Sommaire pour May 2017 de Boating

Boating is rampant with boating safety. In fact, almost everything about the sport of boating is sourced in safety, from the day you purchase the right boat for the kind of boating you want to do, to the day when you decide to say, “No, those conditions are beyond my capabilities and/or beyond the design parameters for my boat.” Or it should be. Builders such as Boston Whaler (“unsinkable”) and Grady-White (“everything drains overboard”) have staked their existence on safety for decades. And those are just the better-known examples. There are many top boatbuilders who make safety a design priority. I point this out all the time to those who tell me that safety doesn’t sell. If you’re new to the sport, take some quiet time and think about the…

Who says Las Vegas isn’t a boating town? Just go to the City Center where sculptor Nancy Rubins has wired together a huge art project made from canoes, kayaks, rowboats and sailboats. It’s not easy to find — Big Edge is wrapped by Monte Carlo, Bellagio, and the Vdara Hotel and Spa. But if you can get there, it’s spectacular. Rubins, who works largely in industrial material — airplane pieces, boiler parts, consumer debris — used piano wire to attach 200 boats to a stainless-steel frame. Some observers describe Big Edge as a “big metal flower,” since the hulls are arranged like red, yellow and blue spiny blooms; others call it “gravitydefying” because all 75 feet of this angry-yet-fresh-looking pineapple appear to hover above the concrete expanse of downtown. What…

Three new station-keeping systems for boats powered by multiple outboards not only let captains automatically maintain position in wind and current, but can also lock in a heading, whether holding the boat in place or drifting. SeaStar Solutions first hit the market last fall with the multifaceted SeaStation system integrated into the SeaStar Optimus 360 joystick steering package. SeaStation features Position Hold, Heading Hold and a combined Position/ Heading Hold. At the Miami International Boat Show in February, both Mercury Marine and Yamaha Marine followed suit, debuting similar systems. Mercury expanded on its popular Skyhook virtual anchor for outboards, adding features such as Heading Adjust, BowHook and DriftHook to the Joystick Piloting for Outboards package. Yamaha added Set Point to its Helm Master outboard joystick control system with features that…

“We’ll put some tools and the floor jack in the truck. And charge them double the retail price of the wheel. Triple if they’re from Illinois, of course.” My good friend Chuck Larson and his buddy Bob “Toes” Lund are the Lucy and Ethel of the Lake View Inn. They frequently cook up beer-fueled schemes designed to put extra cash in their fun kitty. With the arrival of boating season, they came up with an idea that was borderline predatory. Toes, who recently retired from a gig driving the Frito-Lay truck and restocking Cheetos, Fritos and Doritos — hence the nickname — had noted that the number of disabled boat trailers abandoned on the road side escalated on the Fridays before the fishing opener and Memorial Day weekend. At 5-mile…

SCAN ME To read the full interview, scan this tag or go to boatingmag.com/planesalvage. How did A&T Recovery begin? My partner, Allan Olson, and I grew up together, and we always liked to explore things, so one day Al said to me, “Hey, let’s get a boat and go out on Lake Michigan.” I said, “OK!” We had a chunky boat and a fish finder, and lo and behold, we found an airplane. How did these airplanes get into Lake Michigan? From 1942 to ’45, the Navy had two makeshift flattop aircraft carriers on the south shore of Lake Michigan so pilots could train. In the process, 130 aircraft were lost in the lake. And how did you get so good at finding them? We researched at the National Archives.…

Prudent seamanship dictates that you rehearse the procedures. You have an EPIRB, right? If not and you venture offshore, get one. A manual Category II EPIRB, such as the rescueME EPIRB1 by Ocean Signal, is affordable ($349.95, thegpsstore.com). With a new EPIRB in hand, follow the manufacturer’s instructions to register it with the NOAA Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking website (sarsat.noaa.gov) so that rescue personnel can identify your vessel when they receive an emergency signal. Quick deployment starts with deciding the best place to keep your EPIRB. Most EPIRBs come with mounting brackets. “To keep it simple, mount the EPIRB within arm’s reach from the helm,” says Nichole Kalil, media and public relations lead at ACR Electronics. Many captains choose to stow the EPIRB in a ditch bag. In this…

