Lia Ditton’s Near-Disaster While Rowing Solo from San Francisco to Hawaii Rowing across an ocean is one of the most demanding endurance challenges a person can attempt, and for British ocean rower Lia Ditton the reality of that challenge nearly turned catastrophic. On July 6, during her solo crossing attempt from San Francisco to Hawaii, … Read more

Mayflower II Restored and Headed Home: Mystic to Plymouth Voyage Set for July Plimoth Plantation’s Mayflower II, a carefully built reproduction of the 17th‑century ship that carried the Pilgrims to North America, has completed a full restoration and is preparing to sail from Mystic, Connecticut, to Plymouth, Massachusetts. The restored vessel — now 64 years … Read more

Restoring a Venetian Water Taxi: The Story of Intermezzo Outside of James Bond films, David Snediker had never seen a Venetian water taxi up close. These boats are uncommon on American waters; they were designed for the canals of Venice and built with that environment in mind. The wooden taxi Intermezzo was originally purchased in … Read more

At first glance the Serenity 64 resembles many other luxury power catamarans: generous open areas, an expansive aft cockpit and multiple places to lounge in the sun — on the bow, on the stern and up on the flybridge. Inside, the layout emphasizes volume and comfort with a 320-square-foot salon, a large galley and four … Read more

British Seagull: The Rugged Outboard from Poole That Became a Legend In the early 1930s the English harbour town of Poole was the unlikely birthplace of an outboard engine that would earn a devoted following worldwide. Built from parts made in small machine shops and yards around the town, the engine first emerged as the … Read more

Try to picture the conditions at every point across the world’s oceans, at every second: on the surface, just below it, and far beneath; in slow currents and fast currents, flowing east, north, or any direction; in warm waters and cooler patches; with varying salinity. The ocean’s state is vast and constantly changing. “It’s a … Read more

Dear Soundings:I go boating on the Chesapeake Bay aboard my 40-foot sportfishing boat (shown above). I’d like to improve the exterior finish and just make it look cooler. Can I add one layer of carbon fiber to the boat’s topsides? —David Avedesian, Silver Spring, Maryland Applying a carbon-fiber layer to your boat is possible, but for … Read more

For much of the early 20th century, traveling quickly by powerboat was uncomfortable and often unsafe when seas turned rough. Even as marine engines delivered dramatically more horsepower in the 1940s and ’50s, hull designs lagged behind and simply could not make efficient use of that added power. Going fast in challenging conditions was, for … Read more

Not long ago, Maine was synonymous with traditional wooden boats. Today, however, the Pine Tree State builds virtually any type of vessel: large or small, production, semi-custom or fully custom, new builds or refits, cold-molded, steel, aluminum, fiberglass, carbon fiber or wood. From Portland to Mount Desert Island, boatyards line the coastline and fill hidden … Read more

Amateur Boatbuilder Spends Three Years Building 16-Foot Dinghy — Then Realizes It Won’t Fit Through His Door A retired land surveyor in England, Steve Goodchild, devoted three years to building a 16-foot dinghy inside his home. The painstaking project, completed with careful craftsmanship and a love of traditional boatbuilding, hit an unexpected snag at the … Read more