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.
In May, I saw a familiar boat at the Frank S. Farley State Marina in Atlantic City. I recognized Mack Attack as the Viking 48 Convertible that served as a test bed for a pair of Scania Di16 diesels—V-8s with 1,150 horses—that debuted in the U.S. last year. Gary Caputi had sea-trialed the boat for Soundings and his reporting showed the engine had one of the highest power-to-weight ratios in its class. He was enthusiastic about its potential. In Atlantic City, I got the chance to board the boat, only on this day, it served as a test platform for something different: validating the use of renewable diesel fuel on a performance sportfisherman. Viking Yacht Company and Mack Boring, the U.S. distributor for Scania, had arranged for media to observe…
Three years after the federal government proposed the idea of requiring East Coast boats as small as 35 feet to cruise no faster than 10 knots, things are moving in a decidedly different direction when it comes to protecting endangered North Atlantic right whales against vessel strikes. Not only has the proposed speed restriction been stopped, there is also a significant research effort underway to try and ensure there will be no need for such a rule in the future. “You cannot eliminate risk, that’s impossible. But we’re very committed to finding ways of leveraging technology so we can move toward reducing risk for whales, to the extent possible,” says John DePersenaire, director of government affairs and sustainability at Viking Yachts in New Jersey, as well as chairman of…
Formula introduced the 350 Crossover Bowrider (CBR) in 2013, but after 13 model years the company thought it was time to cook up a new version. The company says the new 360 CBR improves on the design, performance and layout of its predecessor. The 360 boasts an open bow with a single-level flush cockpit and a standup cabin with overnight accommodations plus a head compartment. The new model has a rakish profile and is built on a FAS3Tech ventilated stepped hull. The 360 CBR can be powered with twin 380- to twin 520-horsepower sterndrives from MerCruiser, Mercury Racing or Ilmor. An outboard version is in the works, which will be made available with triple 300-, 350- or 400-hp Mercury outboards, or twin Mercury 600-hp outboards. The helm, where there’s a…
A couple of years ago, business took me to Europe for a month. I visited Germany, Spain, France and Switzerland, and then took a jaunt over to Tenerife. I started packing the day before I left, and from start to finish, it took me one hour to fill a carry-on bag and a backpack. In retrospect, I could have skipped the carry-on and crammed a change of clothes into the backpack beside my laptop and then bought a few pieces of clothing in Frankfurt. On that trip I traveled from city to city, where access to services and goods was largely uninterrupted, so I didn’t have to worry about forgetting something. My next big trip won’t be like that. For the first time in my life, I am being forced…
The drawbridge at Cape Canaveral, Florida, opened on schedule, but unfortunately for an approaching sailboat, the bridge tender was a stickler. “We were really pushing to make it,” Allie Alsup recalls. When her vessel was just two minutes away, she saw the span closing. “There were squalls coming, so we had planned to anchor on the other side of the bridge in a protected area. But we had to wait an hour and a half for the bridge to reopen, in a three-foot chop, so we could get to the anchorage that was right over there,” she says. It was the final leg of a trip down the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) aboard Endeavor, a Catalina 380, for Allie, 26, and Debbie Alsup, 56, her mother. With them were Debbie’s parents…
If you’ve never heard of Finnish powerboat builder Aquador Boats, well, you’re likely not alone. The nearly 30-year-old brand, owned by parent company Nimbus Boats, splashed on U.S. shores last summer in Annapolis, where its boats will be available through exclusive distribution partner PowerTime. The company also offers fractional ownership opportunities through a franchise boat-sharing arrangement in three additional U.S. locations. “It’s a great opportunity for folks who want to subsidize ownership costs through a sharing agreement,” Nimbus Boats USA Vice President Justin Joyner said as we hopped aboard Aquador’s 300HT. From the outside, the 300HT has an angular appearance highlighted by its namesake hardtop (HT), squared-off bow and staggered hullside glass panels. There’s an expansive teak-capped swim platform aft while a large, cushy sunpad dominates the bow area. Some…
