Are AC72s “Too Big, Too Fast, Too Light”? A Practical Look at Safety and Design Questions have been raised about whether the America’s Cup AC72 catamarans have reached a point where they are “too big, too fast, too light” to be safe. From my perspective, the answer is no — not in any categorical way. … Read more

Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series about sailboat sea trials. The purpose of a sea trial A sea trial should be more than a pleasant cruise; it is a disciplined, detailed evaluation of how a prospective sailboat performs in real conditions. You and your surveyor may have inspected the boat thoroughly … Read more

Coast Guard Rescues Four People and a Dog from Sinking Boat in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey Barnegat Bay, New Jersey — A rapid Coast Guard response prevented a tragic outcome after a 30-foot recreational vessel began taking on water with four people and a dog on board. The alert came to the Barnegat Light station, … Read more

Équihen-Plage Boathouses: Inverted Fishing Hull Homes and Coastal Heritage In the early 1900s, the small fishing village of Équihen-Plage on the northern coast of France developed a distinct vernacular architecture: makeshift shelters built under the inverted hulls of worn-out fishing boats. When wooden boats reached the end of their service lives, local fishermen—and sometimes their … Read more

Historic Bridge House on Boothbay Harbor: Iconic Summer Cottage for Sale Photos by Robert L. Drake Moored and moving yachts, lobster boats, kayaks and windjammers make up the ever-changing panorama visible from the Bridge House, perched above the water of downtown Boothbay Harbor, Maine. From each window the harbor scene shifts with tides, weather and … Read more

Marine Medical Kit Essentials for Coastal Cruising An exposed cotter pin can slice your leg when you reach for a dock line. A rolling boat can spill boiling water onto a hand. A guest can stub and break a little toe on a deck cleat. These are common incidents aboard pleasure craft, and being prepared … Read more

Ivory tree coral is one of the planet’s most remarkable corals. The branching species, Oculina varicosa, creates a deepwater reef that runs along the east Florida coast from Fort Pierce to Daytona. That 90-mile reef is unique—there is no other like it in the world—and historically it was dense enough to be widely known as … Read more

Valhalla Boatworks Introduces the V-55 Sport (SP): A Luxury Cruise Version of a High-Performance Hull Valhalla Boatworks is expanding its reputation for high-performance fishing vessels with a new luxury cruise model: the V-55 Sport (SP). Built on the proven Valhalla 55 hull and featuring a stepped bottom developed by Michael Peters Yacht Design, the V-55 … Read more

Marine Electronics Revolution: Why Digital Switching Is Changing Boating In recent years the boating world has seen a rapid influx of electronic innovations. Many of these advances originated in commercial marine and automotive applications and have since been adapted to meet the specific needs of pleasure boaters and sport fishermen. One of the most significant … Read more

After years of living aboard, our land “resort” became a refuge—and a strangely unfamiliar place After years afloat, our house on land feels both like a refuge and a foreign place. We sold our garage, the house attached to it and most everything in the garage back in the early 1980s. We had already been … Read more