Trailer Boats articles from September 2005

Trailer Boats archives from September 2005

Paradise lost.(On Plane)
September 1, 2005... This month's special report, "Small Craft Advisory" (page 32), examines the steady and alarming erosion of boating access. It's a problem that's ramping up across the country, and Managing Editor Rebecca Stone's comprehensive look at the issue...

Backing basics.(Letters to the Editors)(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2005... The article about "Going Backward" in the April issue gave much good information about getting the trailer to respond to your intentions. But a simpler way to have the trailer move in the direction you want is to place your hand on the bottom...

Love my extension.(Letters to the Editors)(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2005... In reference to your June editorial ("Take the Plunge"), I own a Chaparral 230 SSi with an extended swim platform, and it is one of my favorite features of the boat. The dual platform has many advantages: For one, it is 6 inches lower than the...

Bimbo book.(Letters to the Editors)(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2005... Trailer Boats is a "bimbo" magazine. You mostly only cover high-speed planing boats. Much too restrictive. Jack Brown Damariscotta, Maine

Likes plastic.(Letters to the Editors)(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2005... In response to "Eye of the Beholder" (Prop Wash, May), two of your readers commented on your gratuitous use of "plastic" models in your magazine's photos. I say, keep 'em coming! I am currently deployed with U.S. forces in Iraq, and my...

Who makes these things?(Letters to the Editors)(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2005... Where do I find these things? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Everybody around here talks about [transom] splashguards, but who makes 'em? I've seen lots--but I can't seem to source any. Gord Hincks North Bay Ontario, Canada ...

Tell it like it is.(POINT AND COUNTERPOINT)(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2005... Your boat tests are only mildly critical. Readers deserve better. You seem to be too beholden to the boat and engine manufacturers to do really worthwhile critical reviews. Perhaps a fear of losing your advertising dollars makes you too...

Not just fluff.(POINT AND COUNTERPOINT)(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 2005... I picked up your magazine for the first time last night and thought it was great. It's packed with good information and not just a lot of "fluff." Ed Salaz Scott Air Force Base, Illinois

World champ hangs up her skis.(Dock Talk)
September 1, 2005... After a professional waterskiing career that began in 1983, Kristi Overton-Johnson recently announced her retirement at the 46th Masters Water Ski and Wakeboard Tournament, held at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia. Holder of the world...

Midwestern states ramp up battle against invasives.(Dock Talk)
September 1, 2005... In a public meeting held by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) earlier this year, Sam Speck, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, called for the USCG to step up its actions in preventing the introduction of invasives into Great Lakes...

Ott winner claims prize.(Dock Talk)
September 1, 2005... This year's Over the Transom photo contest winner, Jay Erickson (upper right) of Stanchfield, Minnesota, didn't have to wait for the cows to come home to pick up the keys to his new Four Winns 170 Horizon. Trailer Boats' Associate Publisher Jim...

Something's fishy: outwit fish with Sea Fox's 225 Bay Fisher.(Dock Talk)
September 1, 2005... There's a boat name that anglers along the Eastern seaboard and Gulf Coast are very familiar with: Sea Fox. The brand has been around nearly 50 years, and its longevity can be attributed to the fact that the company has kept its offerings...

Wake tools: skiing through the seasons.(Dock Talk)
September 1, 2005... As the sun sets earlier, and the summer heat wanes, waterskiers and 'boarders, especially in the north, don't care. They ski into the cool without reservation. That's because wetsuits and drysuits are the tickets to seriously extending the ski...

Launch ramp: hot new trailerables.(Dock Talk)
September 1, 2005... LOWE FS 165 Starting at just $14,121, Lowe's FS 165 is one economical rig. Boasting an all-welded design and reverse-chine V-Tech hull made of 0.100-gauge 5052 H-34 marine aluminum, the FS 165 is built tough. According to the company, its...

Getting personal: undercover inside Yamaha.(Dock Talk)
September 1, 2005... Jetting around on a personal watercraft (PWC) is a blast, but there's a lot of serious scrutiny that goes into the making of these fun machines. Recently, we had an opportunity to tour Yamaha's PWC manufacturing facility in Newnan, Georgia, for...

Making a splash: Sugar Sand's Mirage sportjet is 18 Feet of unadulterated fun.(Sportjets Gone Wild)
September 1, 2005... Although it had been a while since we last ran a Sugar Sand, the memory of the fun we'd had was clear--so, naturally, we jumped at the chance to test the latest version of the company's Mirage sportjet. This 18-foot hull was reengineered in...

