Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2024 i Soundings

The summer cruising season is finally in full swing and while we all want to rush out there to enjoy the long days and warm evenings, it can’t hurt to take a hot minute to review some of the boating safety basics with your crew. Here are a few of the things on my list: Be A Good Lookout I still remember the day I was on a friend’s fishing boat when we realized our course was getting too friendly with that of a nearby cruiser. When the other boat was about 100 yards away, we started to wonder if the skipper was asleep. Then the boat swerved inshore, and as it passed, we saw the operator in the cockpit, with his hands on a newspaper, not the wheel. It…

Remembrances of beloved offshore cruiser Bruce Kessler continue to pour in following his death at age 88 in April. Kessler was among the first people to circumnavigate aboard a powerboat, helping to create the thriving community of offshore power cruisers that exists today. His 70-foot Delta Zopilote was famous in her own right, which is why boaters can’t help but recall her death, too. It happened in 1994, after Zopilote struck what was sometimes described as an underwater seamount in Alaska. The crash left Kessler and his crew of four rushing to launch the life raft. Nobody was injured or lost, but Zopilote sank in minutes, proving just how dangerous uncharted hazards can be to even the most experienced boaters. “As long as there have been boats, there have been…

If you spend any time on the water in the Northeast, in particular northern New England, you’ll cross paths with an Eastern boat. But there is Eastern, the boat brand, and then there is Eastern Boat Works, which builds multiple brands, including Eastern, Rosborough and Seaway. Eastern was founded in 1981 in East Rochester, New Hampshire, when Carmen Carbone started building one model, an 18-footer drawn by the highly regarded Downeast designer Royal Lowell. The New Hampshire facility had two small bays for assembly and a glass shop that could hold two hulls at a time. Ten years later, two more models had joined the line, a 22-footer and a Royal Lowell 27-footer. But in 1993, things changed. That’s when Bob Bourdeau, one of Eastern’s employees, purchased the company from…

In summer, the northern reach of the East Coast has much to offer anyone who loves to go cruising. If you’re looking for an idyllic stretch of water to explore over the course of a week or more, head for the shores near the state line separating New Hampshire and Maine. From there, you can take in big views from the helm, visit historic sites and salty towns, tie up and take a hike, or drop the hook in some of the most beautiful anchorages anywhere in the world. Start in New Castle, New Hampshire—the gateway to a Gulf of Maine adventure. There, you can spend a night at Great Common Island, which is just south of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. (It’s awe-inspiring to watch a new naval destroyer leave…

Mark Hall felt incredibly lucky when he bought the American Tug 435 Epiphany. He and his wife, Patricia Angell, were shopping for a new boat during the pandemic. When they came across the 2020 build in 2021, it had only six hours on the engine. “The guy had it built and then moved to Arizona, so it was brand-new. I called the factory to see if they knew anything about it.” Indeed, the team at American Tug in La Conner, Washington, made a few calls, and the deal was done. But the pandemic was still going on, so Hall’s options were limited for getting to know the company better. That is, until this past April, when the builder was able to resume hosting its annual Spring Fling for owners. There…

LOA: 29’4” Beam: 9’10” Draft: 2’3” Displ.: 9,253 lbs. Fuel: 158 gals. Water: 42 gals. Power: (2) 250-hp Yamahas Price (base): $230,750 Some boats are good to begin with, but when Jeanneau decided to make a new version of its NC 895, the builder nailed it. The new NC 895 Series 2 is a very impressive design, especially on the inside. Jeanneau still offers the original 895, which started out in 2012 as the Merry Fisher 855. In the ensuing decadeplus, almost 2,000 855s and 895s have been built. They are perfectly good boats, but for the NC 895 Series 2, the French builder completely rethought everything. Instead of dressing up the old hull, it completely redesigned the Series 2 with a new hull, deck, interior layout and propulsion. All…

