Soundings is the news and feature publication for recreational boaters. Award-winning coverage of the people, issues, events -- and the fun -- of recreational boating. Check out our generous boats-for-sale section and our gunkholing destinations.
Biologists call ‘hybrid vigor’ the way offspring of parents of different species or varieties exhibit traits superior to either, even if they’re already standouts themselves. It’s easy to think of the new MJM Yachts 4 day yacht as exemplifying just such hybrid vigor! Credit goes to the ‘parents’ of this gorgeous hybrid: the expansive 38-foot dual console, the MJM 3, and the couples charming, classic Category A ocean yacht, the MJM 40. No difficult design decisions between entertainment and intimacy here: in this splendid day yacht you get both the creature comforts of an ocean-class motoryacht and the crowd-pleasing space, lush appointments and satisfying sass of a dual-console. Proud Parents The single level MJM 3 was an immediate hit when launched in 2021, drawing rave reviews by those impressed by…
Soundings recently conducted a survey of subscribers to learn more about who you are, how you use your boat and what type of stories you’d like to see in the future. If you don’t already know it, the people who read this magazine are some of the most active and experienced boat owners out there, with an average of 20-plus years on the water. That’s an impressive statistic and it’s the thing that distinguishes this magazine from other marine publications. Soundings, for the past 60 years, has been a home port of sorts to people who choose to commit to boating for a good part of their lives. The results of the survey don’t surprise our editorial team. We get constant reminders about your marine expertise. We receive emails, phone…
HUNGRY FOR INFO I always look forward to reading Soundings. It does a great job of offering diverse and informative articles. I enjoyed “Best Dock & Dines” (July), as it consolidated a number of great waterfront restaurants into one story. However, I was disappointed that it was more about the dining experience at each location, rather than how to get there by boat. In the future, perhaps you can provide some basic information, such as mean water depth and docking fees. We keep our boat in Mattituck, New York, and have voyaged to a number of the locations on your list. We know that to make it a fun experience, you need to do more than just call for reservations. STEVE PETERSON My favorite dock & dines are not located…
There is some really good news just ahead of this year’s Newport International Boat Show: People buying up all the boats appear to be getting better at using them. To understand why this is such good news heading into autumn 2022, think back to summer 2020. That’s when the pandemic led to what the National Marine Manufacturers Association called an “extraordinary” number of powerboat sales. Many of those boats were sold to first-time owners who had little to no boating experience, but who were looking for ways to have fun in the outdoors. Not surprisingly, for that same year, the U.S. Coast Guard reported that accidents, injuries and deaths all rose by more than 20 percent. The vast majority of deaths occurred on boats whose operators had received no safety…
If you walk along the harbor of any coastal city from Baltimore, Maryland, to Rockland, Maine, try to imagine a scene from 200 years ago, with hundreds of ships lining the docks while others float in the inner harbor. Thousands of men are moving cargo or repairing ship parts, and there are acres of furled white sails. When everything in the world moved by sail, sailmaking and repair was a major industry that employed thousands of people in sail lofts. Those days are long gone, yet some professionals continue to craft sails, keeping the industry alive. Among them are Tony Rey, Alex Clegg and Dave and Rob MacMillan of Doyle Sails Newport. In 2018, after a complete renovation of their sail loft in Middletown, Rhode Island, this company became part…
Today’s higher gas and diesel prices might tempt a captain to depart with less fuel, but the one-third rule should always be adhered to for safety. This rule simply states you should use one-third of the boat’s fuel to go out, another third for the ride home, and a final third for reserve in case weather or sea conditions extend your trip beyond your original plan. Pushing a towrope back to the dock—or God forbid, floating around on the open ocean—is not the way you want to end your day. While most vessels are equipped with a fuel gauge to remind you how much go-go juice is in your tank, inaccurate readings are not uncommon. So, it’s wise to familiarize yourself with your read-out to make sure it’s reporting…