Big is beautiful.(READER SURVEY RESULTS)
September 1, 2005... When we asked in our July survey how overwide boats (with beams greater than 8 1/2 feet) fit into your boating future, we didn't anticipate just how many readers would be open to the idea. While it was no surprise that the majority of survey...

Question of the month.(READER SURVEY RESULTS)
September 1, 2005... Do you ever use your boat for fishing? If so, what percentage of your outings involves at least some angling? * Fishing? No thanks; it's not our thing * Only rarely... At least not often enough to provide a percentage estimate *...

Skipper's Challenge.(READER SURVEY RESULTS)
September 1, 2005... Should your outboard somehow take a nosedive into the drink, and you manage to retrieve it, before repairing, it should be stored: [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] a) upside down b) in the sun c) under water Paraphrased from the...

Upgrading bunks and rollers.(Boat Improvement)
September 1, 2005... We're all typical boaters, right? We go out and play all day and when it's time to put the toys away, we back the trailer down the ramp and slide the boat up into its cradle. But have you ever taken a really close look at the bunks and rollers?...

Choking from the start.(Boating Basics)
September 1, 2005... The late summer heat finally won out and drove us toward the shade of a tree-lined cove after an afternoon of trolling for walleye. I continued to allow the two-stroke outboard to push the pontoon at idle speed as we headed up a narrow arm,...

Improving the experience.(Propulsion Report)
September 1, 2005... What should we expect when we buy a new boat? Has the boatbuying public been dumbed down to the point that we readily accept less than the best? The marine industry has led the way with many advances that have benefited the automotive industry....

Small craft advisory: decreasing access to public waterways is a hot-button issue. But how does this gathering storm affect trailer boaters?(SPECIAL REPORT)
September 1, 2005... 'I'll probably just have to walk away from her," a neighboring boater at my marina told me the other day, with a glance toward his well-cared-for 35-foot cabin cruiser. He added that if he didn't get out of boating altogether, maybe he'd become...

Fountain of youth: big, roomy and packing plenty of punch, Yamaha's twin-jet SX230 HO turns grown men into kids.(Sportjets Gone Wild)(Cover Story)
September 1, 2005... Sure, they're fun to drive, and they make you feel young again. But you really can't call a sportjet an oversized personal watercraft (PWC) anymore, not after you experience Yamaha's SX230 High Output. Not once, but twice we tested this...

Roosevelt getaway: featuring 660 miles of shoreline, Eastern Washington's Roosevelt Lake offers something for every kind of boater.(TBM DESTINATION)
September 1, 2005... As we powered downstream from Two Rivers Marina, situated at the confluence of the Columbia and Spokane rivers on 151-mile long, Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake, all my pre-conceived notions were swept away. While the riverbed may be ancient, the...

Seal the deal: trim tabs leaking? Lick the problem with our 10-step program.(TBM How-To)
September 1, 2005... At first, the leak was hardly big enough to notice. It showed up as a drip running down the actuator piston on one of our project boat's trim tabs, and I only discovered it after the oily hydraulic fluid spread across the tab itself and fell to...

Run for the money: stingray burns up the waterways with a potent new 250 CR cuddy that easily surpasses 50 mph--even with small-block power.
September 1, 2005... Few owners, presidents or CEOs of major boatbuilders spend as much time on the dock and in the boats as Stingray owner Al Fink. He is a stickler for performance and it shows in the boats that he builds. The top-of-the-line 250 CR cuddy is a new...

Blown away: new Evinrude V-4 and V-6 E-Tec two-strokes turn in an impressive performance on a pair of evenly matched bay boats.
September 1, 2005... An absolutely rip-snorting and flag-shredding wind had Florida's Sarasota Bay roiled in huge whitecaps and steep 2-footers when we arrived at the marina to test Evinrude's latest batch of direct-injected, two-stroke E-Tec outboards. And we...

Lux truck: Lincoln takes another shot at the pickup market with its new 2006 Mark LT.
September 1, 2005... Remember the Blackwood? We do, Trailer Boats tested the Lincoln Blackwood pickup ("Lap of Luxury") in our December 2001 issue, and we liked it. However, there were some characteristics that limited its appeal to a broad consumer base. It was...

Pocket rocket: Sea-Doo adds a supercharger to its 15-foot Sportster jet, and--whoa Nellie!--you'd better hang on.(Sportjets Gone Wild)
September 1, 2005... As jetdrive engines in sportjets and personal watercraft continue to increase in power, manufacturers such as Sea-Doo, Yamaha and Sugar Sand are building true family-style boats. But this year, Sea-Doo is also keenly focused on boaters who love...

Tachs don't match.(Tech Letters)
September 1, 2005... I have a pair of 1994 Johnson 150s on my Boston Whaler Outrage 24. Both engines run great and, by sound, they seem to be running at similar rpm. The tachometer on the starboard engine was giving readings well below what they should be, so I...

