Two weeks ago we reported on the new Bayliner 205 and how she impressed our test crew. We said then that her performance was impressive, and now we’re going to prove it. The Bayliner 205 performance video is ready to go, and it’s full of opinions and critiques from Captain Steve, as well as some great footage of this good looking bowrider in action. If you’re in the market for a new bowrider, then this is a must see. This is definitely not the Bayliner from the old days.
Check out the Bayliner 205 performance video here --
Boat Test
Striper 2605 Walk Around O/B
Offshore Fishing Meets Family Fun
Few boats can handle the family/fishing combination better than a walk around. Full fish functionality and cabin comfort are just the ticket for keeping everyone happy when you need a boat with total utility. So if this is the direction that you’re heading in, then the Striper 2605 is a boat for your short list. It has the features we love and the comfort they’ll love, all in one good-looking package. We sent Capt. Rob on a mission to check out the total package of the Striper 2605 Walk Around by Seaswirl and report back to us. His video and full report is ready to go.
Bring your gear and sleeping bags and head this way --
All you have to do is glance at a World Cat and its distinctive characteristics jump right out at you, starting with the twin hulls. These boats give rough water performance a new meaning, and you just can’t beat that high freeboard for staying dry. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg of World Cat innovations. Step aboard and you can see just how innovative you can get when you think outside the box.
Check out Captain Rob’s video and captain’s report on the World Cat 270 TE and you’ll agree.
On plane in 3.0 seconds, this skiboat has a trick or two up its sleeve. In a matter of three or four seconds, smooth wakes for slalom skiing instantly convert into monster waves for wakeboarding with Tigé’s patented TAPS system. Our tests also
showed this boat was light and agile with a more than respectable 45.5 MPH top end and was stable and responsive at towing speeds, which is what this boat was designed for.
See what Capt. Vince found in his test --
Leave it to Yamaha. These guys have been driving the competition nuts by combining their high performance boats with outrageously low prices. Now they’ve upped the ante by redesigning their already much copied stern entertainment platform making it better than ever, AND they’ve redesigned the bow area to boot. Now they have
throw in beefier engines, and that wakeboard tower. Yamaha is making the 242
Limited S hard to resist. See what we mean by watching Capt. Steve’s tour of the Yamaha 242 Limited S.
Kids to the bow, adults to the stern --
New Product
Fishing with
Shurhold
This week we are taking a look at the Shurhold Fishing Gaff. This attachment, which is one of forty such accessories, is cut from one piece of stainless steel and includes a safety spring guard. The gaff connects quickly and easily to any Shurhold handle by utilizing the exclusive SHUR-LOK quick release system that is available on all Shurhold handles.
Learn more here --
Engine News
What's In an Oil Filter?
Well, in most filters, there is cellulous (paper), but not in the Royal Purple filters. This is what most experts consider the heart of a filter. The team at Royal Purple tells us the synthetic media they developed provides superior filtration, while keeping the flow restriction low. To dig deeper and learn more, pull your dipstick here --
Propeller Information
Which Prop Is Right
for Your Boat?
Finding the right prop for your application is not as easy as you may think. In fact, it is our experience that proper prop selection is one of the most difficult tasks in boating to make sure you are getting optimum performance. The right pitch and diameter is not the end of it, but rather just the beginning of the process. There are numerous other aspects to prop selection including rake, cup, surface area, material and the number of blades. Capt. Rob offers some good advice about props --
Boat Test
Chris-Craft Corsair 25:
Refining the Art of Boat Building
In the Corsair line Chris-Craft has captured an harmonious combination of nautical tradition, high style and romance, building a boat that takes us back to a time when arriving wasn’t the goal, but arriving in style, luxury and comfort was. The
Chris-Craft of today does all that and more. In the Corsair 25 our test revealed that we need to add performance to the list as well.
Climb aboard as we show why the Corsair 25 makes real boaters' hearts
go pitter-patter --
Boat Test
MasterCraft X-45
One Seriously Tricked Out Watersports Ride
Not only does this boat have more room than anything in her class it’s also got some very cool features that you have to check out. If you’re into serious watersports, then this boat is probably already on your “A” list -- and with good reason. Nowadays, it’s not enough to just have good looks, but you better deliver on the performance and features as well, and MasterCraft has risen to the challenge and thrown down the gauntlet. Check out the MasterCraft X-45 captain's report. You’ll see what we mean.
Fill your ballast tanks here --
Getting on plane in 3.7 seconds and heading to your favorite fishing spot at 71.5 MPH is just the tip of the iceberg with the Nitro Z-9, but we don't recommend running
any bass boat at this speed. The unique dual center console design gives the Z-9 360 degrees of fishability and every other space onboard has been utilized for organized storage. With the wheel to port, Nitro located the throttle in between the two center seats, right where your gear shift on your car would be, which Captain John really liked.
