Tabla de contenidos para September 2018 en WAKEBOARDING

We look forward to testing the Formula 400 Super Sport Crossover later this fall. It appears it will be a top-notch crossover boat, one that marries the attributes of several boat types into a single versatile vessel. The 400 SSC incorporates the Formula Crossover SmartZone: separate areas for a variety of activities. Cabin accommodations include a private stateroom, a convertible dinette, enclosed head, and a sink and microwave. Topside, the 400 SSC’s first-of-its-kind slide-open windshield leads to expansive wraparound seating. There’s a galley on deck, and aft you’ll find a rear-facing sun lounge and a broad, extended swim platform. Four Mercury Verado outboards of up to 350 hp each will power the 400 SSC. We expect exciting performance and agile handling when combined with yet another FAS3Tech hull designed by…

If you’ve loaded a boat on a trailer in the dark, you know the problem. You’re working virtually blind. Even with the trailer lights on, the bunks become invisible underwater. The unique bunk-illumination system from Minnesota-based Gatorbak solves this problem. There are two unique components: 1) clear synthetic, ribbed bunk covers that do away with traditional bunk carpeting and yet gently cradle your boat, and 2) waterproof LED strips that install under the covers. Gatorbak’s Premium Clear covers are available in a range of lengths, widths and contours. To make sure you order the correctly sized cover, carefully measure the bunks on your trailer and note the shape. Order a waterproof LED light strip that’s long enough to span the entire length of the bunk. Dry-fit the covers and lights…

The latest iteration of Boston Whaler’s iconic 17-footer — the 170 Montauk — is the fourth edition of this popular model. These boats have spread around the globe, on missions ranging from pure pleasure to search-and-rescue. Full disclosure: I have sea time in all four models and bought my own Montauk 17 in 1993. First Light serves me in my work for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation as a charter boat, and as family boat too. It has also been a Boating project boat since 1995. Some days I treat it like a canoe, dragging it over shallow bars. Other days, I make the 9-mile open-water run from Crisfield, Maryland, to Tangier Island, Virginia. There aren’t many other boats that can cover all these bases with comparable safety, economy and versatility.…

Six inches can often make a huge difference in many things, but we’re talking about boats here. The new Cruisers Yachts Cantius 42 is just 6 inches longer than the former Cantius 41 (now retired) but, more important than adding half a foot, this cruiser’s debut marks a huge rethink of how people use their boats. And I’ll give away my conclusion: Cruisers Yachts nailed it with this new Cantius 42. One word kept coming to mind: flow. The cockpit flows seamlessly (no step) into the salon because the triple-wide sliding doors tuck completely away, creating an entertainment zone literally from transom to helm. The cockpit has an L-shaped settee, which, with the doors out of sight, matches up nicely to the aft-facing L settee in the cabin. Even better,…

The Afina 3950 was born out of frustration. When Wayne Floe, CEO of boat-lift builder Floe International, couldn’t find just the right boat to suit his particular style of boating, he decided to design and build one that did suit him. (Must be nice!) Now his dream boat can be yours. The semicustom Afina 3950 is in production from a new boatbuilding facility near McGregor, Minnesota, with a base price of about $500,000. And there is really nothing like it on the water. At first glance, the 39-foot-6-inch-long, 11-foot-beam fiberglass Afina 3950 looks like a big deck boat under a glass house. Designed to stretch the season for northern-tier boaters, the concept works as well for those who boat in tropical or semitropical heat. What the maker calls the Grand…

The biggest trend in outboards in the past decade is, well, everything’s getting bigger. The rise of mega-center-consoles — boats that are 40 to 50 feet in length and powered by quad outboard installations — has both expanded the realm of outboard-powered vessels and grown the demand for engines powerful enough to push them. Enter Yamaha’s biggest and most powerful outboard engine to date, the 425 hp, 5.6L V-8 XTO Offshore. The XTO represents a first for Yamaha in many respects. It is the first four-stroke on the market to feature direct injection, with an industry-high 12.2-to-1 compression ratio, and the first to be packaged with an electric steering system. In fact, Yamaha is touting it not merely as an outboard but as a “fully integrated power system.” At the…

It will only take about 12 seconds to set a new UIM/APBA Unlimited Vee Bottom (UVB) speed record. You can travel 1 kilometer in 12.09 seconds at 185 mph. Not a blink of the eye but probably not long enough to break a sweat. Rip off a 12-second kilo, then turn around and do it again in the other direction, and see your name in the record book. The record book is what Iconic Marine Group had in mind in August 2017 when it embarked on a mission to bring the UVB speed record back to Fountain Powerboats, taking it from the current holder, Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats. More than a year later, after the investment of untold man-hours and a mountain of money, that 12-second kilo remains elusive. We made…

