Sommaire pour March 2022 de Boating

NEW SUZUKI CONTROLS Suzuki Marine unveiled new controls for its 2022 outboards, including a new drive-by-wire shift and throttle, as well as a multifunction gauge and keyless starting system. Controls include single-lever binnacle, dual-lever binnacle and single-lever flush-mount. The system allows for synchronized control of up to six outboards using a single binnacle lever. A new optional keyless, wireless floating key fob can start up to six engines in order. It integrates with the new SMG4 multifunction gauge for easy setup, including a private passcode that allows the engines to start should you lose the fob. Pricing was unavailable at press time; suzukimarine.com SHIMANO TWINPOWER XD REELS Shimano’s TwinPower XD spinning reels combine lightweight construction, toughness and sensitivity for inshore saltwater fishing. The TwinPower XD’s Magnumlite (MGL) rotor features smooth…

SENSORED Fuel filters with water sensors, like this Racor model, are now commonplace aboard boats. BOAT DOCTOR /// Q&A • WEEKEND WORKBOOK • QUICK STUDY • WHAT TO LOOK FOR • BOATINGLAB SEE THROUGH? Q:Dear Boat Doc, my Grady-White, with Yamaha outboards, came with solid fuel filters. I wonder if I should switch to filters with a bowl so I can see any water or contaminants at a glance and have the ability to drain them. As it is now, I cannot tell if there are any contaminants in the filter. What do you say? Wilton Childers Lewes, Delaware A: I prefer a remote fuel filter with a see-through drain bowl. I can see if it is collecting water and then drain it without needing to replace the element immediately.…

Whether you boat in fresh or salt water and what sort of specific fouling factors exist in your home waters are critical factors. As a result, certain paints are popular in specific geographic areas. Finding out what’s prime in your neck of the woods is as easy as asking. “We’ve institutionalized this type of information within our associate base,” says Chris Tysdal, merchandise planner for maintenance at West Marine. “As long as a customer can define the type of water and area, what kind of boating they’re doing and performance characteristics, our associates and website do a great job of getting them where they need to go.” How does the kind of boating you do affect your choice? “There are three main paint technologies,” Tysdal explains. “Ablatives shed material as…

A coast full of fjords, islands and coves to explore? No wonder many Swedes treat their boats like pickup trucks that can carry them and their gear, including kayaks, paddleboards, fishing rods, camping gear and even mountain bikes, to their next adventure. Meanwhile, the cold, open waters of the Kattegat and the Baltic Sea require rugged, seaworthy hulls with reliable operating systems, and European fuel prices demand efficiency. Nimbus, one of Sweden’s oldest recreational boatbuilders, is well up to these challenges. Of course, we see all sorts of US and Canadian purposes for the 40-foot-7-inch Nimbus T11. It offers a seat for two and a sun lounge at the bow, a walk-around cabin with an enclosed head and berths below, a large hardtop over the helm, flexible seating with a…

Cobia’s 262 CC is capable of safely navigating off shore in all but the nastiest conditions, but also has the shallow draft to stop at a sandbar or fish protected waters inshore. U-shaped seating in the front includes generous dry storage underneath, with foldaway backrests for lounging. A dedicated locker at the bow stows the anchor and rode, and a large compartment forward of the console stores fenders and other hefty gear. The console offers more walk-around space and storage than its predecessor, the 261 CC model, and conceals a roomy head compartment and an integrated windshield frame. Matched with the optional fiberglass hardtop, a full-height, three-sided windshield with a wiper and vent (also an option) effectively shelters those at the helm from the elements. The helm affords enough mounting…

We approached the glacier with caution. The water was littered with growlers—floating chunks of blue-white ice, some the size of a 150-quart cooler. We steered around the largest and heard smaller pieces of ice bump the boat and then scrape harmlessly alongside the hull as we made way at idle speed. The air temperature grew cooler, and the water became milky in the outflow of the glacier, which, still a mile away, already appeared indescribably massive. Our guide pointed out dozens of harbor seals sunning on growlers, perfectly comfortable and sound asleep with their backs on the ice. To port loomed a much bigger piece of ice, perhaps the size of an F-150 pickup truck. Maybe inspired by the seals, a crazy notion popped into my head. Here was my…

New and improved? You bet! Supreme’s new S220 boasts the EZ-V hull design, seats 14, and carries up to 4,400 pounds of wake - and wave-creating ballast in six locations evenly distributed around the boat. Thus equipped, this value-priced watersports boat delivers superior waves and tournament-level wakes without a lot of bow rise. Boat buyers selecting the S220 can choose between the new stainless-steel Supreme Shine tower (SST) or the upgraded F-Series tower by Roswell, which features tower shields color-matched to the boat’s gelcoat. The standard PCM V-drive inboard engine delivers 409 foot-pounds of torque. The sheerline is powerful, the cockpit is deep and comfortable, and Supreme applied its knowledge of reducing sound levels to help ensure a pleasant ride and easier conversations aboard the S220. A standard Boatmate trailer,…

In today’s boats, electric power rivals the importance of engine horsepower. Even the electronic control unit on today’s marine engines—that brain that makes outboards and inboards do what we want them to do—requires substantial amperage to keep the engine running smoothly. The power can be supplied by an engine alternator once it is running, but that’s a big train to pull when you add a multitude of DC electrical systems, such as navigation screens, radar, VHF, audio amps, a windlass, multiple sonars, livewell pumps, jack plates, shallow-water anchors, electric trolling motors and more. A simple voltmeter works for some DC systems. Anything above 12.5 volts is considered good to go, but at 12.1, you might be stuck on the sandbar. So, we’ve tested a few more sophisticated batterymonitor gauges that…

