Soundings is the news and feature publication for recreational boaters. Award-winning coverage of the people, issues, events -- and the fun -- of recreational boating. Check out our generous boats-for-sale section and our gunkholing destinations.
“That’s why you can’t be a true Yankee without winter: because all the best pleasures are earned — the fire, the fried oysters; the warmer seasons, too. Who knows the real worth of summer at the beach without a good taste of the seaside in winter?”— Julia Glass Fall and early winter are always a busy time for marine journalists, with boat shows and travel ramping up the time away from home and the race to get each issue of the magazine out. Add to that new initiatives, open enrollment, end-of-year personnel assessments, budget and editorial calendar planning for 2018 and … the holidays feel like they skid into focus around three days before Christmas, with just enough time left to panic over last-minute shopping. I really hate that, and…
REPEAT OFFENDERS It angers me when the “adventurous,” such as Rimas Meleshyus, go out (repeatedly or not) and are ill-prepared to deal with the consequences of their actions [“‘Determined’ Or Dumb?” December]. Meleshyus was rescued four times between 2012 and 2017 while drifting “Kon Tiki-style.” Insist on full reimbursement of rescue costs from repeat offenders. Donald Bechta Essex, New York LEGENDARY FALL Mary South’s “Keeping It Real” column in the November issue is outstanding. I grew up in Middletown, Connecticut, and summered in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. We made many visits to Essex, just upriver from Old Saybrook, and fall was my favorite time of year. You can’t beat a cool fall day while sitting around a fire at the Griswold Inn, drinking a hot toddy. Now at age 75, I…
Cobia Boats has been on a tear the past four years, improving and expanding its offshore center console lineup. The builder continued the trend late last year when it launched the 320CC, which fills the gap between its 301CC and 344CC. The 320CC has features aimed toward serious anglers, including two 55-gallon indeck fishboxes with macerated discharges, twin 35-gallon transom live wells, a starboard tuna door, 11 gunwale rod holders and under-gunwale rod stowage. An optional hardtop adds nine more rod holders. Outriggers and kingfish rod mounts also are options. Between the gunwales are a pair of bucket seats with flip-up bolsters and flip-down stainless footrests at the well-appointed helm. In the bow, a powered table creates a U-shaped dining and entertaining area. The table lowers halfway to function as…
1. INTERNATIONAL RULES: A vessel nearing a blind bend in a channel would sound what signal? A. 1 long blast B. 1 prolonged blast C. 4 short blasts D. none of the above 2. INTERNATIONAL RULES: A stern light covers an arc of how much on each side of the vessel? A. 135 degrees B. 67.5 degrees C. 12 points D. 10 points 3. INLAND RULES: A vessel not under command shall exhibit two all-round red lights in a vertical line, side lights and a stern light when: A. anchored or aground B. underway, not making way C. underway D. making way 4. INLAND RULES: A sailing vessel shall keep out of the way of: A. a vessel engaged in fishing B. a vessel not under command C. a vessel…
If mussels foul your boat or dock on a regular basis, you might think the mollusk is the enemy. In reality, what you need to stop are the mussels’ byssal threads, or byssus, which the little buggers secrete like Spider-Man webbing when attaching themselves to solid surfaces. Stop the byssal threads from getting a grip, and no more mussels stuck to your hull or dock. It’s a nifty trick, one that researchers think they’ve finally mastered — and that businessmen say will start appearing in new antifouling paint in early 2018. The magic material that is now advancing from the research phase to commercial use is called SLIPS, or Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous Surfaces. SLIPS is a flexible silicone with a lubricant layer that essentially creates a liquid surface. It feels…
Boat-trailer decouplings that lead to deaths and criminal prosecution are so rare that the Boat Trailer Manufacturers Association doesn’t even have statistics about them, says Darren Envall, the group’s assistant executive director. Still, two fatal incidents serve as reminders about the importance of properly securing boats and trailers. Within a month of a 42-year-old man being sentenced to 60 days in jail for criminally negligent homicide after his boat and trailer broke loose in traffic and killed a woman on Staten Island, New York, police were investigating a fatal trailer decoupling on a highway in Louisiana. The death that led to jail time in New York occurred in 2015 when Michael Khmil was trailering his Trophy behind a Toyota SUV. According to news reports, Khmil had the 4,000-plus-pound boat atop…
