Table of contents for January - February 2017 in PassageMaker

Many a hot summer’s day were spent on these docks, polishing off varnish and lukewarm cans of seltzer with my dad as Vanquish, a Grand Banks 49 with a hull as deep blue as the water we dreamed of, listed gently against the floating docks at Brewer’s Shipyard in Essex, Connecticut. In the intervening years, those days of summer have evolved into moments of memory even for Vanquish, which has since found a new home. Yet we return to this place, the salt and air as heavy and humid as ever. Perhaps it isn’t the boat we keep, but the places. We should all be blessed with a little salt in our veins. Oh, and please pass the chamois. Boston, Massachusetts Love to shoot pictures? Want to share your adventures?…

The Camano 31 is no longer, but its tradition in the cruising market lives on, to some degree, with the Helmsman Trawlers 31 Sedan. Built on the same semi-displacement hullform, this little single-stateroom cruiser still bears plenty of resemblance, at least aesthetically, to its predecessor. But inside is where the action is. Waterline Boats, which bought the tooling for the Camano line, has made a concerted effort in the redesign to bring the new 31 up to modern-day standards of premium fit-and-finish, amenities, and performance. CONSTRUCTION When the tooling for the Camano was acquired by Waterline Boats, one of the only things that they didn’t change was the hull design. Proven and time-tested, the 31 Sedan sits on the same 1990 Bob Wurman-designed semi-displacement hull as all Camano-branded boats. “There…

Some failures on cruising boats occur gradually, providing warning signs to those who pay attention. Gradually increasing vacuum pressure in the fuel filter warns of a developing fuel quality issue. Climbing engine temperatures point to a brewing cooling system problem. Excessive heat on the alternator warns of an impending failure. Propeller shafts however, fail all at once, with no advance warning. Should this occur, a single-screw vessel will be left dead in the water and calling for a tow. While most twin-screw boats can limp home, both will be facing a expensive repairs, including a haul-out, and a new shaft and prop. Given the risks and costs, it pays to understand why shafts fail and what steps you can take to reduce the likelihood. Wading into engineering literature about shaft…

It’s a common scene: Night has fallen, you’re in an unfamiliar anchorage, and though you’ve studied the maps and charts and gotten the lowdown from other boaters, you still have to decide which is the best way to anchor. Boating demands decision-making on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. You can plan a route months in advance, but until you’re on the water facing the three main factors—the craft, the crew, the climate—you don’t really know what you’re in for. Decision-making is stressful. It’s not, “Where do you want to eat dinner tonight?” It’s more like, “There are five-foot waves but we need to get back by Monday. Should we suck it up and make the 13-hour push to get home, or should we hunker down and wait?” Experienced boaters have…

The demographics and fiscal realities of the power-cruising life are no secret. Most people who cruise even part-time aboard their boats are doing it in the later years of life, waiting until they have the time and means to make the lifestyle possible. But not everyone follows this script, and one exception is the family onboard Cortado. Born and raised in Indiana, far from the smell of salt air, Lynne Rey will freely tell you that living aboard a boat was far from a dream of hers. So how does this artist and mother find herself schooling two children and managing family life aboard a classic power cruiser? Tony Rey comes to this boating life a little more naturally, having grown up on Long Island Sound. Tony had an early…

Hyundai has a long history of building marine engines for the Pacific Rim and Europe, and has recently introduced their marine line of Seasall engines to the United States. This new engine is designed to meet not just Tier III EPA requirements but future Tier IV requirements as well. And this isn’t your typical marinized engine. Sure, it is built on the Hyundai graphite-infused block and pistons from their automotive line, and also uses a common-rail fuel injection system, but from there on this engine is designed specifically for the marine market. And it shows. This engine runs smoothly and quietly, even at idle where it burns less than a gallon an hour. The graphite-infused block and pistons are designed to deliver a long life for the engine, which has…

We were just a few hours out of London, in the notorious Dover Straits on my first to sea at the age of 16. when we collied with another ship in thick fog. It was only a glancing blow so we were able to carry on with our voyage, but it was a lesson about the dangers of fog. At sea, things can happen unexpectedly, and you realize just how your world changes when visibility drops to zero That was before the days of electronics. We had no radar, no GPS, and no AIS, so it was a like navigating with a stick and we had to rely on listening and ocating fog signals. Modern electronics have made a huge difference to navigating in these conditions. They give you confidence…

When Hurricane Danny rose up on NOAA’s radar in October, 2015, Captain Karen Campbell and I pointed our 50-foot trawler, Largo, east from Bimini to Great Harbour Cay, Bahamas. We were seeking shelter from the storm, which turned out to be three storms in quick order: Danny, Erika, and (shudder) Joaquin. On the shallow blue Bahamas banks we were in a long line of big boats chugging to Great Harbour Cay Marina, the famous hurricane hole in the Berry Islands. Once there, we battened down, lined in, and struggled with the constant hurricane season question—do we stay or do we go? We stayed, we learned, we survived, and we prepared for what became the ultimate survival reality show this year: Hurricane Matthew (double shudder). We are permanent liveaboards, which adds…

Registration is underway as TrawlerFest returns to Stuart, Florida, for the first time since 2009. The show is partnering with Hutchinson Island Marriott Beach Resort & Marina, and the dates are February 28 to March 4. The choice of a Marriott resort will mark a huge improvement over other Florida TrawlerFest sites in the recent past, most recently Riviera Beach Municipal Marina, which was under construction during TrawlerFest this year and last. Attendee feedback, while positive about seminars and the boat show in general, lamented conditions at the venue. Hutchinson Island Marriott is the cure. Business travelers and resort-goers alike hold the Marriott chain in high regard because of its emphasis on quality and consistency throughout its properties. The Stuart resort offers large climate- and lightingcontrolled halls for seminars and…

I’m usually a make-it-from-scratch kind of cook, but occasionally I take the easy route and head down that frequently ignored grocery store aisle—you know the one— loaded with prepared food, forget about healthy sauces and dressings. Once there, I guiltlessly grab multiple jars of my favorite barbecue sauce and pile them into my cart. It’s time for pulled pork. My nearly insatiable taste for pulled pork started a couple of years ago. It was getting close to the end of the cruising season and I still had three or four pork tenderloins in the freezer, and, to top it off, we had guests joining us for a late-season cruise. With just a little research I discovered that those protein-packed, almost fat-free cylinders could be used to make pulled pork.…

Doors in cockpits and side decks present challenges to the builder and risks to the boat owner. The cockpit door on this MJM 50z has been well executed. The door opens into the cockpit and the notched end shape ensures that even if it’s unlatched, someone leaning against it cannot force it open and fall overboard. The locking device is not only robust, but elegantly shaped. The handle has a spring-loaded locking latch, and the hardware lands on a synthetic bumper to prevent marring. MJM uses 316 stainless steel hardware and installs epoxybased composite backing plates—a durable and non-corrosive material. The handrail that extends onto the top provides a safe and convenient handhold for opening and closing the door. Hats off to designer Doug Zurn and to MJM Yachts for…