Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2020 i Soundings

Typically, our editorial team takes to the water in a big way when the boating season in the Northeast gets underway. From May through October, we take advantage of opportunities to sea trial new models, run restored vessels and walk the docks at shows. In a normal year, it’s a busy period during which we spend a lot of time on the water, having a blast and rubbing shoulders with pleasant people who like to think and talk about boats. But this isn’t a normal year. The pandemic put the kibosh on our professional boating plans for the season. Like many of you, we spent the working days hunkered down at home, but trying to make the most of it by connecting with co-workers on video calls and doing lunch…

If you’ve ever wondered about the genesis of today’s uber-popular bay boat segment, you need not look any further than Pathfinder Boats. It was around 30 years ago when Maverick Boat Group founder Scott Deal conceived the first Pathfinder on the back of an envelope. The resulting 21-foot bay boat combined the skinny-water capabilities of a technical poling skiff with the open-water capabilities of a center console. Today, the Fort Pierce, Florida, builder has nine boats in its range, including a new model that is almost an entirely new species unto itself—the Pathfinder 2700 Open. A fishing machine that incorporates the best aspects of bay boat and center console designs, it’s for anglers who fish a wide variety of water—skinny, coastal and offshore on good weather days. The 2700 Open’s…

They say if you don’t like the weather in Maine, you just have to wait five minutes. But when I board the ferry in Rockland, the fog is as thick as a cotton batting and stays that way for the hourlong trip across Penobscot Bay. As we approach Vinalhaven the fog finally begins to thin a bit. I can see the lobster fleet across Carvers Harbor, but there’s still no sign of the sun. Mark Jackson is waiting for me by the landing. He leads me down to the floating dock and his 2000 Pulsifer Hampton. The owner of Vinalhaven by Water, he uses the boat to show tourists around the area. He acquired her five years ago after retiring from teaching vocational skills at the Vinalhaven School. “I get…

When Ben Hagar retired from a 26-year Army career in 2008, he was more than ready to rekindle his love for the water. After growing up on the lakes of northern New York state with a variety of sail and powerboats, his long stint in the Army had left him high and dry. In response, he hauled an old family sailboat,—a French-designed, Canadian-built, 27-foot sloop known as a Kelt 7.60—down to his Northern Virginia home. Hagar and his wife, Chantale, found themselves on the open waters of the Chesapeake Bay. “We sailed it for nine years out of Herrington Harbour North in Deale, Maryland,” says 60-year-old Hagar. “That was our introduction to big-water boating, with tides, commercial vessels and the opportunity to make overnight trips rather than just dayboating.” The…

In late June, BoatU.S. sent a warning to boaters who use GPS, urging them to prepare for possible signal interference on board and, potentially, the need to purchase new GPS-based equipment. The warning followed a decision that the Federal Communications Commission made in April, when many boaters were distracted by the Covid-19 pandemic and government shutdowns. The FCC approved plans by the mobile satellite services operator Ligado Networks to build and operate a 5G network in a way that BoatU.S. and other opponents say will interfere with GPS signals—not just on boats, but also in aircraft, military operations and everywhere else that GPS is used. “We think it was a bad decision by the FCC, and it should be reversed,” David Kennedy, BoatU.S. manager of government affairs, told Soundings in…

Here’s good news for owners of boats powered by a single outboard. Those vessels now can be equipped with joystick docking control and a host of other features previously limited to multi-engine rigs with the introduction of the new Yamaha Helm Master EX system. Offered for single- to quad-engine boats, Helm Master EX will also be sold through Yamaha dealers, the first time an OEM joystick system has been available to retail customers for up-fitting or re-power applications. Helm Master EX is a collection of features that can be installed incrementally, starting with a binnacle Digital Electronic Control (DEC), and a Boat Control Unit (BCU) for each motor. The BCU contains system software, is about the size of a large cell phone, and can be mounted anywhere under the helm.…

Since I was born in Maryland, it makes me a blue crab expert. It’s a fact. That probably sounds arrogant, but you won’t find me lecturing a Mainer about lobsters or a Cape Cod resident about fried big-belly clams. If you’ve spent time around the Chesapeake, you likely know that the blue crab is woven into every nook and cranny of our way of life. Well, it is in my simple, possibly boring, world. You probably already know that Marylanders are insufferable about how their prized crustaceans are prepared. Crabs are not to be boiled. Sorry, Louisianans. Nor are they to be stripped of their shells and have their insides power washed with a garden hose before steaming. This means you, North Carolinians—and my neighbor, Tobias. Crab cakes do not…

Here was a liveaboard’s boating dream and a West Coast classic. This 50-foot fiberglass pilothouse trawler was equipped with all the necessities, amenities and luxuries desired in a home on the sea: multiple cabins, a large salon, a full galley, a sturdy pilothouse and a pair of moderatehorsepower diesels in the engine room. Debuting in 1978, the Ocean Alexander 50 Pilothouse MK I launched with an impeccable design pedigree. This was a liveaboard yacht based on a hull designed by one of America’s leading naval architects, Robert Edwin “Ed” Monk. He is the son of pioneering trawler designer George Edwin William Monk (a.k.a. Ed Monk, Sr.), who produced some 3,000 designs during a 40-year career that began in 1934. Working in wood, Monk Sr. produced powerboats that were not only…

