Tabla de contenidos para August/September 2022 en Boating

Grady-White’s versatile Freedom 325 combines the luxuries of a dayboat with the sea-keeping and utility of a sport-fisher. One console hides a private head and a shower, while the other houses a comfortable daybed, ensuring comfort during long days or the occasional overnight afloat. Plus, the standard hardtop—larger than others we’ve seen—comes with an overhead rail and flush-mount electronics area, plenty of rod holders, LED lighting, and a retractable Sure-Shade system. The portside dive and boarding door offers great convenience; deep seating areas aft, near the helm and in the bow ensconce family and friends; and the push-button extendable lounge is impressive. There are also boarding platforms astern, a high-end audio system and, for anglers, a 254-quart fish box, a 32-gallon livewell, rod holders, and a patented foldaway aft bench…

While exploring the waters near Charleston, South Carolina, the sudden sensation of being lifted while decelerating was the moment I knew I had run onto a barely submerged sandbar in a tidal creek. Watching the creek empty with the outgoing tide, I knew I was stuck for a while. But I did not get hurt, there was no damage to my boat or motor, and I had extra clothes, and even some food and water aboard my 19-foot center-console. My problems would begin later, when the water returned and I started for home. The boat began to float again about 8 p.m. just as a dense fog advisory with visibilities of less than a quarter-mile crackled from the marine radio. I started back along my plotted course, the fog thick…

SCUFF IT One advantage of wet-sanding is that it keeps toxic or irritating dust to a minimum. Also, the paper clogs less. LET IT SHINE? Q: My outboard skeg got the paint scraped off of it during a minor grounding. Should I bother to repaint it? Dan McEvoy Boise, Idaho A: Yes, you should repaint it. Doing so helps prevent corrosion, especially in salt water, if you were to take the boat to the coast. Engine-makers and aftermarket marine suppliers offer factory-matched color. If your engine is white or black, one can often find matching paint at a lower cost from the hardware store. (I have had good luck with Krylon brand spray enamel.) For best results, clean and lightly sand the skeg. Then apply a few coats of aluminum…

Trailer-light problems are so common that they are the subject of campfire stories. It seems every boater can tell a trailer-light tale. Even today, with more-reliable LEDs replacing incandescent lights, boat-trailer lights continue to be a source of exasperation while, in fact, the entire trailer-light wiring system is a pretty simple affair. Let’s look at some of the more common maladies, how to diagnose them and, most importantly, how to repair them. BAD GROUND This is the primary cause of trailer-light problems. Symptoms include flickering, fast-blinking, dimness, intermittent operation (often when a trailer ball is used for a ground), and complete failure. THE FIX Repairing a bad ground can be as simple as attaching the white wire from the trailer’s wiring plug to the trailer frame with a solid screw…

Sea Ray’s SLX 260 debuts with a considerable buzz. The first sportboat to reflect the new design language Sea Ray introduced on the Sundancer 370 Outboard, it shares the latter’s S-shaped sheerline, prominent center crease (with pill-shaped logo) and aggressive forward jaw line. It’s the first Sea Ray model ever to be created by an all-female-led design team. It’s also the first SLX model to be offered in outboard power at this size range. (Sea Ray also offers an SLX 260 with sterndrive power.) Clearly, Sea Ray deems the SLX 260 ready to deliver on the hype. An outboard’s advantages on a sportboat are many. Increased cockpit space and storage immediately come to mind, as do corrosion resistance, power-to-weight ratio and ease of maintenance. Outboards also have the advantage of…

In motorcycle parlance, a cafe racer is a bike tricked out to look like a competition version but only flits from the pub to the bistro. While the new Azimut Verve 42 might look like a waterborne cafe racer for jaunts from Cannes to St. Tropez carrying champers and revelers, this boat is no poseur. We discovered this while smashing through and leaping off rough seas in the Gulf Stream, which tested its construction of vinylester resin (for blister protection), plus carbon fiber in the deck and hardtop (for strength). Built to Euro classification CE Category A (winds to 45 mph, seas to 13 feet), the Verve 42 gave off nary a creak. Testing in angry seas also proved Michael Peters’ stepped-V ventilated hull. It landed softly on its deep-V…

