Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2024 i Soundings

"Can you help out an old sailor and walk me through all of this?” Those were the words of a guy who looked to be in his mid-sixties. He was standing at the gleaming helm of a new MJM 42 on the opening day of the Newport International Boat Show in September. The company spokesperson on board cheerfully obliged, sharing details about the ship’s systems, in particular the joystick that controlled a pair of Volvo D440s with DPI drives, which could push the boat to a max speed of 46 knots. I knew where this conversation was headed. Maybe you do too. It would be a good discussion about making “the transition,” or that move sometimes referred to in boating circles as “going to the dark side,” although the process…

Boaters who pulled up to the fuel dock this summer at St. Andrews Marina in Panama City, Florida, saw something highly unusual: images on the pumps touting “sustainable marine fuel.” From their helms, boaters could see the selling points in big, bold letters. Ethanol free. High octane—93 octane, to be precise. The partially renewable fuel, a non-alcohol, high-octane gasoline mixed with renewable content, reduces CO2 emissions by up to 30 percent more than E10 fuels and is a first step in reducing carbon emissions for recreational boating. The fuel is not fully carbon neutral, but a step towards that goal. “We have a lot of charter fishing and guide boats. We’re in the middle of snapper season, so they come in daily,” marina superintendent Brian Hamilton told Soundings in late…

It takes guts for a manufacturer to replace a beloved boat in its lineup with a new model of the same size. But after nearly a decade of service, the team at Pursuit Boats decided it was time for its popular OS 325 Offshore center console, which first launched in 2015, to make way for an updated version. “It has seen a good life cycle, and it was time for it to be revamped and come up to speed with some of the evolution that we’ve been seeing in the marketplace,” said Mark Taiclet, Pursuit director of brand management, during our sea trial of the OS 325 in Fort Pierce, Florida, near where the factory is located. While the 2025 model has the same LOA, beam and name as the…

Lauren Tolla was having trouble processing what she was seeing. And feeling. And smelling. It was October 2021, and her husband, Tom, had persuaded her to go check out a boat that he had seen advertised for sale on Facebook Marketplace. They’d driven from their home in Guilford, Connecticut, up to New London, where it had rained the day before. The name of the 1984 Nauset 35 Downeast was Seahorse. Clearly, it had been ridden hard and put away wet. “It was dripping,” says Tom, who was in his late 50s at the time. “I was looking at it and trying to stay positive.” Lauren, who was in her early 60s, looked all around the boat’s interior. She then looked at Tom and said, “Do you think we can do…

Controversy continues to swirl about the demise of the 184-foot Perini Navi Bayesian, which sank in August off the coast of Sicily. The 2008 build from the world-renowned Italian shipyard was an award-winning design that had a 237-foot mast and a lifting keel, and that had seemed plenty strong for years, even in rough seas. The sinking was reported globally because among those killed were a British tech tycoon, a prominent attorney and the chairman of Morgan Stanley International. “Eyewitnesses described furious gales and hurricane-like winds that left an avalanche of debris near the pier,” CNN reported. “More than a dozen survivors were spotted in the area hanging onto life rafts, according to the captain of a nearby boat, who steadied his ship to avoid colliding with the Bayesian.” Among…

When the subject is seamanship, talk often comes around to running the boat in heavy salt, big seas and frightening conditions. But the fact is, seamanship begins long before you find yourself in white-knuckle situations. A savvy skipper knows that before leaving the dock it’s imperative to confirm that the boat is seaworthy, with all systems functional and the fuel tanks sufficiently full for the day’s assignment. It is a good idea to explain to your guests where the PFDs (personal flotation devices) are located, and first-timers should be shown how to wear them. Although not required, I also outfit my PFDs with a whistle for added safety. You should take a few minutes to instruct guests on what to do if you, the skipper, become incapable of operating the…

On March 19, 1931, on a statute-mile-measured course in England, the world record for a speed boat was set at 98.76 mph. The next day, in North Miami Beach, Florida, Detroit’s Gar Wood and his longtime friend, throttle man and engine mechanic Orlin Johnson, drove Miss America IX on Indian Creek to become the first men to exceed 100 mph on a powerboat. Miss America IX was powered by twin 1,200-hp, 12-cylinder Packard motors featuring vertical exhaust pipes. Wood and Johnson sat aft of the engines where they were subjected to heat, fumes and the visceral pounding of exhaust air pressure. They made five runs, northward and southward, to allow for tidal and wind influences. Wood’s averaged speed of 101.154 mph on a statute mile course, and 102.256 mph on…

