Trailer Boats articles from March 2005

Trailer Boats archives from March 2005

Give-and-take.(On Plane)
March 1, 2005... Since the dawn of Ford's Model T, people have likened boats to cars. And as unfair as that comparison can be--because they are different animals operating under vastly different conditions--there are times when you can draw legitimate...

Terrific machine.(Letters to the Editors)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... I enjoyed the [December issue's] "Durable Goods" article on boats built for the Pacific Northwest. However, I think you erred by not including the Trophy 2359. This is also an Alaska-style bulkhead design with a deep- V hull. We have owned ours...

Cabin fever.(Letters to the Editors)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... You need more issues on cabin cruisers and cuddy cabins. Everything is always fishing boats and bowriders. That gets old. Chuck McIntire Parma, Ohio Check out this month's test of the Regal 2250 cuddy on page 74, or last month's...

Udderly hilarious.(Letters to the Editors)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... My vote [for the 2004 Over the Transom Photo Contest] goes to December for it being the only funny one and their effort with the cows. James Stigers Caguas, Puerto Rico That's a funny one, for sure--but in order for the vote to...

Wants more beef.(Letters to the Editors)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... Trailer Boats needs a section of pictures appearing in the magazine. The Over the Transom [photo] in the December issue was very entertaining. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] E.J. Hauser Oviedo, Florida

Lose the crowds.(Letters to the Editors)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... Let's "pump this thing up" and get more people into boating and fishing... that's what you wrote in your recent editorial (On Plane, January). That way, we can have longer lines at the ramp, no place to park the truck and trailer, and deplete...

California's 'gubernator' terminates teak surfing.(Dock Talk)
March 1, 2005... California's Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed legislation that prohibits teak surfing in the Golden State, a pastime that involves holding onto a swimstep or swim ladder and dragging or letting go to bodysurf behind a moving boat. The...

Newsflash: rich people love their boats.(Dock Talk)
March 1, 2005... A survey conducted by Key Recreation Lending, the marine lending division of KeyBank, indicates that the affluent are more likely to be boating enthusiasts--not particularly a newsflash, we know. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The survey...

Counterfeiting a growing problem in marine industry.(Dock Talk)
March 1, 2005... According to the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), counterfeiting of marine products is on the rise, especially in China. Shortly before presstime, U.S. Rep. Joseph Knollenberg (R-Mich) introduced legislation that would close a...

Honda debuts midsize Ridgeline pickup.(IN TOW)
March 1, 2005... The Honda Ridgeline, a 2006-model-year vehicle introduced in early 2005 and, according to Honda media sources, in dealerships this spring, is an interesting new entry into the midsize pickup class. The unibody vehicle is equipped with a...

Making a splash: welcome to Plushville.(Dock Talk)
March 1, 2005... Over the years, Yamaha has pushed the "plush" envelope with its personal watercraft (PWC). Plush as in smooth-riding, ergonomically friendly and filled with creature features. Yamaha's FX Cruiser and FX Cruiser High Output (HO) offer all of...

Just cruisin': trailer trawler charts a steady course.(Dock Talk)
March 1, 2005... If you are the type for whom a measly day on the water is just not enough, a trailer trawler might be in your future. The Rosborough RF-246 Sedan Cruiser is no floating luxury condo, but it does offer plenty of living space for comfortable...

Fine 'tooning: join the Party with Sun Tracker's 22-footer.(Dock Talk)
March 1, 2005... Smooth as glass, the Sun Tracker Party Barge 22 came up on its logs and provided a ride as fine as you could desire, even though Missouri's Table Rock Lake was beset with chop from sportboats and big cruisers. Our rig's 135 hp MerCruiser...

Ski locker: laid-back Moomba delivers V-drive value.(Dock Talk)
March 1, 2005... Bigger V-drive towboats for wakeboarding are everywhere. But where can you find one at a reasonable price? Check out Moomba and its Mobius XLV, a value-conscious, laid-back 23-footer made for waterskiing and 'boarding. And how does the...

Wake tools CWB Trooper carves out a good time.(Dock Talk)
March 1, 2005... Kids love wakeboarding, but prices ranging from $400 to $1000 for top-end 'boards with bindings may be hard for parents to swallow. CWB (425/775-5416; cwbwakeboards.com) of Lynnwood, Washington, has the answer with its new Trooper wakeboard...

Power trip has readers divided.(READER SURVEY RESULTS)
March 1, 2005... Our Question of the Month in January's "Marine Power" special issue asked whether readers had ever repowered their boats. And if so, whether they were satisfied with the experience. To cut to the chase, slightly more than one-third of...

Avoid fuelish mistakes.(Boat Improvement)
March 1, 2005... How would you like to make an inexpensive boat improvement that could save you thousands of dollars and protect the environment at the same time? For about the cost of something exotic like pepperoni, sausage and olives on a big round...

