Peachtree City, Georgia, (770) 631-7500. hellamarine.com Si-Tex NavStar MFDs The 10-inch NavStar 10 and 12-inch NavStar 12 multifunction displays from Si-Tex combine radar, sonar, chart plotting and entertainment via Bluetooth and wireless LAN. Each unit has touch-screen and traditional controls, plus NavStar’s 4-kW dual-range radar, which shows close and…

A THREE-MASTER WITH A PIZZA PAST Victory Chimes is the only surviving Chesapeake ram schooner. Built by the George K. Phillips Co. and launched in 1900 as Edwin and Maude — named after the children of her first captain — the 172-foot (sparred length) ship carried lumber, grain, soft coal and fertilizer into and out of Chesapeake Bay until 1945, when she was converted to carry passengers. She was brought to Maine nine years later and given the name Victory Chimes. She operated as a charter vessel until 1984, when she was sold and taken to the Great Lakes. Her next owner was Thomas Monaghan, the founder of Domino’s Pizza. Monaghan named her Domino Effect and used her for employee incentive cruises. He also invested in an extensive restoration. In…

“Mako … you’ll find them where the fish are!” In the early 1970s, Miami builder Mako Marine was making a big splash with small fishing boats — and that catchy slogan. One of its models was a departure from the norm. The Mako 23 was a 23- foot center console with an inboard. In fact, the 225-hp power plant was available in gas and diesel versions that gave the boat a cruising speed in the upper 20s and a top end around 40 mph. (The boat also was offered with outboard and sterndrive setups.) Mako was known for its capable fishing boats, which eventually included walkarounds and express models, and the company publicized its fleet by holding tournaments. The inboard Mako 23 was a hit with anglers. The engine placement…

I fell under the spell of the Norwalk Islands early in life. My first dinghy, first fish, first outboard, first stranding, first (and only) dismasting and first island getaway — a camp that would have made Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn green with envy — all occurred in that enticing little archipelago. These Connecticut islands don’t rival Maine’s for brooding beauty, or the Caribbean’s for sun and sand. Yet their lure is undeniable. When the glacier dealt shorelines, Norwalk drew a royal flush. It is only five miles from the eastern end of Cockenoe (kah-KEE-nee) Reef to Greens Ledge Lighthouse, but within that kingdom of islands, a world of wonders awaits. Beachcombing, birdwatching, paddling and piloting are just the start. There is fishing, of course, but there is also the…

Poorly designed and installed tank vents cause multiple problems with fuel, potable water and head systems. All vents need constantly rising hose runs to avoid liquids forming an air seal at a low point. The runs should self-drain at the hull exit with a higher loop in the hose or fitting, and the high point preferably should be forward so hull motion can’t drive in water. Most vents have screens, and these must be kept free of blockages. Fuel tanks have screens as a flame arrestor, and potable water vents have them to keep bugs out. Obstructed fuel tank vents can cause slow filling or fuel starvation when a lift pump has to struggle against a partial vacuum. Poorly situated fuel tank vent locations in the hull can allow water…

St. Augustine, Florida, is one of my favorite cruising destinations. (And I’ve been to quite a few.) It’s pretty, historic, has a timeless ambience and celebrates with festivals year-round. And it has beaches and golf. Want more? While you’re enjoying all this, you can conveniently take care of boat business. And you don’t need a car or plane to get there because St. Augustine also has an ocean inlet and access to the Intracoastal Waterway. Hundreds of boats use the inlet every week, including many that head offshore to fish. The inlet opens into the ICW, which borders the city and develops shoals from time to time, as do most inlets. If this or strong onshore winds are an issue for you, then the ICW is a beautiful way to…

Glenn Patron Miami WHO NEEDS A COCKPIT? I love the “Classics” feature in your wonderful magazine, so I was pleased to see the March issue’s write-up about the Sunfish. The essay correctly recognizes the Alcort Sailfish as the precursor to the Sunfish but states that it was designed with a cockpit. As an owner of a 1949 wooden Sailfish, I can attest that it does not have a cockpit. Its deck is as flat as flat can be, but it has grab rails on each side for bracing your feet. It can be a tad slippery, as Smokey, my German shepherd first mate, knows, but we Sailfish sailors scoff at cockpits and pity those fancy-pants Sunfish sailors who need all the help they can get. Guess they will want cup…

