Avocette III: A 90-Year-Old Huckins Resto‑Mod Reborn in Rockport, Maine Not many boats reach their 90th birthday and still look exceptional, but Avocette III is an outstanding exception. The oldest-known Huckins in existence, she began life as a Fairform Flyer designed by Frank Pembroke Huckins—the direct predecessor to the PT boat. Recently, this Offshore 48 … Read more

When Boston Whaler’s R&D team set out to expand the Dauntless bay boat line, they chose to redesign two new models from the hull up: the 220 Dauntless and the 250 Dauntless. Positioned to replace the outgoing 210 and 240 models respectively, these boats were engineered to broaden owners’ capabilities—preserving the inshore fishing DNA of … Read more

Carleton Mitchell: A Portrait of a Bluewater Sailor There was a time when sailboat racing captured national attention. Regattas were reported in major newspapers, and skippers and their boats regularly appeared on the covers of popular magazines. In that era Carleton Mitchell stood out: a yachtsman whose skill, temperament and writing helped bring the drama … Read more

Barb Hansen warns of a potential surge of boat traffic heading from the Great Lakes down the Mississippi River in the summer of 2025. “Our school has gone crazy,” she says, referring to a flood of bookings for sail and powerboat courses at Southwest Florida Yachts, which she runs near Fort Myers. “If everyone who … Read more

New Maritime High School Near Seattle Brings Project-Based Maritime Education and Career Paths Starting this autumn, the Seattle area will welcome a new maritime high school that aims to broaden access to boating, maritime trades, and waterfront careers for students from diverse backgrounds. Maritime High School, part of the Highline Public Schools system, will open … Read more

Refitting a 1986 Grand Banks 32: Practical Upgrades on Snow Goose Onne and Tenley van der Wal moved quickly after buying their 1986 Grand Banks 32. Their first tasks were practical: clear out years of accumulated gear, bring tools aboard and get the boat clean and functional. Onne started where every refit often begins — … Read more

Saildrone’s 72-foot Unmanned Surveyor Aims to Map the Uncharted Ocean With roughly 81 percent of the world’s oceans still unmapped, a California-based company is deploying an innovative approach: wind- and solar-powered unmanned sailboats. Alameda’s Saildrone has launched its first 72-foot remotely controlled vessel, the Saildrone Surveyor, into San Francisco Bay to begin advanced ocean mapping … Read more

Soundings and AIM Marine Group Secure Multiple Honors in BWI Writing Competition Last week Boating Writers International (BWI) announced the winners of its annual writing and photography competition. Titles from Active Interest Media’s (AIM) Marine Group, including Soundings, were recognized across several categories for work published in 2020. The awards are typically presented at the … Read more

Jasmine Harrison Becomes Youngest Solo Female to Row Across the Atlantic Jasmine Harrison, a 21-year-old swim instructor and bartender from North East England, has become the youngest solo female to row across the Atlantic Ocean. Taking part in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, Harrison completed the crossing from the Canary Islands to Antigua and Barbuda … Read more

The Mercury Verado 600 is nominally an outboard—because it mounts to a boat’s transom—but in every other respect it represents a major leap forward in outboard motor design. Over the last century the basic outboard layout has changed little, yet the Verado 600 combines a host of modern engineering solutions that could reshape how large … Read more