At 24 feet, 6 inches in length, the new Chaparral 247 SSX checks several boxes. First, it’s a fullsize family boat for a wide variety of boating adventures. Second, while it may be the smallest of the Chaparral luxury SSX series (up to 34 feet), it clearly has all the SSX DNA and detailing you’d expect from the larger boats. And third, it’s just plain fun. Rated to carry up to 13 people, this is a big bowrider, so no one is going to feel cramped, even with Aunt Edna taking up cockpit space. Let’s start at the pointy end. The bow seating seems straightforward until you sit down. The aft backrests have lumbar supports to take the kinks out of a long day on the water, and the side…

Building on its popular Wakesetter series, Malibu has introduced the 21 LX with a choice of two hulls: the Wake Plus (a longtime Malibu mainstay) and the Diamond hull, both designed to combine wake, surf and ski in one boat. These new options take customization to a new level with the 21 LX by offering two entirely different hulls under the same hybrid deck. Choose the Wake Plus hull for multisport family performance, or select the Diamond hull for hardcore wake-boarders and wakesurfers. Customizable for multiple sports, the most noticeable feature of the 21 LX is the hybrid bow, which draws on pickle-fork shaping to create an oversize forward seating area. In total, the 21 LX seats without crowding. The Malibu Command Center, with its 12-inch touchscreen, gives the driver…

Having grown up boating in Wisconsin on inland lakes with seasonal docks and boatlifts, and nothing even close to resembling tides, Florida’s coastal boating fascinates me—especially when I think about what lies just beyond the coast. You mean I can boat to another country? And it’s not that far? This is wild. I’m in. Sure enough, as soon as I had my own off shore-capable boat, the Florida-to-Bahamas crossing crept into my impressionable mind. From there, it was research time, a frenzied quest of information gathering on par with D-Day or moon-landing preparations. The difference, though, was that this trip was only a little over 50 miles and could be accomplished in a couple of hours on boats as small as personal watercraft, if the conditions were favorable. Fortunately, our…

Solace Boats’ 32 CS promises to provide a boat for all reasons. Featuring a double-stepped hull, the 32 CS should deliver the performance and attention to detail we’ve noted aboard other Solace boats. For example, its construction features a high-tech laminate of epoxy, carbon fiber and Innegra, which is vacuum-infused and post-cured. This combines light weight, strength and stiffness, enhancing the ride and efficiency. Hardware is chrome-plated, wiring is tinned copper, and even the fuel tank is coated with coal tar epoxy to resist corrosion. Boat buyers can choose from either twin Yamaha 300 or twin Mercury or Mercury Racing outboards up to 900 hp total to power the Solace Boats 32 CS. Twin 30-gallon livewells and multiple in-sole fish boxes represent some fishing highlights, while wraparound bow seating with…

Some builders enter the outboard market timidly, with one toe in the water at a time. Cruisers, however, jumped into the deep end with a full cannonball, first with its 38GLS and now with the triple-engine 42GLS. If you don’t fall in love with this fun boat at first glance, well, check your pulse. For starters, Cruisers decided that if one foldout beach on the 38 was good, then two on the 42 would be more than twice as good. And the builder is right. Having hullsides that morph into extended deck areas doesn’t just recapture space lost to outboards on the transom platform, but it also creates an entirely new fun area to explore. Suddenly, you don’t just have a boat with 13-foot beam, but one with nearly 19…

Odds are that few boaters could imagine Sea-Doo unveiling a pontoon boat. Maybe it makes perfect sense. Pontoon sales are booming, and Sea-Doo’s Spark proved an innovative, competitively priced, and easy to tow, stow and go alternative for new buyers in the PWC market. So, maybe the Switch can repeat history. Measuring 20 feet, 5 inches in length overall, the Switch 21 Cruise is the longest of three models, and it features one of three trim packages: Base, Sport and Cruise. Although it’s in the pontoon category, you’ll find no aluminum tubes below the Switch’s deck. Instead, it’s a tri-hull, its trio of V-bottom hulls fabricated from PolyTec, the proprietary mix of polypropylene and glass fibers introduced on the aforementioned Spark and, now in its second generation, used on multiple…

Chris Ashley, founder of Reward Boats, says he hears one question often about this brand-new 17-foot runabout: What year was it built? And it’s no wonder. The boat’s narrow stance, two-seat cockpit and upright windshield surely belong to a bygone era. The rich, gloss-varnished red and bright-blonde two-tone mahogany deck make it seem like a certainty. Yet there isn’t a splinter of wood in the cored, vacuum-infused vinylester hull. Even the wooden deck is faux mahogany grain printed on polyester cloth and impregnated with resin, then protected with many coats of clear polyurethane. In fact, the Reward 17’s lines look nothing like any specific-period antique runabout. The sheerline, gently rising from the plumb bow and then falling off aft of the cockpit into a rounded, reverse transom, suggests a classic…

The new Garmin GMR Fantom 18x and 24x solid-state radars with compact 18- and 24-inch domes, respectively, offer greater output power for extended range and better target detection. Equipped with Garmin’s signature Motion-Scope Doppler technology, the radomes can highlight moving targets in different colors and provide vessel-position information for greater safety in limited-visibility situations. With 50 watts of peak output power, the Fantom 18x and 24x systems offer a broad range of target detection from just 20 feet and out to 48 nautical miles. The systems deliver this performance in both fog and rain. The new Fantom domes also offer rotation speeds up to 60 rpm for quick refresh rates that can better detect movement, including other boats approaching at high speeds. Thanks to a new power-save mode, boaters can…