Last night was the real test. This morning — after more than 600 miles of open-ocean sailing, a brisk west wind, a high overcast above Robin’s mast and Bermuda rising just over the horizon — felt like the reward. The darkness fell after a spectacular sunset over the intensely blue Atlantic. Puffy clouds blushed pink … Read more

The ultimate DIY If you prefer to handle routine repairs and modest upgrades yourself rather than paying a yard or contractor, Paul Esterle’s book Maintain and Improve Your Powerboat (McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009) is a practical, hands-on resource. This compact guide presents 100 doable do-it-yourself projects and improvements that help recreational boat owners keep their powerboats … Read more

Scott and Jane Young wanted to travel farther by boat, but at first they couldn’t quite figure out how to make it work. After selling their business in 2016, the longtime boaters considered covering serious miles. Inspired by a TV show about remarkable train journeys, including routes to Alaska, they began exploring the idea of … Read more

Lightning Protection for Boats: What Owners and Captains Should Know Lightning risk varies greatly by region and season. For example, marine surveyors and boat owners in Florida see far more lightning-related incidents than those in the Northeast because thunderstorms are much more frequent in the South. While science and engineering can never eliminate the risk … Read more

Limestone 24: Mark Ellis’s Fast, Handsome, and Durable Deep‑V Powerboat When Mark Ellis began sketching the Limestone 24 in the mid-1980s, his brief was simple in spirit if not in words: create a boat that is fast, handsome, and durable. Although the Limestone 24 was Ellis’s first production powerboat from his own drawing board, the … Read more

Vigil Geo: Compact GPS Tracking and Marine Monitoring Device The Vigil Geo is a compact GPS tracking and monitoring device designed for boats and small watercraft. It provides real-time alerts by sending text messages to your mobile phone if your boat moves outside a defined geo-fence radius, if the unit is tampered with, when water … Read more

Illustration by Jim Ewing William Hand is widely recognized as one of America’s foremost yacht designers, and his most enduring contribution is a distinctive group of 42 robust cruisers now known as the Hand motorsailers. Designed between 1927 and 1942, these vessels blended dependable powerboat engineering with practical sailing capability to create a true hybrid—boats … Read more

Essential Sea Trial Checklist for Buying a Boat Conducting a thorough sea trial is one of the most important steps when buying a new or used boat. When done properly, a sea trial provides the data you need to buy with confidence or to decide to walk away. Done poorly, it can leave you with … Read more

Boating Safety Lessons from a Gulf of Mexico Capsize Well-built small boats are remarkably resilient and can survive conditions that test the limits of their crews. But a sound hull and powerful engine cannot replace experience, judgment and basic safety planning. A recent tragedy off Clearwater, Florida, shows how quickly a manageable problem can turn … Read more

The heart of coastal Maine Where else could Franklin D. Roosevelt convince everyone he was going fishing while secretly meeting with Winston Churchill? That anecdote and many other local stories help bring Penobscot Bay to life in a compact, thoughtfully organized history. Penobscot Bay: People, Ports and Pastimes (The History Press, 2009) by Harry Gratwick … Read more