The main building looks massive, seemingly stretching into infinity. Harry Boardsen, the owner of Bridgeport Boatworks at Steelpointe Harbor, meets me at the guardhouse gate and leads me inside, where I am blown away. We stroll past not one, but two enormous catamaran commuter fast-ferries lined up end to end, and then a full-sized tugboat that towers above us. The vessels are resting on blocks, waiting for service or repairs. Welders are welding, shipwrights are inspecting, and workers are prepping for blasting and bottom painting. It’s a beehive of activity. At the opposite end of the building, the door is tall and wide enough for the yard’s gargantuan 700-ton Travelift that’s designed to move boats even larger than those inside. The door opens onto a concrete pad the size of…

Stepping into the small maritime art gallery on Water Street in Stonington, Connecticut, a visitor’s senses are immediately altered by stirring paintings of ships and yachts at sea, some in distress. J-Class yachts are rail down under full sail; a lobster boat battles a frothy rip; and a chilly colonial-era Boston waterfront is packed tightly with merchant ships in winter. Time rolls back and the era of sail, working waterfronts and steam power are once again in full bloom. The J. Russell Jinishian Gallery is filled to the gunwales with nearly 200 paintings, carvings, sculptures, ship models and other nautical artifacts. The works are part of a carefully curated selection from J. Russell Jinishian, one of the country’s foremost experts on maritime art. The last 40 years have represented a…

Two-years ago, Pursuit Boats partnered with the Chapman School of Seamanship in Stuart, Florida, to offer a safety course for new Pursuit owners. Owners who took the class, including experienced boaters, say the course is an exceptional reminder about proper boat handling and safety practices that are often overlooked. The two-day course is comprised of one classroom day and one onthe-water day aboard a Pursuit. The classroom portion addresses the basic rules of the road, navigation, speed checks, safety equipment and more. Instructor Capt. Mike Miotek says docking is the most common source of anxiety for new and seasoned boaters alike. “It’s easy to drive a boat out in the middle of the ocean, but when you come home, you want to have that confidence to be able to dock…

“In the Spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love,” Lord Alfred Tennyson wrote in 1842. But in the early 1980s, Canadian sailor Nick Aitken’s thoughts sprung toward trawlers, and that’s how the Great Lakes 33 was born. Aitken and some friends wanted a comfortable, efficient coastal trawler to expand their cruising horizons, but they needed a well regarded builder to make their dreams come true. That’s when they found Dirk Kneulman, Sr. and his wife Marie who had founded Ontario Yachts in 1961 and had a reputation for building high-quality boats. After taking a one-week composite construction seminar at Dyer Boats in Barrington, Rhode Island, they added fiberglass racing dinghy construction to their business—they built nine of the 5.5 Metre dinghies for the 1968 Mexico Olympics—as…

Usually, a boat turns heads because of its undeniable beauty. But occasionally, as in the case of the Seapiper 37, it draws eyes because it’s just plain different. There’s no denying there is a real buzz about the Seapiper 37—originally the Seapiper 35—especially among online communities. The buzz is in part due to the 2023 merger between the builder and Seattle Yachts, a boat dealer and brokerage firm with offices in the U.S. and Canada. For the first time the Seapiper will be built domestically, and the brand will benefit from a large broker network. The Seapiper 37 has a fascinating origin story. Her concept began in the imagination of professional designer and CAD engineer Ritzo Muntinga, who started fleshing out his vision around 2010. “I’ve always liked self-contained systems…

On the night of February 18, 1952, two World War II-era T2 oil tankers, the SS Pendleton and SS Fort Mercer were caught in a nor’easter with waves up to 60 feet. Just 10 miles off the coast of Chatham, Massachusetts, the crew aboard the 504-foot SS Pendleton (shown above) heard explosive cracking sounds. Within minutes, the ship broke in half, leaving the captain and seven crew members stranded on the bow section, while the chief engineer and 32 crew were left on the stern. The tanker split so quickly that the crew was unable to send out an SOS, although someone on land heard the Pendleton’s whistle and went for help. Coxswain Bernard Webber was told to form a team and with three volunteers set out on what was…