Get rid of the paint.(Tech Letters)
September 1, 2005... I purchased a 1987 Sea Sprite 17-foot fish 'n ski a few years ago that had been brush painted by the previous owner. (I got a great deal.) How can I remove the brushed-on layer of marine enamel paint without damaging the original gelcoat? The...

Ball-gear wear.(Tech Letters)
September 1, 2005... I have an older-style OMC sterndrive (it's white) in a 24-foot Reinell that has knuckle couplers between the engine and drive. The couplers looked badly worn when I bought the boat, so I had them replaced. I have used the boat about 30 hours...

Burns too much fuel.(Tech Letters)
September 1, 2005... I bought a 2000 Larson 220 Cabrio Sport with a 5.0L Mer-Cruiser carbureted engine and I'm looking for information on fuel range due to the fact that I am experiencing what I think is a huge consumption of gas. The boat is in pristine condition....

Caution, high voltage.(Tech Letters)
September 1, 2005... I have a Force 50 out-board. I replaced the battery and took the boat out for the first time. After running a short distance, I noticed that the voltmeter was reading 18 volts. I checked the battery connections and they were tight. The battery...

Electric trailer brakes.(Tow Car)
September 1, 2005... In June's Tow Car, you referred to electric and electric-over-hydraulic boat trailer brakes. I love the idea because the system can be controlled independently of the tow vehicle's brake system with an in-cab electric brake controller, just...

Pumped-up truck.(Tow Car)
September 1, 2005... I tow with a 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 four-wheel drive with the Hemi 5.7L engine. The truck has been lifted and I had air bladders (bags) installed in the rear. When towing my Chaparral Sunesta 243 deck boat on a Zieman trailer (approximate total...

Tailgate down or up?(Tow Car)
September 1, 2005... A buddy of mine says that I can save a lot of gas when towing by keeping the tailgate of my pickup down during travel because of the better aerodynamics of the open-ended bed. What do you say? Bill May via e-mail That was a...

In a slump.(Tow Car)
September 1, 2005... My boat weighs about 3400 pounds and has 270 pounds of tongue weight. I tow it with a stock 2003 Nissan Pathfinder. The hitch receiver sits 16 inches above the pavement unloaded, but slumps 4 inches when I hitch up my boat. And I have to use a...

Bourdon's tow tip.(Tow Car)
September 1, 2005... Most trailer boaters do a great job of maintaining their boats, and pay due attention to their trailers' general condition, but few realize that a routine maintenance schedule must be applied to its tires, too. First on your tire checklist...

Wake up and smell the coffee ... if you can.(TBM Tested)
September 1, 2005... Most boaters at some point end up with oil, fuel or other contaminants in their bilges. And if there's water in the bilge, only a tiny drop of contaminant can spread like crazy. Should it get pumped overboard via an automatic bilge pump, you...

Beware of red sharks.(Gotta Have It)
September 1, 2005... If you're looking to scare up some exciting on-the-water fun, take a look at the new Island Hopper Red Shark banana water sled ($849) from Aqua Sports Technology (800/893-9677; banana-boats.com). The 420-denier, UV-resistant sled accommodates...

Let the wind blow.(Gotta Have It)
September 1, 2005... While boat covers and winter shinkwrap help to keep dirt, debris and precipitation out, if not properly ventilated, they can trap odors and mildew-causing moisture in. Increased air circulation can help keep your covered boat spring-time fresh,...

Think on your feet.(Gotta Have It)
September 1, 2005... When you're boating, good footware can save your life. Not only must it be slip resistant, but waterproof and comfortable. Check out the new Great White deck boots ($55) from Rugged Shark (954/782-3200; ruggedshark.com). Offering decent arch...

Pump it up, girlie man.(Gotta Have It)
September 1, 2005... Firestone's (800/888-0650; riderite.com) new portable Inflation Station is here to pump you up--or, if not you, then your inflatables. From tires to air mattresses, these 12-volt air compressors can provide up to 150 psi of air power, and are...

Guard your gas.(Gotta Have It)
September 1, 2005... With gas prices what they are, it's a good idea to protect your boat's gas tank from being siphoned. The new fuel-fill locking insert ($20) from Perko (305/621-7525; perko.com) is designed to do just that. To install, simply open your fill cap,...

Protect your rig.(Gotta Have It)
September 1, 2005... Trailer bunk carpeting may seem like a necessary evil--while it cushions bunk beams and prevents your boat from being scratched, the carpeting needs to be changed out often and also absorbs moisture, which can cause the bunk core to mildew and...