The Caribbean and Bahamas became a sea of frustration as the Covid-19 pandemic spread. One by one, islands shut down to protect their limited health-care systems. Trinidad, where many boaters haul out for hurricane season, closed its borders March 16. The British Virgin Islands shut its airports and seaports March 23. The Bahamas cut itself off from the world March 27. Hank George, president of the Salty Dawg Sailing Association, heard about the first closures from some of the 800 members of the nonprofit, which was founded 11 years ago by cruisers who wanted to sail their own boats to the Caribbean. The members who contacted him had originally planned to sail back to America with the group’s annual rally in May, when crew were scheduled to fly in and…

Situated along miles of coastline, Rhode Island’s towns have functioned as important seaports since the 17th century. Historic Newport is an antique home lover’s dream as it provides a visual history of American architecture. Newport features period homes nestled among the highest concentration of Colonial houses in the nation, mansions built by titans of industry in the late nineteenth century and stately Victorians with water views, all within walking distance of town and some of New England’s best beaches. Newport is a great environment for sailors, golfers, tennis players and surfers alike. Narragansett Bay is a renowned sailing destination; the New York Yacht Club has defended many America’s Cups in the waters off Newport, and the city hosts yearly regattas and sailing events in the deep-water harbor. Newport is also…

As kids, we’d ask my father, “How deep is it here?” Looking us straight in the eye, he always gave the same sardonic reply. “All the way to the bottom!” It’s still true today—the topic of water depth seems so simple on the surface, but there’s a lot more to it. Knowing the depth and making decisions about avoiding submerged hazards is definitely worth a closer look. Charted depth is rarely the same as actual depth, or exactly what your depth sounder reads. The stage of the tide, the wind, the cycles of the moon and the earth all affect the height of the tides and the real depth of the water. Complimenting the information from our charts and plotters will make us better seaman. Using our own senses will…

RODEO RIDERS One way to learn how a particular boat handles rough seas is to find a nasty inlet, sit back and then watch. You’ll eventually see that some boats are better than others when doing battle with King Neptune. If you don’t have a gnarly inlet close to home, the Wavy Boats You-Tube channel is the next best thing. The channel focuses on Bakers Haulover Inlet in North Miami. When wind battles current here, things get dicey—and sometimes dangerous—very quickly. Standing waves as high as 8 to 10 feet and a rushing current as fast as 6 knots create treacherous conditions that some boats and owners just aren’t equipped to handle. Despite the dangers, the videos are informative.…

Antares is, on average, the fifteenthbrightest star in the night sky, and the brightest object in the constellation of Scorpius. So perhaps it’s fitting that Beneteau’s latest outboardpowered model—the Antares 11—carries this name. This sporty outboard cruiser is all about bright, open spaces and playtime in the sunshine. The Antares 11 is the flagship of Beneteau’s outboard-powered Antares lineup at 36 feet, 4 inches LOA. The first Antares models launched years ago in Europe and have steadily made their way into the North American market over the last several years. “The Antares range is over 40 years old and is popular for its weekending abilities,” says Don Smith, Beneteau’s outboard boats sales manager. “The mission of the Antares 11 is to bridge that weekender [gap] to a full cruiser with…

I sland hopping may not be a term that readily comes to mind when you’re in Newport, Rhode Island. But Newport itself is on an island—Aquidneck—and Narragansett Bay is home to some 40 islands and islets. Whether you’re looking for a quiet oasis on the hook or a bustling harbor, something close aboard or a little more of a stretch, an island-hopping mindset will open up all kinds of possibilities for late summer boating in this part of the Northeast. Here are a few destinations to steer toward. JAMESTOWN The most obvious first island hop from Newport is directly across East Passage to Conanicut Island, or Jamestown. The second-largest island in Narragansett Bay at just under 9.5 square miles, Conanicut has a long Native American and colonial history. Today, most…

With a watercolor palette of blues and greens, reds and browns and brush strokes both bold and subtle, marine artist Paul Landry brings us to the docks of his native maritime Canada, where gulls glide through an indistinct sky, schooners dry their patched sails and two men work a dory on the placid waters. “At the Dock,” a 9-by-12 watercolor, is a quiet scene from days gone by, but one familiar to the artist. Landry was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1931, the grandson of French and Scottish schooner-sailing sea captains. He grew up a wharf rat on the city waterfront, working with the fishermen hauling traps and nets. He was also witnessing, with an artist’s eye (and camera), the last days of the now-legendary Grand Banks fishing fleet.…

The 1960s ad copy calls this gathering of three Higgins Seafarers a “rendezvous with happy boating,” and what better way to depict America’s first family of pleasure boats? On the left is the 17-foot Port Royal sport runabout, ready for waterskiing, and in the foreground is the two-tone, 18-foot Mandalay “luxury” runabout. The big boat is the 33-foot Chandleur Sports Cruiser (there was also a Sports Fisherman version), the largest in the Louisiana builder’s fleet. Built in wood, these boats featured varnished and two-tone painted finishes to go with clean styling. Trademarks of the Higgins brand included left-side steering, a floor-mounted accelerator pedal and an automobile-style dashboard and wheel with a shift lever on the steering column. Powered with a 109-hp Gray Marine inboard, the Port Royal could hit almost…