March 2020

Soundings

Soundings is the news and feature publication for recreational boaters

Soundings1 min read
Soundings
MARCH 2020 VOL. LVII, NO. 7 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF JEANNE CRAIG EXECUTIVE EDITOR PIM VAN HEMMEN ART DIRECTOR BRIANA SMITH SENIOR EDITOR GARY REICH ASSOCIATE EDITOR CARLY SISSON WEB ADMINISTRATOR MARY LOU COOKE CONTRIBUTING EDITOR KIM KAVIN CONTRIBUTING WRIT
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Mailboat
I thoroughly enjoyed the article on the David B and its nearly 100-year-old diesel engine (“Time Machine,” February). It took me back over 40 years when a longtime diving friend owned the Peterson-built, gill net tug, Ann B. Built in Sturgeon Bay, Wi
Soundings3 min read
An Ugly Problem
When a St. Petersburg, Florida, marine officer recently retired after 30 years on the job, Heather Judd, who works in the office of the city attorney, asked him what he would change in the region if he could change absolutely anything. The officer to
Soundings4 min read
Ease the Motion
Constant calm seas exist only in our dreams. Sometimes, we’re stuck out there in reality when the wind and seas really kick up. If you are on a day trip and able to make safe haven before the weather turns nasty, then by all means do so. But on a pas
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Around The World Reads
Born in Nova Scotia, Joshua Slocum had made dozens of open sea voyages on trader and merchant ships before he built Spray, the gaff-rigged oyster sloop he’d sail around the world alone. He set sail from Fairhaven, Massachusetts, on April 24, 1895, fo
Soundings3 min read
The High Cost of Waiting
Life rafts are the thing you need when almost everything else fails. With the exception of a fierce and unexpected holing of the boat from some external force, or a fast-building fire you can’t contain, if you find yourself boarding a life raft, then
Soundings2 min read
Go the Distance
There are a lot of ways to relax in your downtime. Here in the Northeast, during the winter months when boats are in storage, one of my guilty pleasures is to search online for all things vintage. That includes nautical antiques, listings for which I
Soundings1 min read
Quiz
1. INLAND RULES: For determining a safe speed, all of the following are mentioned in the rules, except: A. The draft in relation to the available depth of water B. The presence of background light at night C. Constraints imposed by the radar range sc
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Beneteau Swift Trawler 41
In 2010, Beneteau introduced its first Swift Trawler, the 34, in the U.S. At the time, the French builder was mostly known in the United States for its sailboats, but the trawler design quickly garnered a reputation for speed, space and comfort among
Soundings5 min read
The Next Big Thing
What “flyover country” is to the United States, the Connecticut coastline has long been to Northeast boaters. Stuck between bustling New York Harbor and Rhode Island’s marine mecca of Newport, the Nutmeg State is a place that a lot of boaters simply
Soundings3 min read
Speak Up
Years ago, I was invited to help deliver a schooner to Key West, Florida, only to be faced with an uncomfortable situation before we ever left the dock. It was late fall when my brother and I arrived in Beaufort, North Carolina, to replace two crewme
Soundings2 min read
Wesmac 42
In its 30-plus years, Wesmac Custom Boats has built more than 600 watercraft at its yard in Surry, Maine. Customers include commercial fishermen, law enforcement officials, research labs and hardcore recreational boaters. The business started on the
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Answering The Shout
In the early hours of August 20, 1989, the River Thames party boat Marchioness was boarded by a large group of revelers. The evening was warm and still—ideal conditions for the happy Londoners gathered for a birthday celebration. With everyone aboard
Soundings5 min read
Treasure Hunters
Adrienne Culpepper says the smell is the first thing most people notice about the business that she and her husband, Michael, own in Galveston, Texas. “When people who have worked on rigs or ships walk into our shop, they breathe in and say, ‘Aaahh,
Soundings7 min read
Way To Grow
Maritime museums aren’t considered hotbeds of radical thinking and action. They tend to move conservatively, even ponderously. So, when the search committee for a new president at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) in St. Michaels, Maryland, p
Soundings10 min read
Spring Forward
At 35 feet, 4 inches length overall, the Ever-glades 365 replaces the 355 as the model between the 335 and 395 in the builder’s center console lineup. Reaching the fish shouldn’t take long with a pair of 425-hp Yamaha XF425 4-stroke outboards strappe
Soundings2 min read
Sabbath at Sea
Sailors throughout the ages have answered to wind and weather. Theirs is a harsh and unforgiving environment, as evidenced by the saying that they have but a 2-inch plank between them and eternity. (The thickness of the plank varies with the speaker
Soundings2 min readAutomotive
Get the Air Out
Brewer South Freeport Marine, ME The injection pump on a diesel engine is great for pumping fuel, but when air gets into the fuel system—from changing fuel filters, for example—you have to bleed it out. Fill the primary fuel filters with clean diesel
Soundings3 min read
Tollycraft 44 CPMY
One of the advantages of buying a boat far from home is that you get to drive it back to its new home waters. For Dave and Ann Roman, that meant a 16-day voyage from Michigan to coastal New Hampshire. “We had a wonderful cruise on Lake Erie and the e
Soundings2 min read
Discover the Coastline of Mystic, Connecticut
A charming and pristine community, Mystic was founded in 1654 and quickly became known as a prominent shipbuilding village during the clipper ship era. Today, Mystic maintains its ties to maritime history, and recreational boating. Located near some
Soundings2 min read
The Stamas Americana
Folks who went to the Florida State Fair in Tampa back in 1938 might have seen a couple of local high school boys standing on the midway alongside their home-built, 22-foot wooden cruiser. They might also have noticed the prize they were awarded. Pet

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