Not satisfied by the high food prices that 10% Ethanol
gasoline has wrought, the farmers and ethanol-makers are now petitioning the EPA
to approve 15% ethanol on the way to 25%. Not only will this raise the price of
food stuffs in the U.S., it will ruin most marine engines.
Not one engine manufacturer
approves the use of their engines with gasoline with a mixture greater than 10%
ethanol. There are 18 million boats currently in operation in the U.S., and none
of them have been designed, certified or warrantied to run on anything above E10.
Already, with just 10% ethanol, the engine makers are inundated with service and
repair problems that have stretched their reduced staffs to the breaking point.
Boaters across America have had to pay for new carburetors, seals, O-rings, valves
and fuel tank replacements. Unless all boaters act swiftly and with passion, the
well-financed ethanol lobby will steamroll the EPA into 15% ethanol. Last year
boaters were able to defeat an onerous EPA measure in Congress, and this year we
again call on you to register your thoughts again to defeat the 15% ethanol proposal.
Sign up here (it will only take 30 seconds, and you will NOT be
spammed) --
The Kadey-Krogen's 55' Expedition is being built by Asia
Harbor Yacht Builders, the exclusive Taiwan builder of all Kadey-Krogen yachts.
The new 55' is every inch a classic Kadey-Krogen vessel, but she also shows some
new design influences that take the vessel beyond the Robert Beebe-influenced roots
of the Kadey-Krogens that date to 1977 when the company was founded by Jim Krogen.
All current production Kadey-Krogen trawler yachts are proven bluewater passagemakers,
and the Krogen 55' should be no exception with a range of well over 3000 miles at
8 knots. At 9 knots she can travel non-stop from Annapolis to Antigua. She carries
1800 gallons of fuel and is powered by twin John Deere 6068 TFM M1 Tier 2 engines,
each rated at 158 HP. Learn more about the 55 --
The team at BoatTEST has spent the last few weeks searching
for new and non-current boats which are exceedingly good values and are available
at prices that you will not find anywhere else. If either of the boats above fit
your needs and you have decided to buy, simply click on the model to see complete
details. Full details
Hydra-Sports News
Hydra-Sports 4100 Vector Sport Fish
41.7 GPH at 35 MPH
When Capt. Steve put the 4100 through her paces, he reported
back that the best cruise for this fishing machine was at 34.9 MPH where she burned
41.7 GPH of fuel giving her a range of 475 miles. But the numbers aren’t the whole
story, there is much more behind this Kevlar®-reinforced, handlaid fiberglass,
all-composite hull, offshore fish hunter, and it has to do with the way she handles.
Start her up here --
Even for people who rarely get mal de mer, constant rolling
on a long passage can be physically exhausting, because of the isometrics involved
with holding on and bracing oneself. For years the only solution to rolling were
hydraulically-actuated external stabilizing fins and flopper stoppers, those ungainly
booms and wires seen on trawler rigs. But we’re now in the 21st century and Seakeeper
gyro-stabilizers have been installed on 18 different boat brands. Four major and
respected builders now have added Seakeeper to their official list of options: Azimut,
Fairline, Princess and Ocean Alexander. This is an important endorsement for a new
and revolutionary product. When buying a boat or retrofitting an old one, deciding
between stabilizing fins and a Seakeeper Anti-Roll Gyro can be a difficult decision.
Here are some things to think about --
If you would like to own a new, large, seaworthy convertible
that is selling anywhere from $1.8 million to $4 million, but you know you’ll never
be able to afford it, recent events may have put that dream – or something close
to it – within realistic reach. An interesting thing has happened in the last nine
months. First, most convertibles built in the 1980s were powered by (now-obsolete)
Detroit Diesel 2-stroke engines which were selling at a discount far greater than
their age would indicate on the used boat market. Then, last summer, high fuel prices
caused large boats to be discounted farther. Finally, the economic decline the last
six months has caused many used boats to fall another 30%. The cumulative effect
of this has been to make some classic 1980s convertibles so inexpensive, that they
can be repowered with Yanmar diesels and still only cost from 15% to 30% of similar
brand new models – and go faster and burn less fuel than they did the day they were
new some 20 to 30 years ago. Join us as we show you the dollars and sense of repowering
a 1984 Hatteras 52. You may yet be able to have that boat you’ve always dreamed about
--
The world is changing rapidly now and no aspect of it is
changing faster than the microcosm of the recreational boating industry. In Maslow’s
hierarchy of needs, boating wasn’t even a footnote. Yet in America alone there must
be something on the order of 18 million people – 6% of the population – that are
so addicted to the water that they must be on it, or else suffer agonizing withdrawals.
And those pains are evidently worse than the discomfort we suffer (economically
and emotionally) with the sport. One of the companies on this side of the Atlantic
that first saw the future and took steps to get infront of the curve was Viking Yachts.
In 1995 it joined with Princess Yachts in Plymouth, England to create a brand and
a business marriage that may prove to be over a decade ahead of its time. To find
out what happened and what it means to the large motoryacht consumer --
In 2006, hull #1 of the Fleming 65 arrived in San Diego and became the personal
vessel of none other than Tony Fleming, the man who started the company in 1985.
