Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2025 i Soundings

Any skipper worth his salt knows there’s always more to learn about boating. I was reminded of that while walking the docks at Bahia Mar in Fort Lauderdale. It had been a long day at a major boat show, and with 20,000 steps logged on my Apple watch, I was ready to call it quits and cast off from the show via Uber. But then, as I was making a beeline for the exit, the seductive sheerline of an unfamiliar boat caught my eye. So, I abandoned course and took a sharp turn to port to check out this stranger. The 37 Tournament Edition by Onslow Bay Boatworks was over in a corner of the show, in one of those spots that’s not ideal if you want to attract attention,…

In an age of electronic helms, joysticks, bow thrusters and automatic docking systems, it’s important to remember that not all boats have these modern systems. In fact, many don’t. Go to any boat show or walk the dock in most local marinas and you’ll see a lot of modest boats powered by single outboards. Some of these vessels are new, and yet they’re not packaged with that equipment because it can drive up the purchase price. As for used boats, many don’t have these systems because some of the technology wasn’t available until a few short years ago. Almost everywhere I go I see many recreational boats powered by one outboard, simply because that’s a popular entry-level package. For many seasoned boaters, a big single is preferred because of the…

A slim, elegant 60-footer slips through the waves of the Mediterranean Sea near the town of Lavagna, home to Italy’s renowned Sangermani shipyard, where the motoryacht received a comprehensive refit in 2022. The vessel is Sally, and even from a distance, her lines recall Modernism design principles from the 1940s and 1950s, making her stand out from every other boat in her vicinity. Sally is a 1959 build from the vaunted Burger Boat Company of Manitowoc, Wisconsin—the second-oldest builder of sail and power yachts in the nation. Founded by Henry B. Burger II around 1900, the company has a long and illustrious career, first building boats in wood, then in steel as of 1938, and from 1952 on in aluminum. Its first motor vessel was launched in 1901, an 85-foot…

When researching this story, Soundings visited Sites Adams (shown above with John Janetty) at her home. Slim and small of stature, she wore a pullover and slacks and peered at her company through rimless, pink-tinted glasses. She patiently answered questions, but canceled a scheduled portrait photo shoot, stating that “there are already enough pictures of me.” She takes pride in her story and in the recognition she still gets, but most of all, she says the wild blue ocean taught her what being alive feels like. Your book never mentions heaving to as a storm tactic. Why is that? I never hove to my whole life. Some books [also] suggest putting a parachute out, but I’ve never done that either. I don’t want anybody to learn anything about sailing from…

In the last decade, more boaters have changed the way they spend time on the water. They don’t head out for a week or even a weekend anymore. They boat one afternoon at a time, preferring to return to the docks when the sun sets. This change in boating habits has caused a surge in the demand for day boats. And yet, even though these owners are on the water for shorter periods, they still hope to bring the comforts of home—and the comforts of a more traditional cruising vessel—with them to the local sandbar for an afternoon. This change in cruising habits has brought creative thinking in the way boats are equipped and powered. There’s plenty of new technology, including what is produced in the Mobile Power Solutions (MPS)…

In the early 20th century, public interest in fast motorboats was growing rapidly, and builders were starting to push the limits on performance capabilities as engine technology progressed. The first motorboat race took place in 1903, and the sport became increasingly popular over the following decades. Of the competitors in the sport, perhaps none were as influential as American entrepreneur Garfield “Gar” Wood (pictured below), whose goal was to be recognized as the world’s speedboat king. The first man to travel over 100 mph on water, Wood held the world water speed record several times during his racing career. Following his early success in racing, his company, Garwood Industries, started building boats under the Gar Wood brand in 1921, and Wood often engaged in public stunts to show off their…

Eric Brown was aboard the 130-foot Argo, wrapping up for the night along with the rest of the crew, when Manu San Félix asked to have a word. “It was a classic day,” Brown told Soundings. “But when we came back that night, Manu came up to me—I’m the coral reef scientist on board the boat—and he says, ‘Eric, I found something here.’” Both men are part of the National Geographic Society’s Pristine Seas project, which is exploring the tropical Pacific to improve conservation efforts. The Argo is like a modern-day version of Jacques Cousteau’s Calypso, trying to get to places that human beings rarely, if ever, go. San Félix is a marine biologist and underwater image director. He’d been capturing photos and video all day, and had noticed a…