Water management.(Boating Basics)
March 1, 2005... Ever since the first knothole gave way in a dugout eons ago, boaters have used everything from index fingers to computer-assisted hull designs to keep water where it belongs: outside the boat. There are two ways the wet stuff can compromise...

Best foot forward.(Propulsion Report)
March 1, 2005... Volvo Penta has just introduced a new drive package called the Inboard Propulsion System (IPS). This is an unusual drive with steerable underwater appendages, and the props "pull" the boat instead of pushing it. I first heard about this system...

Tricked out: Triumph's all-plastic 20 1/2-footer boasts a boatload of awesome features.(TEST)
March 1, 2005... Go ahead, abuse her. It's only plastic, after all. No argument there--but if you're thinking that the molded polyethylene Triumph 210 center console isn't a real boat, you're wrong. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] By any stretch of the...

American heritage: providing access to Long Island Sound, Connecticut's Thames River puts boaters within reach of some of the east's best cruising and fishing.(DESTINATION)
March 1, 2005... Everyone's heard of two-foot-itis--the incurable urge to trade up from a perfectly good 20-foot craft to a new 22-footer, and then a 24-footer and so on. Like most longtime boaters, my husband Joe and I have "been there, done that," finally...

Rising star.(TEST)
March 1, 2005... Being the new kid is tough. If you want to fit in, you have to prove you can run with the crowd. If you're good, you'll push even harder so everyone will know you can hold your own. And that very much describes NauticStar, a small but growing...

Grime doesn't pay: keeping your boat spotless will ensure a handsome finish and higher resale value.
March 1, 2005... You don't have to suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder to feel the urge to clean your boat regularly. You just have to be smart. Mold and mildew, grime, water spots, environmental pollutants, bird droppings, rust, marine growth and salt...

2005 Tow Vehicle of the Year; our five-way shoot-out of midsize trucks shows surprising towing performance from this newly beefed-up class.(SPECIAL REPORT)
March 1, 2005... When choosing 2005's Tow Vehicle of the Year category, we decided on the burgeoning class of what used to be known as compact pickups. Now referred to as "midsize" trucks, it's the class of tow vehicles that has been infused with the most new...

Long legs: what do you get when you combine Regal's 2250 with Volvo's new lightweight diesel? A gorgeous cuddy with really long legs.(TEST)
March 1, 2005... You're in a boat dealership, paging through a brochure and musing about power options for your next worthy craft. You see the word "diesel." What thoughts spring to mind? How about, "heavy, slow, smoky and loud?" That's the way I...

Hard lesson: there's a moral to this sobering tale of how a fun day on the water got out of hand.
March 1, 2005... This is the true story of a young professional who had everything going for him. Jody was a real estate agent with a good job, a fabulous lakefront condominium and a new boat. What more could he ask for? It was the beginning of a long...

Zebra stampede: as zebra mussels invade western waters, boaters must do their part to stop this destructive pest.
March 1, 2005... While cosmic anxieties such as the Soviet Union, hippies and Martians have been suitably neutralized, one fiendish nightmare remains. It's a fingernail-sized mollusk called the zebra mussel. Brought to this country in ballast water from...

Go fish: install a depthfinder with these six simple steps.(How-To)
March 1, 2005... For fishermen interested in finding the jackpot, gunk-holers who like to know what kind of bottom they're anchoring in, or daycruisers who want to make sure they've always got plenty of water under the keel, no piece of gear is more helpful...

Too much time.(Tech Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... I left my 250 hp MerCruiser's key in the "on" position the last time I put it in storage. The hourmeter now registers far more hours than the actual hours on the engine. How can I fix this, and is there any way I can prevent it from happening...

Hard-cranking Yamaha.(Tech Letters)
March 1, 2005... I have a 2003 Yamaha 90 with Prime Start that is supposed to start with a turn of the key, but the longer it sets up, the harder it is to crank. I've talked to several others with the same problem. There is nothing wrong with the cranking motor...

Antique Yellow Jacket.(Tech Letters)
March 1, 2005... I just inherited my grandfather's boat. It is a 16-foot Yellow Jacket with a Mercury Mark 75 engine. The boat has been in storage for at least 30 years. I have been unable to find any information on the Yellow Jacket and very little about the...

Pulls to the right.(Tech Letters)
March 1, 2005... The cavitation plate on my Johnson 120 has an adjustable fin on the underside to counter the effect of a spinning prop. My boat pulls pretty hard to the right, but you can only adjust the fin in one direction--the direction that increases the...

Stop Guessing, take two.(Tech Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... In his response to John Booth's question ("Stop Guessing") in February's Tech Letters, Jim Barron says the proper interval for a Mercury 150 XR6 water pump impeller change is every 300 hours or three years. In the owner's manual for this...