You almost certainly know the horsepower rating or displacement of your boat’s engine. But some marine-engine manufacturers have begun marketing torque over horsepower. In a break from standard practice, Indmar Marine Engines is even naming its Wake Series engine models based on torque rather than horsepower or displacement. We think that’s smart—though, it might make comparison shopping cumbersome if not universally adopted—because for most boat owners, engine torque is more important than horsepower. To understand why, you need to understand the difference between these two important engine characteristics. Torque is a measure of force, usually expressed in weight times distance. Hang a 10-pound weight from the end of a 5-foot-long horizontal lever and you have created 50 pound-feet (10 x 5) of force. In engine spec charts, torque is stated…

I try to never miss the annual chop suey dinner at St. John’s Lutheran Church. I’m not a big fan of chop suey, nor am I a Lutheran, but this church always has an attractive kitchen, if you get my drift. My good friend Chuck Larson was a converted member for the duration of his first marriage, so I think he attends out of nostalgia—or perhaps penance. Any Midwest church basement feed is a great way to socialize, and Chuck and I found a spot at one of the long paper-covered tables next to Wally, who was on break from Lake View Inn bartending duty. “You know what it feels like when you sit in your brand-new boat?” Chuck asked. “You feel like a big boy for once, like you…

Kawasaki’s new flagship Jet Ski Ultra 310 series personal watercraft are the most powerful ever, featuring a supercharged, 1,498 cc marine engine. The 2022 Ultra 310 line includes the Jet Ski Ultra 310X, Jet Ski Ultra 310LX-S and Jet Ski Ultra 310LX. Across the board, new features include Kawasaki Smart Reverse with Deceleration (KSRD), power mode selection, Kawasaki Launch Control Mode (KLCM), easy side-access storage and more. All three run on a deep-V hull with 22.5 degrees of deadrise and a 21.1-gallon fuel tank for long range. The new Jet Ski Ultra 310LX-S model’s features include a rear-view camera, an Ultra deck with two multi-mount rails, and LED accent lights. Aboard the Ultra 310LX, you’ll find the new Ergo-Fit adjustable luxury seat, Jetsound 4s integrated audio and a meter visor.…

I like the way the DB/43 looks. It’s got a touch of bodybuilder about it—toned but pumped, with a high freeboard, substantial windshield and hardtop, plumb bow and chopped-off transom. That profile conceals important surprises. The aft bulwarks fold down, creating two cockpit-extending platforms that virtually double the deck space at the transom. Those, combined with a large hydraulic platform ($36,670), deliver a fabulous beach-club vibe. With those platforms down, the maximum beam dimension aft swells from 12½ feet to 18½ feet, which, to put it in better context, means its stern is much the same size as a 70-something motoryacht. Overall, the cockpit layout packs in all the essentials without feeling cramped, whether those platforms are up or down. There’s a sun pad aft, beneath which is a locker…

It’s epiphany time: I’m running 17,000 pounds of cold-molded okoume ply, E-glass and Kevlar propelled by 1,050 Suzuki outboard horses at 55 mph. Chop and 2-foot boat wakes melt beneath the deep-V hull. But it’s not just smooth; it’s also quiet. At 4,500 rpm, my sound meter registered 86 dB(A), 4 or 5 decibels quieter than most twin or triple outboard rigs. So, what gives? The Weaver’s cold-molded hull absorbs and dissipates vibrations in a way that molded fiberglass can’t match. Combine it with a large console that shields you from the wind blast and a bracket that moves the powerplants well aft of the transom, and the Weaver 41 runs significantly quieter than other boats. However, once you reach the pelagic hunting grounds, things will likely get noisier as…

