Larry Graf is a data-driven designer whose easy laugh and warm smile might not fit the stereotype of a pocket-protector engineer. Yet his passion is unmistakable: analyzing boat performance and turning those numbers into practical, seakindly designs. Graf has created numerous rugged, fuel-efficient power catamarans over a long career, from his early work founding Glacier … Read more

EdgeWater Power Boats has introduced its first diesel-powered model, the 228CCD, equipped with a fuel-efficient 180-hp Yanmar 4BY2 supplied by Mastry Engine Center, the boatbuilder announced. Where EdgeWater historically relied on outboard propulsion, the 228CCD reflects a deliberate shift toward diesel alternatives. The model traces its origins to a custom gas sterndrive commission for a … Read more

Ever Forward Grounded in Chesapeake Bay: Partial Offload Planned to Free Container Ship The 1,095-foot container ship Ever Forward, which has been lodged in the mud of Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay for the past three weeks, will be partially offloaded as part of a renewed effort to refloat the vessel. U.S. Coast Guard officials say the … Read more

In “Where Have All the Pirates Gone,” singer Eileen Quinn paints a picture of Boot Key Harbor in Marathon that evokes both fond memories and uncomfortable truths about a changing cruising community. The song’s tongue-in-cheek verses—about beaches, bikini-clad crowds and an endless supply of overproof rum—hint at a bygone era of rough-and-ready boaters who once … Read more

Old Saybrook and Essex: Boating the Lower Connecticut River The lower Connecticut River is widely regarded as one of the region’s last great natural estuaries, and for boaters it offers a rich combination of scenic cruising, historic towns and well-equipped marinas. At the river’s mouth sits Old Saybrook, and roughly six miles upstream lies Essex … Read more

Offshore cruising for the next generation The Handbook of Offshore Cruising, originally published in 1994 by Jim Howard, returns in a thoroughly revised second edition (April 2009, softcover, 468 pages). This updated edition, revised and modernized by Charles J. Doane, brings the classic trans-oceanic passagemaking manual into the 21st century with refreshed content and an … Read more

Queen Bee: The 26-Foot Center Console That Drifted Over 3,000 Miles Shackleton, Bligh, Slocum … Queen Bee. It may sound like a stretch to compare them, but among the improbable small-boat voyages recorded in maritime lore, the story of Queen Bee deserves an asterisk. This little 26-foot Regulator center-console wandered far from home and returned … Read more

USS Recruit: The Wooden Battleship That Recruited in Union Square In 1917, as the United States entered the First World War, a surge of patriotic fervor swept the nation and the demand for new recruits rose sharply. To meet that need and capture public attention, the Navy tried an unconventional recruitment tool: a full-scale wooden … Read more

Marlin Damages Deck of Atlantic Rowboat Carrying Shropshire Crew in Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge Four men from Shropshire, England, competing in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge suffered an unexpected setback when a marlin reportedly struck their ocean rowboat, puncturing the deck and damaging storage lockers that hold their food. The incident highlights both the hazards … Read more

On Board Fall River Line Steamer Priscilla — William Muller The glittering steam ferry Pilgrim brightens a tranquil evening on Long Island Sound in William Muller’s oil-on-canvas scene, On Board Fall River Line Steamer Priscilla. In the painting, the stately Priscilla, a 440-foot queen of the line, dominates the view. She was one of the … Read more