Power up your fishfinder here to go through the full test results and video.
Accident of the Week
Congressman Rams Rocks
In the Dark (Hurts His Head)
Thankfully Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg’s head was hard enough to sustain a crash on the rocks and keep on ticking. The accident left his state director in a coma for 10 days. Rehberg was a passenger in a 22-foot Mirage and not at the wheel when the boat ran up on the rocks on a dark night as the skipper was looking at his GPS. His Montana state director, Dustin Frost, suffered a “significant” head injury, but is expected to recover. The accident happened after dinner. To read the rest of the story --
Fishing News
The Power of Plastic Against
Massing of Striped Bass
As they migrate from their summer locations in New England to their wintering spot off Virginia and North Carolina, you need to be ready for striped bass heading down the coast with the right equipment to do battle. Are you ready, will you repeat this image? Cast here for some of the latest tips and tricks for the best use of plastic.
Sponsored by Yamaha Motor Company.
Good grief --
Please tell me my eyes are deceiving me when I watch your video of the Coast
Guard rescue at the mouth of the Columbia River. Could it be that the
dipsticks being rescued, sitting on the hull of a capsized boat, in moderate
seas, awaiting a rescue, are not wearing life vests? Please, tell me it's
just my aging eyes--
E. A. Skip Kazmarek
Atlanta, GA
Editor: Skip, You win the Ducky. The boat had the PFDs safely packed away.
The USS Independence cost $709 million instead of the $220 million “projected” by the contract-winner, General Dynamics. Some would say that its management’s members are the real pirates, having quietly fleeced the U.S. government of $489 million, much more than the $70 million in Somalia pirate ransoms paid the last couple of years. Clearly Somalia’s pirates are pikers and could learn a thing or two from the suits at General Dynamics.
To see pictures of what American tax dollars have bought --
In the upper right hand corner over every BoatTEST Report is a little red box that
says “Read Owner Reports on --” whatever brand. Boaters who are thinking about buying
that brand of boat can click on the button and see what owners of that brand have
to say about their experience with specific models. BoatTEST.com
has been asking its readers to help us help other boaters for years and we have
hundreds of reports from boat owners from all over the world – all unedited. The
editors of BoatTEST.com are asking you to take a couple of minutes of your time
to let prospective buyers know of the strengths and weaknesses of your SPECIFIC
model and we’d like to hear about your experience with both your dealer and manufacturer.
Your fellow boaters will thank you. To help --
BoatTEST News
BoatTEST Keyword Search:
The Whole Boating World in Your Hands!
Just below the BoatTEST.com banner on the home page is our “Keyword Search” functionality. Around the BoatTEST offices we just call it the “library,” because it is a marine library data base which is as large as the whole Internet. Type in any marine subject and our software instantly searches through the thousands of articles and tests that BoatTEST has published and displays that material on your screen. At the same time our software hands off your “keyword Search” to Google’s monster computers which instantly searches everything on the Internet related to the words you typed in, and we display those links on your screen, as well. How cool is that? This functionality means that when you come to BoatTEST.com you have the whole boating world in your hands. Why go anywhere else?
Try it, you’ll like it!
Boating Education
BoatTEST.com's Video Boating Course
Will Make YOU More Confident
BoatTEST.com in collaboration with Capt. Steve is now offering five different video courses on separate CD-ROMs that will make you a safer, more confident boater. These short video clips on dozens of topics will make your boating experience less stressful and more enjoyable. Your family and friends will have greater confidence in your boating skill – and so will you! After watching these videos you should be able to instantly react to most emergencies and boating problems that arise.
To learn more about these new video courses and to order --
This week Capt. Steve goes over seven new lessons and guidelines on getting along with the boating community by using proper boating etiquette. Even though some of these may have been touched upon in previous lessons, there are a few we would like to call out again. Some important ones to remember include following the no wake rule in channels marinas or any docks, how to properly pass or get around another boat, how to approach a busy anchorage, why you should go around a sailboat race and not through it if you encounter one, who has swinging rights in a marina, and noise etiquette. What it all comes down to is being a courteous boater. 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.
"I knew there was a reason that your towing membership was so cheap." - D. Rack
Second Place
"They're shooting an infomercial for the new and improved "Basket-Boat". It has
no bow or stern, so you can drive it in any direction. Best of all, it's solar powered,
and you build your own boat from a kit for just 3 easy payments of $19.99 (some
assembly required)." - B. Jo
Honorable (almost) Mentions
"The butcher, and the baker, hold the news conference about the loss at sea of the
candlestick maker -- " -T. Powell
What's Going
On Here?
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