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[ May 15, 2012 ]
by Eric Colby
image-martinschoenwald

Tres Martin(L) and Brad Schoenwald(R) of the Tres Martin Performance Boat Driving School.

For the second-straight year, the elite members of the United States Navy’s special operations teams received training in boat operation from the performance-boating world’s elite teachers, Tres Martin and Brad Schoenwald, of the Tres Martin Performance Boat Driving School.

[ May 11, 2012 ]
by Pete McDonald

We’ve had a tradition of taking on long-term project boats, but this year we are taking on…a kayak?

Yes, a kayak. A Hobie Mirage Revolution 11, a pedal powered yak that burns the Big Mac you ate rather than petroleum fuel. It may seem odd that a magazine dedicated to powerboats takes on a hardcore evaluation of a kayak, but it makes sense.

[ May 4, 2012 ]
by Jim Hendricks

As a southern California boater, I had felt far removed from the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in Japan on March 11, 2011. So as I launched my boat on March 12, 2011, and ventured solo out on along the Pacific Ocean, the tsunami was only in the back of my mind, yet it quickly grabbed all of my attention.

The tsunami had reached my coastal region nearly 24 hours prior, and its force, once it arrived here, was but a shadow of the deadly onslaught that devastated Japan’s northeastern coast.

[ May 4, 2012 ]
by Kevin Falvey

I receive all kinds of queries, requests and pleas for attention. I read them all. Mostly, my delete key gets a workout. But not always.

Late last night, this email from Adon Albanese of Industrial Shape and Form Anmore, British Columbia, hit my inbox.

We recently shot a video of the making of a boat propeller pattern that your reader may find interesting. You are more than welcome to include it on your video section of the site.

[ May 1, 2012 ]
by Pete McDonald

New York State has a mandatory life jacket law for all persons on boats under 21-feet, between November 1st and May 1st. When my Dad recently asked a neighbor how much good a life jacket would do in frigid April waters, he received this half-joking reply, “It makes it easier to find the bodies.”

Taking to the water in cooler early-season is no joke. Cavalier about it? Read this first-person account on the effects of cold-water immersion:

Cool and Unusual: Studying Hypothermia

[ April 13, 2012 ]
by Kevin Falvey

I'm in the position of prophet, sage and wonder-boy. My job is to know everything about boats and dole that wisdom out in healthy monthly dollops. Or at least, and more realistically, I'm charged with applying what experience I do have to various and sundry boating topics that range from composite construction to the latest electronic technology to the viability of a particular boat for a particular purpose. But the fact is, there are very few "facts" when it comes to boats.

[ April 12, 2012 ]
by Jim Hendricks

To me, the biggest advantage a brick-and-mortar marine store holds over an online retailer is instant gratification.  That’s important when you’re in the middle of a weekend boat project.

Need a part? Drive to the store, inspect the item, make the purchase and continue working. Or at least that’s how it used to be. Lately, it seems that brick-and-mortars have adopted an online mentality, perhaps believing that if you can’t beat online stores, make customers wait.

[ March 29, 2012 ]
by Jim Hendricks

It scares me to think about where I have taken a boat in the hope of catching a fish. From the dreaded stormy waters of Lake Superior and the outer reaches of California’s offshore banks to remote bays of the Sea of Cortez and the vast Mississippi River Delta, the promise of fish has pulled me like a tracker beam far from the main channels.

Yet there’s one boating experience that stands out as the most adventurous ever. It was in waters between the Timor and Arafura seas, amid the bays and lagoons of the Cobourg Peninsula at the top of Australia’s Northern Territory.

[ March 15, 2012 ]
by Jim Hendricks

Though Seven Marine debuted its vaunted 557 V-8 outboard in February 2011, we’ve had to wait more than a year to actually run one – a single pre-production engine on a Sea Hunter 29 (seahunterboats.com) center console with a T-top. We estimated the boat weight at around 10,000 pounds (with the outboard).

[ March 13, 2012 ]
by Kevin Falvey

I’ve been painting boat bottoms for almost 40 years, 15 of those as a boatyard pro. In that time, I’ve seen bottom paint evolve from simple (but very effective) slap it on glop to complete antifoulant coating systems. No matter. The following tips will help you work neater and more effectively regardless of the coating you apply.

Bottom Painting Tips

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