San Francisco powers its Red & White sightseeing fleet with biodiesel. Seattle’s King County Water Taxi uses biodiesel to move people across Puget Sound. On the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Cup, which bills itself as the most environmentally responsible sailboat race in the United States, has fueled the event’s Class 40 fleet (for powering to and from the dock) with biodiesel since 2012, and plans to do so again in 2018. In 2015, the Volvo Ocean Race filled boats with bio diesel during the stopover in Newport, Rhode Island, and used the fuel for the shoreside Race Village’s diesel generators. Sailors for the Sea endorses biodiesel’s use as a best practice in the group’s Clean Regattas certification program. Curious about biodiesel? Watch this video: soundingsonline.com/boat-shop/know-how In 2008, skipper and conservationist…

T he looks may be classic, but many craftsmen in Maine are giving their Down East builds something extra nowadays, whether working in wood or fiberglass. Farrins Boatshop in Walpole, for instance, has done everything from installing a lockable wheelchair space at the helm to building a doggie door on board. John’s Bay Boat Company in South Bristol designs ergonomic helm seats with curved backs to avoid wasting the valuable inches that cushions take up in tight spaces. Sabre Yachts in South Casco installs Volvo Penta IPS pod-drive propulsion, saving engine room square footage while giving skippers joystick control. Wilbur Yachts in Southwest Harbor recently built a custom base for a green stick, used in tuna fishing. These are not your granddaddy’s Down East boats. BUILDERS AND FINISHERS It’s a…

Heading down the Intracoastal Waterway, we were passing through one of our favorite Southern states. Beautiful forest, marsh, winding creeks and rivers blended together in a smorgasbord of passages. Occasionally a bridge crossed the channel, vehicular traffic zooming in a mad rush to get from one side to the other. Many of the bridges opened only at certain times, and in our boat, we had to time our approach carefully. A car can easily stop, unbothered by current and wind. Not so with a boat. We proceeded slowly to arrive at the bridge at just the right time. We knew the current would be pushing us, and the channel was too narrow to do much maneuvering, especially with the wind. Moving along, we passed a quiet village. Beach houses were…

It happens every year, when the weather turns warm and the boats are in the water on Long Island’s east end. James Murphy moves aboard. “I clean up and then get the stuff on board — the dishes, the towels, the TV … the food and everything — and then it’s all over and I move on board,” says the 55-year-old from East Hampton, New York. “It’s a spring ritual.” Compromise III is a 38-foot wooden Penbo built in 1973 by the Penobscot Boat Co. in Maine. It’s been home to Murphy four months of the year while he works on the yachts that make their home ports around the Sag Harbor, East Hampton and Shelter Island areas. “I moved out here from New York after 9/11,” says Murphy, who…

SPECIFICATIONS LOA: 46 feet BEAM: 14 feet, 9 inches WEIGHT: 39,683 pounds (full load) DRAFT: 2 feet, 4 inches HULL TYPE: semidisplacement POWER: twin 435-hp Volvo Penta IPS600 diesels SPEED: 29-30 knots top, 26 knots cruise TANKAGE: 500 gallons fuel, 200 gallons water, 50 gallons waste BASE PRICE: $988,400 CONTACT: Vicem Yachts Americas, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, (954) 462-8828. vicemyachts.net The Vicem 46 IPS isn’t just a headturner. It’s also a boat of firsts for the Turkish builder. Known for high-end, cold-molded mahogany boats, Vicem builds the 46 IPS of fiberglass and composite coring. And it powers the boat with Volvo Penta’s IPS pod drives, another first. Like all Vicem models, the 46 IPS has superb interior joinery and woodwork. The layout is typical of Down Eastinspired cruisers in this size…