An ample ground connection from the boat to the dock through the shore-power cord all but eliminates the possibility of electric shock drowning caused by electricity leaking from your boat. This simple test uses the boat’s 12-volt DC power and a 50-watt DC lightbulb to test the boat’s entire ground system all the way through the dockside end of the shore-power cord — even if the boat is fitted with a galvanic isolator or isolation transformer. Just be sure to test each cord and each shore-power inlet receptacle. — Capt. Vincent Daniello STEP 1 Flip off both the boat and shore main circuit breakers; unplug the shore cord from the dock and bring that dockside end aboard, close to the boat’s DC circuit-breaker panel. Use a 12-volt DC light that…

WE SAY Bigger can indeed be better with respect to watersports boats, as the Centurion Ri257 revealed during our test. Displacing 6,000 pounds, the 25-foot Ri257 is rated for a crew numbering 18 and can carry over 5,500 pounds of ballast. So, while it won’t fit into some garages on a trailer, this Centurion can produce some big, bad wakes and waves. Pro testers from our sister publication Wakeboarding rode behind the boat and noted that using full ballast for surfing could create long, mellow waves or steep ones. For wakeboarding, our riders noted that only partial ballast was needed in order to create a massive wall of water, enabling aspiration toward — and execution of — pro-level riding. Centurion incorporates multiple wave- and wake-enhancing features such as the Centurion…

Yamaha Marine chose Garmin's 7-inch GPSMap MFD to power its new CL7 touchscreen display. This will allow for full network compatibility between Yamaha systems and Garmin screens, sensors, sonar, weather, radar, autopilot, Fusion-Link and IP cameras. The CL7 will be standard on boats equipped with Yamaha Helm Master and will be the premium display for all Command Link Plus outboards starting this month “The features and capabilities of the new Yamaha CL7 display make command of Yamaha-powered craft easier and more informative than ever before,” says Ben Speciale, president of Yamaha Marine Group. The Yamaha CL7 is the required point of access to Yamaha’s new Set Point boat positioning function, and offers user-customizable engine and boat-systems data for up to four outboards on one screen The CL7 is offered in…

SEACHOICE PRODUCTS LIFE PRESERVER BAG THE STORE: This basic-looking waterresistant bag should keep life jackets and other gear clean and dry. It measures 20 inches long by 18 inches wide by 12 inches tall, and Seachoice says it will hold up to six life jackets. It’s made from heavy-duty white nylon with red lettering so passengers can find the bag in a hurry. Zippers and handles are made from a noncorrosive material. THE SACK: It doesn’t have compartments in the lid for smaller items. PRICE: $16.70; seachoice.com BOATMATES SMALL-CRAFT SAFETY BAG THE STORE: This BoatMates’ commercial-weight bag holds four adult and two children’s life jackets in the main compartments. Separate storage areas in the lid hold first-aid supplies, signal flares, a distress flag, an air horn and other small items.…

1. In 2015, the Coast Guard counted how many reported accidents? A. 4,158 B. 4,518 C. 8,415 D. 5,814 2. Of those accidents, how many involved death? A. 500 B. 573 C. 626 D. 662 3. Of those fatalities, 76 percent of the victims drowned. In what percentage of those accidents was the victim not wearing a life jacket? A. 85 percent B. 75 percent C. 90 percent D. 80 percent 4. Which of the following was not one of the five primary contributing factors in boating accidents in 2015? A. Operator inattention B. Operator inexperience C. Improper lookout D. Alcohol use 5. What was the top known primary contributing factor in accidents in 2015? A. Operator inattention B. Operator inexperience C. Improper lookout D. Machinery failure For Coast Guard…

Why are you not using a multimeter? Q: METERED APPROACH Dear Boat Doctor, my Pursuit is equipped with dual batteries. I turn the switch to the off position religiously after every use. Yet when I return to the dock, my batteries are dead. I can install a battery charger, but I still want to find out what is causing the drain on my batteries. Can you help? John Sutherland Ocean City, Maryland A: Hi John. Break out your digital multimeter. If you don’t have one, I suggest buying one because it is an invaluable tool for the DIY boater. First, check that your bilge-pump automatic switches aren’t the culprits. These are the only devices aboard your boat that should be hot-wired directly to the battery. Everything else should be shut off…