Tony had decided that he was going to take this boat on the longest shakedown cruise
in history. Now, three years later, 20,000 miles have past under the boat’s keel
and Tony has written an account of his cruise from Alaska to Nova Scotia which we
will serialize in the next issues of Offshore Motoryacht, but first let’s take a
look at this very special vessel. BoatTEST.com editor Jeff Hammond takes a look at the Fleming 65
--
When boaters move up into large motoryachts it is only natural that they have apprehensions
about docking – particularly in a strong cross wind or cross current situation when
there is only 6” of clearance on either side of the boat. The solution was introduced
several years ago when Volvo Penta introduced the IPS pod drive system with joystick.
Later joystick systems came out for other brands of diesels and then gas engines
and still later for stern drives, too. But what wasn’t talked about much was how
much more the pods and the joystick technology cost, which was as much as an additional
$25k in some boats. Meridian Yachts has had a solution for the last year that solved
both the difficulty of docking, and the high cost problem with a system called “Docking
On Command.” It is simply a bow thruster and a stern thruster built into the boat
with an easy-to-visualize control mechanism at the helm. Capt. Steve gives you a
video demonstration and his opinion of how it measures up against pod drives --
Shurhold Products manufactures “The Complete Solution” handle and accessories kit for your boat and RV. With beautiful sunshine and 88 degree weather we decided
to test this product
and some of its 40+ attachments. Did it perform as
advertised? Swab your deck here.
Capt. Steve looks at a boat the way a working professional captain looks at a boat.
That’s because he is one. And if you’ve ever known a professional captain you know
that they don’t have much patience for Mickey Mouse stuff (Sorry, Mickey.) The reason
is that cheap stuff breaks and poorly designed boats make the captain’s job even
harder. Capt. Steve doesn’t put up with much marketing hype either, and is sort
of like Dragnet’s Detective Friday -- “Just the facts, Mam.” There are a number of express fishboats on the market in this size
range, so let’s hear what Capt. Steve has to say about the Bertram 360 --
Many people feel apprehensive about committing to a new boat purchase
especially in our current economic climate. That is why Bayliner and Maxum have partnered with BoatTEST.com to create the Factory-Backed program. This program is a way in which
boaters can feel absolutely confident that the factory is behind
the deal and working very closely with your local dealer to ensure world class service
and special pricing on a new Bayliner or Maxum. If the Bayliner 340 or the Maxum 3100 SE fits your needs,
click on the appropriate image. If you are located outside these two areas,
but would like to participate in this program, start here.
Its long overhangs both fore and aft stretch the boat to its 52-foot length, and
she weighs only 34,000 lbs., nevertheless she packs more into her footprint than
most express cruisers manage these days. The Regal 52 Sport Coupe (formerly called
the 5260) has a mid cabin with full standing head room, a roomy salon below with
electric lounge seats and Star Trek-like controls, a large bridge deck with a helm
seat that is electric, large windshields that allow you to stand at the helm with
the sky light closed, and a garage aft for a small dinghy. Those are just a few
things that 52 Sport Coupe has.
We may think of the world’s oceans as a harsh environment, but they are actually
more delicate than we know. And with the world’s population estimated to double
in the next 40 years, who is going to manage the common “ground”, i.e. the high
seas, that we all must share. This week we present the third video in the four-part series
of videos
made by USCG Rear Admiral James A. Watson, Director of Prevention Policy for Marine Safety. Previously Rear Admiral Watson was Chief of Staff of the Seventh
Coast Guard District, so he is very aware of the
real world problems facing both commercial and recreational mariners today. Our caps are off to this fine public
servant for making these videos on his own time to help educate the boating public.
We are the world --
Just before our trusty reader Bill Noble left for a cruise to the Galapagos Islands
last week in a custom-built motoryacht, he was kind enough to send us his latest
slide show of pictures of the U.S. Navy prancing in front of a camera. Since Americans
have already paid for it, we feel obligated to show them what they are getting for
their tax dollars in addition to a bail out of the banks, Wall Street, and Detroit.
Even though all U.S. battleships have been decommissioned, the photo editor has supplied
a few pictures at the end of 16'’ guns blasting away, just as a reminder of the good
old days.
To get your weekly navy fix --
Capt. Steve's Lesson #34
Before Departing Familiarize Guests
with the Boat and Safety Procedures
This week Capt. Steve goes over fifteen new lessons and
guidelines to follow before departing the dock. If you are taking out guests on
your boat they should all be aware of the safety procedures aboard and you must
have a life jacket for each one of them. Capt Steve will go over important lessons
on running your blower before starting the engine, taking a proactive approach if
you notice any problems early on, common solutions if the engine will not start
up, and how to correctly cast off from the dock. These are basic procedures which all recreational boaters should be aware
of. The videos presented this week are part
of Capt. Steve’s USCG-approved boating course called “Smart Boating.” Watch Capt. Steve's
video boating lessons every week on BoatTEST.com.
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Most of our content, boat tests and videos are available for free viewing. However, there is a small charge for access to archived videos and tests.
Not one engine manufacturer
approves the use of their engines with gasoline with a mixture greater than 10%
ethanol. There are 18 million boats currently in operation in the U.S., and none
of them have been designed, certified or warrantied to run on anything above E10.
Already, with just 10% ethanol, the engine makers are inundated with service and
repair problems that have stretched their reduced staffs to the breaking point.
Boaters across America have had to pay for new carburetors, seals, O-rings, valves
and fuel tank replacements. Unless all boaters act swiftly and with passion, the
well-financed ethanol lobby will steamroll the EPA into 15% ethanol. Last year
boaters were able to defeat an onerous EPA measure in Congress, and this year we
again call on you to register your thoughts again to defeat the 15% ethanol proposal.