LOA: 34’3” Beam: 10’4” Draft: 2’1” Weight (dry): 11,302 lbs. Fuel: 285 gals. Water: 30 gals. Power: (2) 300- or 400-hp Mercury outboards Boston Whaler introduced the Vantage line in 2013 and has been releasing new and updated Vantage models ever since. Its latest addition to the series, the 330, was revealed at the 2024 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show as the line’s new flagship. Fabrizio DeLuca from parent company Brunswick’s Tech Center in Everglades, Florida, was aboard to show me around. DeLuca, the lead designer for the 330, said the boat is a refresh of the Vantage 320, which was introduced in 2015. “We wanted to implement the new styling from the [two most recent] Vantages, and to add more features that were requested by the customers and the…

No owner loves a boat with a bad attitude. Today, with the advent of adaptive vessel attitude control systems, there’s really no excuse for a boat that exhibits poor behavior, including excessive bow rise on acceleration, listing and heeling and pounding through wakes. A new generation of “smart trim tabs” employs sensors and digital technology to offer an unprecedented level of pitch, roll and yaw control with no input from the captain. The result is a boating experience that is significantly more comfortable, convenient and efficient, and is rapidly elevating the expectations of owners of boats up to about 50 feet in length. “We think adaptive attitude control is a real game-changer for the industry,” says Victor Gonzalez, chief marketing officer at Sportsman Boats. Sportsman equips all of its models…

New York pilot schooners were typically painted black to mask earned blemishes as they aged but were sometimes initially painted white when launched. In Elisha Taylor Baker’s dramatic yet subtle painting, the artist captures a moment in the infancy of the 1876-built Centennial. Michael Florio, founder and director of Maritime Arts Gallery in Rowayton, Connecticut, previously had this painting of Centennial in his collection before selling it about 15 years ago. He regards it as one of Baker’s best, highlighting the painting’s composition and use of artificial light. “I’d consider this one of his masterpieces,” Florio says. “It’s a very beautiful painting; it’s luminous, and the blue sky has these pinkish clouds. The clouds are a wonderful pink. American luminous paintings might have the whole sea lit up with light.…

Think electric boat and odds are you’ll envision a catamaran covered stem to stern with solar panels, or a boat flying on foils. But the Sialia 57 Deep Silence doesn’t fit those descriptions. It looks more like a sleek Northern European weekend yacht, and it’s propelled by electric motors, batteries and a range extender. “We wanted a boat that goes fast and far on batteries. The idea is not to get compared to a normal electric boat, but to get compared to a boat, full stop,” says Sialia co-founder Tomasz Gackoski, an aerospace engineer. “It’s an electric boat with no compromises.” The two-stateroom 57 has all the bells and whistles you’d expect on any internal combustion-powered luxury yacht. The boat is the brainchild of Polish entrepreneur and Sialia CEO Stanislav…

LOA: 29’11” Beam: 8’6” Draft (motor up): 1’7” Displ.: 7,310 lbs. Fuel: 90 gals. Water: 14 gals. Power: (1) 300-hp Mercury At last fall’s Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, Sea Ray Boats unveiled two new models in its SDX line, the 2025 SDX 270 Outboard and 250 Outboard. Part of Sea Ray’s massive mandate to update the entire SDX series, which ranges from 25 to 30 feet, these two outboard-powered deck boats feature all-new designs. “Sea Ray’s next-gen SDX line was introduced in January 2024 with the launch of the SDX 270 Surf and SDX 270 sterndrive models. Throughout this year, we have expanded the series’ offerings to the SDX 250 available in surf, sterndrive and outboard propulsion, and the SDX 270 Outboard. Improvements from the previous SDX design include…

“I grew up as a farmer,” says Jose “Joe” DaPonte, the Azorean-born president and owner of C&C Marine, a builder of recreational fishing boats, including the NorthCoast Boats. We are trolling daisy chains for bluefin tuna just before daybreak aboard Hull No. 1 of the NorthCoast 415HT, somewhere south of Block Island. “Our little town was away from the water, but it was high,” says Joe. Every time I was on the farm, I’d look at the ocean and I’d see those boats going by. For some reason, it gave me some, you know, feeling about it. So when I came to this country, I said, I gotta try a little something.” And try something he did. When Joe first stepped off the proverbial boat from the Azores and into…

Solar panels provide a clean, quiet, and sustainable energy source. A well-designed solar system ensures your batteries stay charged and your systems run without relying on noisy generators or shore power. In this guide we’ll tell you about the essentials of a boat solar installation. By understanding these components, you can create a tailored solar setup that meets your boat’s energy needs, reduces fuel dependency, and aligns with the growing demand for eco-conscious marine solutions. CHARGE CONTROLLERS A charge controller is a critical component of any solar installation, ensuring that the voltage from your solar panels is safely and efficiently converted to match your battery bank’s charging profile. There is a significant performance difference between the two leading charge controller types. MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) controllers are widely regarded…