Boating is the world's foremost magazine for boating enthusiasts. Written by experts for those who love the sport, the editorial covers the waterfront -- from runabouts to sportfish convertibles to luxury showpieces, and everything in between.
VERSUS The latest installment of our versus franchise pits a Suzuki V-6 200 against a Suzuki inline-4 200. Find out which is best for you on page 82. In my formative years of boating, lawn mowing, and driving cars, I learned a thing or two about carburetors. A primary lesson: If you flood a carbureted engine, the main thing you do to overcome the situation is wait. The carburetor no longer reigns as a mainstay of marine propulsion, but waiting remains a great strategy for boaters to employ in a variety of circumstances. Waiting for good weather is a good strategy. In talking to many boaters over the years about their experiences, the desire to go against not all odds, but against adverse odds, is common. Internal pressure also comes…
ON BOARD WITH CAPTAIN’S TEST FOR COMPARISON’S SAKE NEWS ONLINE THIS MONTH FIRST IMPRESSION GEARHEAD BOATINGMAG.COM APRIL 2025 On July 13, 2024, 18-year-old Harry Besley left Lyme Regis on the English Channel, aiming to be the first person to circumnavigate Britain in an all-electric boat. He and a rotating crew of friends stopped at more than 45 locations in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland before completing the clockwise round trip on August 14. The team covered 1,708 nautical miles in Electra, a 21-foot Galaxy P7 aluminum-hull rigid inflatable boat, which was modified for electric propulsion and powered solely by a 90 kW (120 hp) Evoy Breeze outboard motor. The Evoy system consisted of two 63 kWh liquid-cooled lithium batteries, a 6.6 kW AC charger, a DC fast charger, and…
There’s no better time of year on a boater’s calendar than spring. It’s the magic time; winter is over, and it’s time to get that boat in the water and enjoy the warm weather. To help ensure a trouble-free launch, let’s see how ready you are. 1. You use your trailer often in-season, but off-season, it sits in the driveway with your boat on it. To check it over and maintain it come spring, you should: A. Check the tires for dry-rot, flat spots and irregularly worn tread. B. Check the wheel bearings and/or change wheel-bearing grease. C. Ensure that the decorative decals and stripes on the frame and fenders are intact. D. Check for worn and/or damaged bunks, rollers and supports. E. A, B and D F. All of…
Technological advancements have made us all exponentially safer every time we set out on the water, but there’s still something to be said for bringing aboard a few inexpensive, tried-and-true safety devices that don’t require a power source or any kind of operator instruction. Here are three simple safety devices to keep on board just in case. REFLECT ECHOMASTER RADAR REFLECTOR SAVING GRACE: Small boats don’t always show up on the radar screens of larger vessels, which could make you invisible to traffic. Adding a radar reflector such as an EchoMaster from Davis Instruments can solve the problem. The standard EchoMaster, when assembled, creates a 12-square-meter cross section visible in the standard 9-9.6 GHz X radar band, making your boat visible to others with radar. THE SNAG: Must be installed at…
The US Postal Service recently released a series of 20 Forever Stamps depicting classic freshwater lures. Greg Breeding, the art director for the USPS, designed the stamps based on the photographs of Sarah Cramer Shields. The stamps, which can be used forever for mailing standard first-class mail weighing up to 1 ounce, depict classic lures that have worked for freshwater anglers for decades all over the country. Lures depicted include a crankbait, popper, painted metal spoon, and a wakebait in the style of a classic jitterbug. The USPS first introduced the freshwater lure stamps at the Bass Pro Shops Wonders of Wildlife Museum and Aquarium in Springfield, Missouri, and are available to the public as of March 13.…
Inspired by historical races on the Hudson River and his love of classic boats, noted marine photographer and offshore racer Tim Sharkey is planning an epic run this fall aboard a 1985 Bullet 130 SV named Kill Shot. On September 13, weather permitting, Sharkey, who has shot photography for Boating many times over the years, plans to make the run from the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor all the way up to the New York state capital in Albany, on the Hudson River. Sharkey actually used to work for Bullet as a boatbuilder, so he would have worked on the 130 SV that he recently purchased and restored. He powered his classic Bullet with a vintage Johnson SST60 racing outboard, restored by frequent Boating contributor and outboard guru…