Will it tow my boat?(Tow Car)
March 1, 2005... I have an 18-foot Four Winns Horizon that weighs right about 3000 pounds, loaded and ready to tow. The Jeep Grand Cherokee V-8 that I am currently using to tow it has provided very satisfactory performance, but I am looking for something with...

Board with Steep Driveways.(Tow Car)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... I just read the letter "Too Steep a Driveway" from John Dale-broux in the September 2004 issue. We had exactly the same trouble with our boat and steep driveway. The simple fix was a trip to the lumberyard. I use two boards that are 2 inches...

Bourdon's tow tip.(Tow Car)
March 1, 2005... When shopping for a new (or used) tow vehicle, don't assume the rig has a heavy-duty towing package just because you see a tow hitch on the back. Some manufacturers offer two towing packages: one for light-duty towing and one for heavy-duty...

Never guess her weight.(Tow Car)
March 1, 2005... I just bought a 2000-model-year Bayliner Capri 2050, with a 5.0L V-8 sterndrive. It sits on a single-axle trailer. Can you tell me what it weighs and suggest some good SUVs in the mid-price range that could tow it? Chris Tolle ...

Axle gears vs. economy.(Tow Car)
March 1, 2005... I have a two-wheel-drive 2003 Chevy Tahoe with a 5.3L V-8 and a 3.73 rear end. All is good, but it's got lots and lots of miles. Now it's time for a new rig, and I am looking at a Chevy Tahoe 4WD with the same engine, but the axle gear choices...

Tire wear on one axle.(Tow Car)
March 1, 2005... My tri-axle trailer does a wonderful job of cradling my Regal 2665 while I haul it about. The only complaint I have is that two of the tires show excessive uneven wear. The axle and leaf spring are pinned together so you can't move the axle....

Brighter headlights.(Tow Car)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... I read your response to a recent letter about dim headlights and would like to add that I found something that worked for me. I have a 2003 Dodge Dakota, and replaced the factory headlight bulbs with "Silver Star" replacement bulbs that I found...

Rocky mountain braking.(Tow Car)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... Thanks for all the helpful information provided in the December 2004 issue--especially the 2005 tow ratings and towing laws. However, I would like to comment on the Colorado "Weight Requiring Trailer Brakes" listing. The information you provide...

Watch time fly with resettable hourmeter.(Tested)
March 1, 2005... Hourmeters are great for keeping track of total hours on your engine. But, some boaters also like to track subtotals such as hours between oil changes or the duration of particular trips. This is now a lot easier with the Model HM700 digital...

Do you know where your tabs are?(Gotta Have It)
March 1, 2005... Trim tabs help a boat deliver maximum performance, so it's nice to know what position they are in. Now, thanks to the new Tab Position Indicator ($260) from Bennett Marine (954/427-1400; bennetttrim tabs.com), you can get a visual readout of...

How high can you fly?(Gotta Have It)
March 1, 2005... Wakeboarders who want to weigh down the boat to increase wake size so they can launch a "fatty" will appreciate the new Pro X Series Fat Sacs ($99 to $199) from Barefoot International and Fly High Mfg. (800/932-0685; barefootinternational)....

All charged up.(Gotta Have It)
March 1, 2005... A dead battery will literally leave you dead in the water. Here's another weapon to use in the fight against battery failure. BatteryMINDer's (800/379-5579; vdcelectronics.com) 12-volt Solar System, which utilizes a battery condition monitor...

Fire in the hole.(Gotta Have It)
March 1, 2005... Electrical shorts, fuel leaks--whatever the cause, an engine-room fire on board is serious business. Protect yourself and your boat with the Fire Foe extinguisher from Sea-Fire Marine (800/445-7680; sea-fire.com). Sea Fire's new line of...

Switcheroo.(Gotta Have It)
March 1, 2005... New from Blue Sea Systems (360/738-8230; bluesea.com) is a heavy-duty battery switch that will manage the DC high-amperage power needs found on boats with diesel engines, inverters, bow thrusters and large battery banks. The two-position HD...

Sound decisions.(Gotta Have It)
March 1, 2005... If you enjoy cruising across the water to your very own soundtrack--or the soundtrack of your favorite movie--Clarion (800/462-5274; clarion.com) may have what you've been looking for. The VS755, a single-DIN standalone DVD/MP3/CD player ($300)...

You could win a Four Winns boat.(Photo Contest)
March 1, 2005... OVER THE TRANSOM CONTEST RULES Do you have a kooky, weird or hilarious picture involving a boat, launch ramp, marina or anything else around the water? Send it in. If your photo is chosen as one of Trailer Boats' Over the Transom winners,...