Hinckley is joining the outboard-powered, luxury center-console market to great fanfare with its new Sport Boat CC. Like all new Hinckley power yachts, the 42-foot-7-inch hull was drawn by Ray Hunt Design. It’s built using epoxy-infused carbon from bow to stern with an inner layer of Kevlar for extra strength and durability. Every part is vacuum-infused to create the strongest boat possible while maintaining a relatively lighter weight. With triple outboards on the transom, the Sport Boat CC is expected to hit a top-end speed of 63 mph while maintaining a true course and the seakeeping capabilities expected of the legendary Hunt deep-V. Within the console, boaters will discover a well-appointed and air-conditioned cabin featuring a galley with a U-shaped settee, which converts to a queen-size berth, and a fully…

Since forever, boating-safety statistics have focused on the negative: collisions, drownings, fires, operator inattention, excessive speed and more. This procedure has been used to identify behavior that creates accidents and fatalities that lead to education and regulation forbidding or dissuading boaters from engaging in those behaviors. SOBOS (Self-Reported On-the Water Boat Operator Survey), a new app from the National Safe Boating Council and East Carolina University for iOS and Android, intends to invert that paradigm. Instead of cataloging bad behavior, SOBOS collects survey data from boaters who act safely. It provides information about non-accident-based recreational boaters. The goal is to test the efficacy of crowd-sourcing recreational boating data. It is an evidence-based public health approach to reducing boating accidents. The SOBOS mobile app asks boaters to fill out a short…

My boat test and factory inspection prove that the MJM Yachts 35z performs well, features a robust build, and its self-touted “eco-friendly” moniker has merit. Further, it impressed me with numerous small details, the likes of which make it obvious they were conceived and executed by those with major sea time. Conceptualized and overseen by Bob Johnstone of J/Boats fame, designed in collaboration with naval architect Doug Zurn, and built in collaboration with Boston Boatworks, the MJM 35z’s basic laminate is created using wet pre-impregnated epoxy composite, a technique at the heart of the boat’s mission statement. The “wet pre-preg” process uses less resin to achieve higher strength and stiffness at a lighter weight to comparable structures made with other resins. Along with the use of high-tech coring materials, which…

Everything on the Cutwater 302 Coupe transforms into something else. Call it Wavetron, cousin to Maximus Prime. The first order of business for this outboard-powered pocket trawler is pleasure, and when you flip a hatch, turn a seat back or open a window in the Cutwater, the pleasure of cruising is multiplied and its value increased. But in our tests, the first order of business is to see how it runs. For its length overall, its draft is diminutive, but its acceleration and cornering are snappy and crisp. Hard-over turns were handled without rattling dishes or opening cupboards. At economical speeds, the 302 Coupe can take you to far ports without refueling. This new 302 pocket trawler is easily managed single-handedly or with a companion. Ours had a bow thruster…

Abigail Askew isn’t your typical fishing fanatic. She didn’t grow up with it in her early years in South Florida, and actually didn’t take it up until she was in college. Yet she ended up on the University of Florida’s collegiate fishing team. It was her teammate Colby Eldridge, a lifelong angler from Panama City, Florida, who introduced her to me. “I’ve got pictures of me in diapers with a cane pole,” Eldridge says. “I was raised by a single dad and my grandparents, and they had a creek in the backyard, and I pretty much spent all my time there.” So, when he got to the University of Florida and found a bass fishing club, he joined up. “It’s more a club than a collegiate sport,” Eldridge says. “Some…

Most marine stereos are made by companies that dabble in the boat market, with the vast majority of sales and engineering efforts concentrated on the automotive side of the business. New Zealand-based Fusion, on the other hand, dedicates its energy and resources exclusively to marine applications, and the new Apollo series takes that focus to a new level. The RA770 head unit ($649.99, thegpsstore.com) is the flagship of the Apollo series, featuring a one-piece 4.3-inch glass touchscreen display, built-in Wi-Fi streaming, digital signal processing (DSP) and PartyBus capabilities. Users can simply tap the screen to pause and play or review a playlist. The Apollo series also includes the more compact SRX400 head unit ($349.99, crutchfield.com) with a 2.7-inch display. Apollo’s DSP technology is designed to deliver premium sound to all…