The first piece of marine electronics I owned was a Sea Ranger handheld VHF (I’ll share about the Heathkit depth sounder I built another time). This unit was not waterproof, did not float, offered no positioning capability, and the audio quality was akin to that of a gagged person eating peanut butter. Handhelds have come a long way since then. Learn about the following features before you shop for handheld marine electronics WATERPROOF Perhaps the biggest failing of my old Sea Ranger was that I needed to treat it with such great care. Look for a waterproof radio or GPS rated to the IPX7 standard. Leave any touted as “water-resistant” on the shelf. FLOATING The man-overboard implications of nonfloating marine electronics should be obvious. Waterproof is nice — so long…

BoatingLAB gets schooled on the ups and downs of these ubiquitous watertight containers. UNDERWATER KINETICS Our test boxes featured a zippered mobile phone pouch fastened in the lid. FLAMBEAU A manual purge valve seals positively and the anti-corrosive liner keeps metal items rust-free. PLANO MOLDING Thick silicone gaskets and overbuilt lever-action latches keep gear secure and safe. PELICAN Our test Micro cases have a patented waterproof air-purge valve to equalize pressure for easy opening. HOW WE TESTED We selected two cases from each brand’s lineup. Where possible, one boasted a clear polycarbonate plastic lid, and one boasted an opaque top made from the same tough plastic as the bottom half. LOAD ’EM The first thing my crew does when heading off shore is stash cellphones, wallets, keys and lighters. Sometimes…

WE SAY You don’t see many aluminum deck boats, but the Princecraft Ventura 220 WS might leave you wondering why. Its sleek lines, seating for 12, and full windshield offer nearly everything you’re looking for in a deck boat. When not piloting the 220 WS, swivel the captain’s bucket seat to join the gathering at the L-shaped cockpit seating and pedestal table, then grab an icy beverage from the cooler in the port console. Relax on the sun deck that stretches across the stern beam and enjoy tunes from the Bluetooth-enabled marine stereo system. Treat the crew to watersports using the ski-tow bar and starboard swim platform with a telescoping stainless-steel boarding ladder — all part of the optional Entertainment Package. You can also order the optional anodized aluminum wakeboard…

There are only two ways to get to Walters Cove Resort — by air or sea. Grady-White staffers Shelley Tubaugh and Gwen Edwards, along with Boating photographer Bill Doster and yours truly, arrived via DeHavilland Beaver floatplane after a two-hour flight from Seattle. We cleared Canadian Customs in Nanaimo and then flew over the mountainous spine of the 62-mile-wide island. Arriving aboard a second plane were Terry McCartney and his wife, Anne, whose boat dealership, Jacobsen Marine in Edmonds, Washington, strongly supports the Northwest Grady-White Club. Overlooking a quiet harbor in Kyuquot Sound (shown below left), the resort caters to anglers with its own fleet of Grady-White Gulfstream 232s. Staff are friendly and helpful, and guest rooms are quaint, clean and comfortable. The inviting main lodge offers a true Northwest…

That pull to the water gets stronger over time, though, and when I started emailing my brother, Brent Vance, images of what I’d nicknamed the “Bond” boat, he poked around on Craigslist. Within a week, he was sending me phone pictures of what really was a barn find. It was a 1979 Glastron CVX 16 with a Johnson 115 outboard. The motor wouldn’t run but had compression, and the starter would kick it over. The gear case seemed sound as well. Even though it had been dormant for years, it had been covered and kept in an actual barn since 1978. Still on its original custom trailer, the barn find also had the original orange shag carpet, baby (think Austin Powers), but the original bronze upholstery was trashed. It had…

Start with your electrical system. Your electronics performance depends on it. Here are some key inspection points and procedures for checking your electrical and other systems. 1 When were your batteries last replaced? Consider replacing them after three to four years. Ensure battery terminal connections are tight and free from corrosion buildup. 2 Check that the wiring connections for all electronics and electrical devices make solid contact. Terminal connections can and do come loose from normal impact and pounding when underway. Also, check that all electrical connections are free of corrosion. 3 Get a voltmeter and learn to use it. It can help spot problems in the making. Be sure there is no more than one volt drop from your battery terminals to the closest connection point to your electronics…