We can’t handle every maintenance task ourselves, so finding the right mechanic or technician is essential If you can’t replace your boat every few years, you likely spend a lot of time trying to find trustworthy people and yards that will keep your vessel safe and seaworthy. I’ve owned boats for 57 years and, out … Read more

The steam barkentine Bear enjoyed an extraordinary 70-year career that few ships in maritime history can match. Built for the harsh demands of sealing and polar work, she later served as a revenue cutter, a search-and-rescue vessel, an Arctic explorer’s support ship, a floating courthouse, a museum attraction and even a movie star. Her varied … Read more

How Modern 3D Forward-Looking Sonar Improves Safety for Cruisers Over recent years, marine electronics have become easier to use, smaller in size, and more affordable. Today’s forward-looking sonar systems combine greater technical capability with accessibility for a wider range of boaters. These improvements make advanced sensing tools practical for cruisers who want to improve situational … Read more

Cruising the East Coast with Tom Neale — Two-Disc DVD Set For readers who dream of cruising with Soundings technical editor Tom Neale, BoatU.S. has released a two-disc DVD package titled “Cruising the East Coast with Tom Neale.” Published for $29.95, the set presents an engaging, practical view of coastal cruising from the perspective of … Read more

Anglers and Charter Captains Face an Uncertain Future After the Deepwater Horizon Explosion As BP worked to capture oil leaking from the Deepwater Horizon well, Capt. Tom Becker of Biloxi, Mississippi, worried that the damage might already be irreversible for fishermen and the Gulf’s coastal communities. “I am very concerned,” Becker said as more than … Read more

1 – Axopar 45 XC Finnish builder Axopar introduces the 45 XC Cross Cabin as the launch model in a new 45-foot range that also includes Spyder, T-Top, Sun-Top and Cross Top variants. The 45 XC is a walkaround with a fully enclosed cabin and outboard propulsion—typically triple 300-hp Mercury V-8 Verados—delivering speeds reported between … Read more

Lord Thomas Cochrane: The Sea Wolf of the Napoleonic Wars Thomas Cochrane was celebrated by the public and feared by Napoleon, yet he proved a persistent irritant to the British naval establishment. By the spring of 1805 his extraordinary successes had become the talk of Plymouth: captured enemy merchantmen streamed into the busy harbor, each … Read more

As editor and longtime contributor to the British publication Classic Boat, Nic Compton has sailed aboard dozens of historic and beautifully maintained yachts around the globe. His deep familiarity with classic designs, careful restorations and the lives of sailors informs Ultimate Classic Yachts: 20 of the World’s Most Beautiful Classic Yachts, a hardcover coffee-table book … Read more

The Storm Petrel steamed out of Shinnecock Inlet and headed to a site about 30 miles south of Montauk Point, New York — a stretch of water Capt. John Noonan had first marked nearly a dozen years earlier. Once the anchor was set, the initial pair of divers donned dry suits and rebreathers and descended … Read more

Each year hundreds of boaters make the seasonal migration along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW), heading south in the fall and returning north in the spring. Often called “The Ditch,” the route is a stitched-together chain of bays, sounds, canals and rivers that lets mariners avoid many offshore passages. The AICW traditionally begins at Mile … Read more