Before tinkering with the successful Axis T220, Malibu’s design team listened to owners and users, and upgraded this midsize wake-sports boat while keeping it comparatively affordable. The traditional bow slices wakes, but broadens quickly to enlarge the forward lounge. The high sides make this area kid-friendly and reassuring to parents. The helm debuts the new Axis dash that is clean and ergonomic, featuring a 7-inch Garmin touchscreen monitor that switches from engine gauges to lighting and systems to wake sports. The wake-sports screen provides the captain with control of the Power Wedge III, Surf Gate, cruise control and ballast tanks, giving wake-boarders and wakesurfers a customized experience with just a few button touches. The driver’s bucket seat with bolster offers secure seating, and a rear-facing companion lounge morphs into wraparound…

Nathan Garrison found his calling amid two personal traumas. In the spring of 2006, one of his best friends suffered a shark attack while surfing at Folly Beach, South Carolina. His friend’s injuries were severe, but he survived and made a full recovery. A few years later, one of Garrison’s neighbors fell victim to a shark while surfing off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. Sadly, he succumbed to his injuries. Few people know anyone involved in a shark attack, let alone two people, and these life events left Garrison recoiling and rethinking his career as a video content creator. His subsequent introspection led him to change course. In 2012, at age 25, in partnership with his father, David, Garrison moved forward with a plan to develop and market compact,…

When I first stepped into the Maverick Boat Group’s P2 factory in Fort Pierce, Florida, the first thing I noticed was what was missing. In most other boatbuilding facilities I have visited, I’ve been quickly overwhelmed by the smell of styrene. But here at the Maverick facility, I didn’t smell any of the noxious chemicals associated with building boats. The second thing I noticed as Charlie Johnson, the company’s director of marketing and promotions, walked me down the assembly line was what appeared to be a hull mold covered in long sheets of dry fiberglass. Then a group of workers began the process of encasing the entire mold in translucent, green-tinted plastic and affixing a crazy assemblage of plastic tubing. It looked like a scene out of Young Frankenstein meets…

JBL’s PRV-275 is the right shape and size to fit holes left in your dash from a tachometer or speedometer if and when you switch to a multifunction display for engine instrumentation. The weatherproof, Bluetooth-enabled stereo receiver fits a standard 31/2-inchdiameter gauge hole for simple installation. The round PRV-275 display has a color LCD screen, a built-in amplifier, AM/FM and weather band, a USB port, aux and video feed inputs, and three pairs of RCA pre-outs for adding an amplifier or subwoofer. Easy-to-use nonslip buttons and a rotary encoder are engineered for simple use, even in rough waters. Rated for four speakers at 45 watts peak power, this stereo receiver delivers clean audio when paired with JBL marine speakers, even at the highest volume settings. $299.95; prospecelectronics.com…

BOLT COUPLER LOCK The Bolt trailer coupler lock deters theft of unattended trailer boats with hardened steel construction that prevents hitching the trailer to a vehicle. It’s powder-coated for corrosion resistance, and the adaptable design fits trailers with 17⁄8-, 2- and 25⁄16-inch couplers. It is engineered to work with the patented, weatherproof Bolt lock (included) that can be easily matched to your vehicle’s ignition key. It features a double ball bearing and a plate tumbler side bar to prevent picking the lock. $69.99; etrailer.com GARMIN QUATIX 7 SMARTWATCHES Garmin’s new Quatix 7 series of premium smartwatches are built for life on the water, with GPS, touchscreen displays, tide charts and anchor drag alerts, as well as control of Garmin multifunction displays, autopilots and Fusion sound systems. The rechargeable watches include…

