October 2019

Soundings

Soundings is the news and feature publication for recreational boaters

Soundings2 min read
Happy Place
I was hanging on a line someone had thrown over the side of the boat, tugging at it to stay close to the side of the hull, even as a muscular current conspired to sweep me away. Armed with a large sponge and plenty of enthusiasm, I set to work gussyi
Soundings2 min read
Mailboat
I enjoyed the story “Boats Create Bonds” (August). Do I believe boating can make a family closer? Absolutely! I grew up with boats. My father, a skilled carpenter, built me a delightful 5-foot sailboat for my sixth birthday and taught me how to sail.
Soundings4 min read
History For Sale
As more and more of the nation’s historic lighthouses have moved from government to private hands, leading preservationists, lighthouse enthusiasts and coastal boaters are wondering whether this will save these landmarks or allow them to crumble and
Soundings3 min read
The Joy of Joysticks
If there’s one maneuver that gives even qualified skippers the shivers, it’s docking a boat. Whether you’re performing in front of an audience at the fuel dock or pulling into your home slip against a cross-current or gusty winds—or both—chances are
Soundings4 min read
Storm Strategy
Storm-force winds are Force 10 winds or greater on the Beaufort scale. That’s sustained winds of at least 48 knots, or 55 mph—sobering conditions, even in port. Buildings may sustain structural damage. Deck gear—such as Bimini tops, dodgers, sails an
Soundings2 min read
Sea Stories
A RACY ENDING The Whitbread Round the World Race (known today as the Ocean Race) has always been one of the most grueling endurance feats on earth, perhaps even more so in its early days, given that many of the vessels were production boats, not the
Soundings4 min read
Slow The Pace
It’s hard not to love a place whose website begins with the beers on tap at the local brewery, and where a passer-by at the free town dock asks strangers whether they want a ride to “the Piglet.” That’s what the locals call the town’s Piggly Wiggly,
Soundings4 min read
Man Overboard! What’s Next?
There is nothing more dangerous in boating than an unexpected trip over the side. Medical problems may be the most common at-sea emergency, and most flooding may be caused by poor maintenance of through-hull fittings, but going overboard is far and a
Soundings2 min read
Paint Prognosis
Perry’s Boat Repair, Portland, CT A paint job is 80 percent preparation, so some customers save money by doing that work themselves. Filling and fairing the hull is tricky, but not rocket science; some older boats need fiberglass mat laid over crazed
Soundings6 min read
Going the Distance
The first time Emily Penn crossed the Pacific Ocean on a boat, she was fresh out of college with an architecture degree, thinking she was going to be cruising straight into a picture-perfect postcard. Her mind was filled with palm trees, blue water a
Soundings2 min read
Regulator 26XO
Every summer until I was 15, my dad and I fished the skinny coastal waters inside Indian River Inlet, Delaware, for fluke. Though I remember our excursions with great fondness, I recall my dad always wanting a boat that would allow us to go farther o
Soundings2 min read
Wheeler 38 Playmate
If you wanted to buy a rugged, seaworthy motor cruiser in the mid-1930s, a Wheeler was a good choice. Howard E. Wheeler’s shipyard in Brooklyn, New York, had been in business since 1910, turning out everything from skiffs to larger power yachts. The
Soundings4 min read
Shore Thing
Born in the Netherlands and raised near Cape Town, South Africa, Onne van der Wal is considered one of the planet’s best nautical photographers. In October, his latest book, Sailing America, will be released. We caught up with him at his gallery in N
Soundings8 min read
The Long Haul
Taylor Allen never imagined it would take him 12 years to turn an old sardine carrier into a personal cruising boat. “Are you kidding me?” the co-owner of Maine’s Rockport Marine says as he bursts out laughing. “If I thought it was going to take 12 y
Soundings6 min read
Vineyard Vibe
Rhode Island Sound is in our wake and Vineyard Sound is ahead as the cliffs at Aquinnah on the west end of Martha’s Vineyard rise off the bow, the face bleached by the sun. A boulder-strewn beach and rolling, aqua-colored ocean at the base of the blu
Soundings11 min read
Dream Machines
1 BENETEAU FLYER 32 This is the latest addition to the company’s outboard-powered dayboat line, which also includes a 23-foot model. The Flyer 32 is 32 feet, 8 inches LOA with an 11-foot beam and is powered by twin 350-hp outboards. It has Beneteau’s
Soundings2 min read
Sailing Day
How do we get hooked on boats and boating? Where does our passion for being on the water come from? When did it start? For some, it began as a child, on that first family cruise or fishing trip. For others, it started with a model boat launched on a
Soundings1 min read
Stone House
JAMESTOWN, RHODE ISLAND SPONSORED CONTENT Located 25 miles south of Providence, Rhode Island, and a mile west of Newport in Narragansett Bay, Jamestown is both a summer destination and year-round community. Nine miles long by one-mile wide, the islan
Soundings5 min read
Powerboats
Stunning 3 Stateroom Downeast Alden. Exterior Photoshoot To Follow In The Next Week. If You Have Not Seen An Alden You Owe It To Yourself To See The Quality, Fit & Finish On This One. Painted Hull, Teak Cockpit, Bow Thruster & So Much More. Vic Redde
Soundings1 min readAutomotive
Style For The Seventies
In the 1960s, the marine engine and equipment conglomerate OMC—known best for its outboard engines—formed a boating division. It would produce and market fiberglass pleasure boats under the Johnson brand name. The 16-foot Johnson SeaSport II shown in

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