With seating for 19 and ample stowage, the 2019 25-foot ZX5 is Tigé’s flagship and will allow your whole crew to enjoy a day full of wakesurfing, wakeboarding or skiing. This big boat should generate the biggest of waves. Wakeboarders can expect the massive, rampy wakes for which the Convex V-Hull is notorious. On the other side of the coin, the ZX5 is said to be able to make the wake vanish when you are ready to ski and still performs with total agility when you take it into a turn. Done for the day? Stow your boards in the Surf Locker and keep your cockpit dry and tidy. Standard features include the TAPS 3 Surf System, patented Convex V-Hull, Tigé CLEAR User Experience, and the Alpha E2 Powered Tower.…

Most of us have been there: needing to reach into the trailered boat at the ramp, in the driveway or at the gas station. It’s why I carry a stepladder when towing a boat. Megaware’s FlexStepPro is a neat solution for easing access to trailered boats. Installation proved dead simple and entails sandwiching your boat trailer’s frame between the base mount of the FlexStepPro and the pre-drilled backing plate using the supplied 4¼-inch-long bolts, washers and locknuts. A 17 mm socket is called for; 2⅓2 worked for me. A nice touch is the supplied plastic tubing intended to cover the bolts to inhibit scratching. The final installation step is to use the T-handled locking pin to affix the step to the step receiver in the base mount. Once done, the…

Let’s face it: Towing your trailer boat is not the most enjoyable part of part of boating. Yet for trailer boaters, it’s integral to the experience. Choosing a tow vehicle with the highest capabilities can make this part of the trip as trouble-free as possible. For any boat/trailer weighing more than 5,000 pounds, you will need a full-size pickup or sport utility vehicle. Here are tips for picking the best model for your needs. KNOW YOUR WEIGHT Before you can choose a tow vehicle, you need to know the weight of your boat/engine, trailer and gear/equipment. Have your rig weighed at a facility such as a Cat Scale (catscale.com), says Todd Brinkman, trailer engineer for GM Trucks. “Load up as you would when going out for a day on the…

How can you get better stability and heavy-load traction at the ramp on your rear-wheel-drive truck? Add all-terrain tires to it, based on our experience. Here is a comparison of five tire options. Our test vehicle is a 2015 Ford F-150 XLT Super Crew Cab. We upgraded it from 18-inch factory wheels to 20-inch Wheel Pro wheels and went for larger, more aggressive tires. Seems like that offers both some stability benefits and a firmer ride under load. And the new wheels looked really cool. In addition to getting some ride, towing and handling impressions, we wanted to see how the aggressive tread impacted cabin noise. We were pleasantly surprised that, while the aggressive tires exhibited an expected hum, it wasn’t disturbing. TESTING FUEL ECONOMY EVERYDAY DRIVING We ran at…

Got 2-foot-itis? Eye up Scout’s newest 355 LXF. It packs all the amenities of its larger siblings at an easier-to-handle size and price. Our tester was rigged for performance, using three Mercury Verado 350 outboards to reach an exhilarating top speed of 66 mph. Punching the throttle, we jumped on plane and passed the 30 mph mark in just 6.8 seconds. Range with the standard 310-gallon fuel cell is 336 miles at a best-cruise speed just shy of 40 mph, where the triple 350s burned fuel at 32.6 gph, netting an efficiency of 1.2 mpg. Per our pre-trial seminar from Scout CEO Steve Potts, the 355 was born from customer feedback, asking for the features from the larger 380 and 420 models. Since Potts doesn’t like the idea of jamming…

Berkshire’s 25SB Ultra hit 47.3 mph carrying five crew-members and a near-full tank of fuel and reached 30 mph in just under 5 seconds. The 25SB Ultra also cornered and handled dockside maneuvers with grace. Credit Berkshire for developing a pontoon geometry that enables such spirited performance and capable handling. Of note is what Berkshire calls the V-Lite Composite Deck. An aerospace honeycomb, it is said to be rot-free and also weighs as much as 50 percent less than plywood decks. Weight and power are key components of speed and efficiency. It’s also notable that our test boat was powered by one of Mercury Marine’s new 4.6-liter V-8 outboards. (Yamaha outboards are also available.) In this case, a 250 hp Verado model engine, sporting the 5.44 HD gear case, propelled…

While many fishing-related companies support collegiate anglers with contingency money, most require using their equipment (not so easy for college kids racking up student loans) or paying an entry fee. The following three related companies offer real money to the contestants of a qualified tournament in exchange for simply expressing an interest in the brand by displaying the logo. And from most companies, discounts to collegiate fishermen are generous and hit the scatter graph at about 40 percent off, no insignificant amount. For more information, visit flwfishing.com. BASS PRO SHOPS Display the logo on your boat and jersey to win up to $2,000 in gift cards to support the angler and team. CABELAS Wear the Cabelas Collegiate Fishing logo on your jersey and win $500 for the college team if…