Rust never sleeps, and nowhere is this more apparent than on a steel boat trailer. Be it painted or galvanized, dunked in fresh water or the briny, steel trailers eventually succumb to the unrelenting march of corrosion as the iron within the steel alloy seeks to return to its natural state—iron oxide. While the old saying might ring true, new prep-and-paint formulas have emerged that help slow down the progression of rust, if not put it in a state of suspended animation. One of the most effective on the market today is RustSeal from KBS Coatings. This multistep system relies heavily on careful prep and cleaning of the affected surfaces as much as proper application of the coating itself. When done right, RustSeal not only slows down previously rusty spots,…

Serious anglers have been fishing Blackfin for 50 years. But in the past five, the hard-edged fishing brand has wrapped itself in luxury accommodations, a performance ride, and a lustrous fit-and-finish like you might find on a hand-built sports car. Why shouldn’t you? The Blackfin 302 DC is certainly hand-built and exhibits all the accoutrements that come from that kind of care. Performance comes from blending hull design and construction techniques. The running surface is a patented Michael Peters double-stepped hull with a shallow notch in the hull halfway up to the chines from the keel and beginning just behind the second step. This notch gives the hull superior control in turns. The sheer runs high to handle the rough seas serious anglers might encounter, keeping the crew safe and…

The wind had been blowing for two straight days at last winter’s Miami International Boat Show, and most of the other captains were reluctant to head out beyond the breakwater of the marina. But Ryan Zivitski, the factory captain aboard the Mystic M4200, didn’t hesitate. So, we idled through a no-wake zone into the only channel where we could try to cull the performance numbers. Seeing as it was the only place to run that was even slightly protected, captains of several other boats had the same idea. Once we pointed the bow toward the inlet and dropped the throttles on the quad Mercury Racing 450s, the confused sea state made little difference. The Mystic M4200 felt ridiculously dialed in as we recorded speeds at different rpm all the way…

With its cyan-blue deck, lime-yellow saddle, and splatter-paint graphics, the JetBlaster evokes Yamaha’s WaveBlaster, a mid-’90s craft that retains a die-hard fan base. But don’t expect a trip down memory lane. Longer and wider, the Jet-Blaster is also far more playful, part of the reason it joins the stand-up SuperJet in a new freestyle category from Yamaha. Like the Blaster of old, the JetBlaster prioritizes a trait occasionally missing in today’s bigger-is-better PWC market: pure, unadulterated fun. The basis of the craft is the recently departed EXR, the performance-minded model in Yamaha’s rec-lite class of WaveRunners. The addition of a 110 hp variant of the brand’s TR-1 HO engine and the loss of 50-plus pounds thanks to Yamaha’s NanoXcel construction material gave the EXR an advantageous horsepower-to-weight ratio. The Jet-Blaster…

When trying to fish a small wreck from a drifting boat, determining where to start a drift that will pass over the wreck can prove complicated, especially with conflicting winds and currents. It’s largely guesswork; that is, unless you have a Furuno NavNet TZtouch3 multifunction display with the exclusive Drift-It chart-plotting feature. I had a chance to experience this system in the Atlantic waters off Marathon in the Florida Keys with Capt. Jack Carlton of Two Conchs Fishing Charters. Carlton not only uses Drift-It to effectively fish deep wrecks, but he was also integral to the development of this feature. “I asked Furuno if they could come up with a way for the TZ-touch system to tell me exactly where I need to start a drift, and they came up…

My Lowrance HDS-12 Live multifunction display reflects into the aft-raked windshield, creating a distracting glare both day and night. By the way, that’s why many pilothouse boats have windshields that rake forward and other boats have brows over the dash area—to help eliminate reflected glare from instruments and displays. I addressed the issue with a visor from BerleyPro, which offers a wide range of thin, vacuum-formed black plastic visors for displays from Humminbird, Garmin, Lowrance, Raymarine and Simrad. The visors also shield displays on open helms from sun glare and rain drizzle. Visor prices range from $39 to $104. To install the visor, I removed the snap-fit front bezel from the display, then used the supplied stainless-steel hardware to secure the visor. Last, I snapped the bezel back in place,…