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.
These days, cruising comes with its challenges. I’ve talked with longtime boaters who say they’ve experienced some discouraging moments since the coronavirus created a new normal on and offshore. Some say boating in a pandemic is a bit more stressful than they imagined it would be. Cruisers who typically spend summers visiting a variety of new ports are changing up their plans as they are unsure if some regions will have restrictions on visitors. Provisions and fuel can be more difficult to find, and social distancing rules on docks have robbed some boat owners of the joy they experience simply talking and eating with friends. And yet even with the logistical hurdles and ethical dilemmas, most people who love boats and boating still believe the water is the ultimate escape.…
FIXING FLIPPERS Great article on the efforts of the team at the Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Florida, to rescue turtles in the Keys (“Second Chance,” May 2020). Did you know that there is another location in the state that also does great work for turtles? It is the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, Florida. In addition to surgery and recovery efforts, the professionals at this location do great work to protect the nesting sites on the beaches of South Florida. Your article seemed to imply that the Marathon hospital is the only facility of its kind in the country. I just wanted to set the record straight. Keep up the great work. JOHN FRUNCILLO SINGER ISLAND, FL MEDICAL MUST-HAVES Mario Vittone wrote a nice story on how to put…
The coronavirus pandemic has scrambled a lot of things. Toilet-paper supply chains. Presidential campaigns. The brains of parents trying to work from home with kids doing remote learning at the same kitchen table. One of the less-reported scramblings, though, has been patterns of boat traffic. All around the world, recreational boats have stopped moving to the places they usually move during spring and early summer. In Florida, there’s a pileup of yachts that usually head to the Bahamas and Mediterranean, both of which, as of this writing in early May, were closed to incoming cruisers. Along the southern East Coast, there’s a jam-up of owner-operated boats that would have returned north to states like Rhode Island, if not for the two-week quarantine that was in effect for all incoming boaters…
It’s a law of physics. As a boat displaces water underway, it naturally creates waves astern. That’s called a wake, and it’s your responsibility. A well-mannered wake is good seamanship. Most of us are not surfers or wake boarders, so discourteous wakes are annoying. They can be dangerous to other boaters, damaging to property and destructive to a fragile environment. For that reason, you should always slow down in confined waters and look behind you. Be considerate when passing other boats, and when you encounter wakes from other vessels, be prepared to mitigate the effects to keep your crew from getting hurt. Depending on hull design, boat speed, vessel weight and power, a wake can produce sharp repeating waves of significant size. For many boats under power, various speeds alter…
TEST YOUR SEAMANSHIP KNOWLEDGE 1. DECK GENERAL: A common occurrence when a vessel is running into shallow water is that: A. the wake is less pronounced B. the vessel is more responsive to the rudder C. squat will cause a decrease in bottom clearance and an increase in draft D. All of the above 2. DECK GENERAL: A wedge of water building up between the bow and nearer bank which forces the bow out and away describes: A. bank cushion B. bank suction C. combined effect D. bend effect 3. DECK GENERAL: In order to reduce your wake in a narrow channel, you should: A. apply enough rudder to counter the effect of the current B. change your course to a zigzag course C. reduce your speed D. shift the…
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING CHISELS, PLYWOOD AND FRAMES There’s something highly satisfying about watching sheets of plywood, planks, frames and other odd bits and pieces of wood slowly transform over time into a boat that sails or powers its way across the water. Along the way, there are many things to learn: scarfing, painting, planing, sanding, chiseling, lofting and more. Those are some of the boatbuilding and repair skills you can learn by watching master shipwright Louis Sauzedde, who posts his boatbuilding videos to YouTube in Tips from a Shipwright. On the channel, you can find complete, keel-up boatbuilding projects including a sport dory and a small work skiff, as well as tips for making your own repairs to fiberglass and wood boats of all types. You’ll be handy at boat…
