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.
Soundings is approaching a big anniversary. The magazine will soon turn a salty 60, so a celebration is in order. To commemorate the passage of six decades, the editorial staff wants to highlight some of the most memorable stories we’ve published about boats—both power and sail—and the people who have helped to keep the sport interesting, exciting and adventurous. We have our favorite pieces, of course, and we’ll share those story selections in a future issue. But we’re also hoping to get feedback from you. Is there a feature that you remember well and still reference when you’re in the mood for a swashbuckling, saltwater tale? Or perhaps you have admired the work of a particular writer over the years. Are there any clippings from old issues of the magazine…
The National Park Service, in its official description of Tangier Island, calls it “little more than a sandbar, barely rising above the raging waters of the Chesapeake Bay.” Even still, a multimillion-dollar effort is now underway to improve the degrading situation at the island, which recreational boaters have long considered a charming destination to visit. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is spending $300,000 this year on an engineering and analysis study to determine what, exactly, it needs to build. Expectations are that another $500,000 will be spent next year on engineering design and environmental authorizations, followed by a $10 million expenditure for construction of some kind of structure in 2025. The goal? To better protect at least part of a place that has lost about two-thirds of its landmass…
Scott and Jane Young wanted to go farther, but at first, they couldn’t quite figure out how to get there. After they sold their business in 2016, the longtime boaters thought about putting some serious miles under their keel. They’d seen a TV show about great train rides, including one up to Alaska, which inspired them to check out the option of chartering a boat in that region. On Canada’s east coast, at their home port of Fredericton, New Brunswick, they had a Downeast-style Wilbur 34 with a cabin for overnighting, so they knew they liked being out on the boat together. But the price of a long-term charter in the Pacific Northwest gave them pause. So did the lack of boats with the kinds of features Jane needed to…
Beam: 8’6” Draft: 1’3” Weight (w/batteries): 5,000 lbs. Power: 180-hp electric outboard Batteries: (2) 104-kWh lithium-ion The days of plugging your boat into an electrical outlet in your garage to recharge its batteries alongside your other EVs are not far off. According to Forza X1 Executive Chairman and Chief of Product Development Joseph Visconti, “The evolution of sustainable boating is here.” Visconti’s brainchild, the Forza F22—a 22-foot center console powered by the company’s proprietary 180-hp electric outboard—launched at the Forza F1 Electrified Event in West Palm Beach, Florida, in July. He credited Elon Musk with inspiring his mission to build a fully integrated, all-electric production boat with the looks, feel, comfort and performance of a traditionally powered boat. “The roadmap was there with Tesla,” he said. Visconti, who also is…
I vory tree coral is one of the world’s more noteworthy corals. This delicately branching species, with the scientific name Oculina varicosa, forms a deepwater reef extending from Fort Pierce to Daytona, Florida. Remarkably, the 90-mile reef is the only one of its kind on the planet. Because of that, and because historically it was so dense, the reef earned the nickname Oculina Banks. Years of destructive fishing practices led to significant damage, though, so the waters and reef are federally protected. The reef is still trying to recover, as are species like massive grouper that once thrived amid the habitat. Oculina varicosa has a new place to flourish, however—as do turtles and a host of other sea creatures. It’s an artificial reef established this summer in about 160 feet…
In the early 1990s, when John Hutchins founded Downeast Boats and Composites in Penobscot, Maine, his first task was to fabricate hull and deck molds for a 36-foot lobster boat from the drawing board of well-known designer Spencer Lincoln. Like most working lobster vessels, the Northern Bay 36 had a springy forward sheer and fine entry at the stem. Lincoln also gave her a deep keel that progressed from the turn of the shallow forefoot to a full keel to protect the prop and rudder. For an easy rolling motion, he gave her rounded chines. However, instead of maintaining deadrise all the way to the stern, the sharp deadrise at the bow quickly transitioned to modestly flat sections amidships and then to long, flat buttocks with virtually no deadrise. At…