Bauxite. It’s not an ore most folks think about very often, and it’s not very exciting when it comes out of the Earth as it’s just, well, a boring, dull-colored rock. But smelt it and mix it with other metals and bauxite turns into a fabulous boatbuilding material: aluminum. It’s strong, light, corrosion-resistant, easy to work and simple to maintain. Until the fiberglass revolution that began in the 1950s, aluminum was the material of choice for folks wanting a durable, long-lasting yacht without the tyranny of maintaining a wooden vessel. Today, aluminum is making a comeback, as more boatbuilders and their customers recognize the benefits of this versatile metal. FIRST, SOME HISTORY Back in the 1950s and 1960s, the country experienced a boating boom like no other and the demand…

During World War II, women played a key role in building inflatable rubber assault boats for soldiers on the front lines December 1941 marked a pivotal moment in global history when the United States officially entered World War II. For over a year, the U.S. had been providing military supplies and assistance to the Allies, but the attack on Pearl Harbor triggered the country’s full-scale involvement. Almost overnight, the demand for military supplies and personnel surged, and industries across the nation mobilized to support the war effort. In Akron, Ohio—then known as the Rubber Capital of the World—factories were quick to answer the call. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, along with other major tire manufacturers in the area, shifted gears to produce rubber products for the military. Among its contributions,…

A fatal crash at the breakwater in Old Saybrook—where there have been multiple incidents in the past years—has local citizens demanding change at the same time marine authorities are urging boaters to respect clearly marked aids to navigation. During the Labor Day holiday, a 31-foot boat capsized after 9 p.m. under dark skies. The vessel, according to local news reports, had “significant damage” after it ran into the east-facing jetty, or break-wall, at the mouth of the Connecticut River where it meets Long Island Sound. Three people died, ages 24, 25 and 34. Six others on board were injured, some seriously. According to numerous published reports, it was the fourth boating incident in the area in the past five years. One incident, caused by excessive speed, injured several people…

The Mack Attack is a recently launched Viking 48 Convertible, a flybridge model that looks no different from other Vikings in the 48-foot class, but it has a secret. Belowdecks beats a heart of Swedish gold in the form of high-performance Scania DI16 diesel engines. The boat, a collaboration between Scania, Mack Boring—the largest Scania distributor in the U.S.—and Viking Yacht Company, is the test bed for these 16-liter, 1,150-hp V8s that are new to the U.S. market. To most recreational boaters in the U.S., Scania might not be a household word, but in the rest of the world its engines are legendary. The company has been in business for 133 years and builds more than 100,000 diesel engines annually. The majority powers Scania trucks, buses and industrial equipment; the…

We stood shoulder to shoulder in a semicircle just outside the barn doors of the brightly colored fish shack. Our small group chatted as we downed lagers and prosecco underneath the early evening Scandinavian sun, still high in the mid-June sky. I sipped an ice-cold Carlsberg, a bit nervous about disappointing my hosts if I didn’t join in on what was about to happen next. My mantra in this place: Be like a Swede. I had told myself this a few times since arriving in Sweden two days before. It began with the cuisine. I’m one who generally avoids the seafood side of the menu, but my newfound epicurious streak was paying dividends. I had enjoyed exquisitely prepared ling and char, and I was eyeballing crayfish harvested that same day,…

Alec Brainerd’s Artisan Boatworks in Rockport, Maine, is a modestly sized yard with about 16 employees that builds, restores and maintains wooden yachts by some of the world’s most famous designers. Inside the yard’s sheds, there are boats by Nathanael Herreshoff, William Fife, Starling Burgess, K. Aage Nielsen, B. B. Crowninshield, John Alden, Sparkman & Stephens and other great naval architects. Every year, the yard keeps about 80 wooden boats in Bristol condition. And since its founding in 2002, it has rebuilt nearly 20 boats and completed 19 new builds up to 29 feet. But in April 2023, Brainerd was approached by an experienced sailor, a man in his 80s, who was looking to construct something bigger than Artisan had ever built, a feature-rich daysailer in the 40-foot range. The…