For millennia, East Algonquin tribes paddled their canoes out to Monhegan as an offshore base for swordfish hunting. They called it Monchiggon, meaning “out-to-sea island.” Monhegan truly lives up to that name. The island sits in the Atlantic, about ten miles off Maine’s Pemaquid Peninsula. Even though I’ve lived across from it for five years, … Read more

Southport 38FE The Southport 38FE offers a wide range of propulsion choices and practical fishing features. Standard power is twin 450-hp Yamaha XTO V8s; optional setups include triple 450-hp Yamahas, triple Mercury 400-hp V10s, or twin 600-hp V12 Verados. With a 2-foot-1-inch draft, the boat accesses many shallow fishing grounds. It comes with a 35-gallon … Read more

Stewart Brand and Ryan Phelan: Restoring the Tugboat Mirene into a Floating Home In the early 1980s, Stewart Brand and Ryan Phelan embarked on an unusual adventure together: turning a derelict tugboat into their home. The 64-foot Mirene had been launched in Oregon in 1912 to serve Alaska’s canneries. By the mid-1970s it had been … Read more

In the spring of 1893 a modest young clerk in the British House of Commons made a decision that would change his life: he would learn to sail. His name was Erskine Childers. Slight of build, partially disabled by a hiking injury that left him limping, and beset by poor eyesight, Childers nevertheless developed into … Read more

Rules of the Road is an in-depth course that explores the navigational rules that govern safe boating. Instructor Robert Reeder walks through each rule, noting inland and international distinctions, and explains how to operate recreational and commercial vessels safely in U.S. and international waters. These principles apply to everything from a small dinghy to the … Read more

As a boy, Thomas Dolby discovered a large, black-and-white book by Beken of Cowes that captured his imagination: photographic plates of the grand America’s Cup yachts from the turn of the 20th century. The scale of those vessels fascinated him, and what struck him most were the tiny figures clustered along the rails—“those tiny little … Read more

18-Year-Old British Sailor Attempts First Circumnavigation of Britain in an Electric Boat At 18 years old, British sailor Harry Besley has embarked on an ambitious voyage to become the first person to circumnavigate Great Britain in a fully electric boat. He set off from Lyme Regis in Dorset on July 13, piloting a 21-foot aluminum-hulled … Read more

Lyman-Morse Fabrication (LMF), the Maine-based division of noted boatbuilder Lyman-Morse, has expanded beyond semi-custom yachts and powerboats to produce a rugged new line of aluminum workboats: the LMF Landing Craft Series. Built for heavy-duty commercial use, these utilitarian vessels are increasingly attracting interest from the recreational market for their durability, versatility, and capacity for deep … Read more

When I first ran the 457 CCS, the boat heeled hard to starboard as 1,800 horsepower pushed us out of the slip. Dire Straits’ 1985 hit Money for Nothing pumped through the JL Audio system, the engines howled, and the metallic-gray hull flashed under the South Florida sun as we closed in on 50 knots … Read more

For more than fifty years Sam Devlin has been designing and building boats. By his own tally he’s built 434 vessels and estimates that another thousand or so have been built from his plans by other builders. He has also authored two books about the stitch-and-glue technique he favors for assembling small craft. Now, at … Read more