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1 month ago | 
boatingmag.com | Charles Plueddeman
Loyal readers will recall that a few years ago, my good friend Chuck -Larson started a specialized bait concession, Chuck's Organic Canadian Night Crawlers-Better Tasting Worms Catch More Fish, sold exclusively from a cooler in a back room at the Lake View Inn. Like Chuck's Organic Firewood Bundles, these wiggly worms are appealing to your visiting urban-angler types, who don't flinch at paying $8 for a cup of vigorous bait, because if it's organic, it must be better.
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1 month ago | 
boatingmag.com | Charles Plueddeman
OverviewHighfield's Velox 420 is a welcome addition to the entry-level-boat segment. Priced at $36,000, this jet-powered RIB is intended to fill the compact runabout niche somewhat abandoned by popular boat brands. Highfield is pitching the Velox not only as a tender, but also as a family boat especially ideal for younger captains. EngineThe 14-foot-7-inch Velox 420 features an aluminum deep-V hull surrounded by Orca Hypalon tubes.
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2 months ago | 
boatingmag.com | Charles Plueddeman
Flux Marine co-founders Ben Sorkin, Daylin Frantin and Jon Lord say that they began developing an electric outboard motor in a garage. That's a startup plan that worked out for Bill Harley and Arthur Davidson, and famously for Bill Hewlett and David Packard.
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2 months ago | 
soundingsonline.com | Charles Plueddeman
The new Dometic DG3 gyrostabilizer leverages new technologies and smart engineering to improve many aspects of marine stabilizer performance and it could have the potential to reset our expectations for a stabilizer system. According to Dometic, the DG3 offers faster spin-up and spin-down times, reduced power consumption and less maintenance than its leading competitors. Its predictive technology is reported to deliver refined performance that is almost undetectable to the captain and crew.
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2 months ago | 
boatingmag.com | Charles Plueddeman
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Mar 13, 2025 | 
boatingmag.com | Charles Plueddeman
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Mar 12, 2025 | 
boatingmag.com | Charles Plueddeman
The young man attending the gas dock in Frankfort, Michigan, seemed befuddled. "So you just crossed Lake Michigan on a pontoon boat," he said. "Why would you do that?"I thought about this for a moment and just shrugged. "I don't know. I guess because it's a nice day."The kid slipped the nozzle into our fuel fill and switched on the pump. He stood back and looked us over some more: three guys on the far side of middle age and a 22-foot pontoon. "So now what are you going to do?" he asked.
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Mar 1, 2025 | 
boatingmag.com | Charles Plueddeman
Our neighborhood made the boating news twice in 2024, stories that have fueled the offseason hot-stove league here at the Lake View Inn, where everyone is welcome to their opinion. I'm almost certain you heard about Ryan Borgwardt, the fellow who tried to stage his drowning in Big Green Lake this past August. I got calls and texts from all over the country on this one.
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Feb 14, 2025 | 
boatingmag.com | Charles Plueddeman
OverviewBoating with small children can be a fraught experience. I have a pair of toddler grandchildren, and they sure move fast. There's a low-level hum of anxiety when they are aboard, even though they are buttoned up in their life jackets. For family boating, security is paramount, which is why we think this new Hurricane SunDeck 3200 OB deserves consideration if some of your crew are about knee-high. Which is not to imply that swingin' singles or empty nesters won't also enjoy the SunDeck 3200.
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Feb 12, 2025 | 
boatingmag.com | Charles Plueddeman
Room is always at a premium on angling boats. For 2025, the Alumacraft Competitor line of aluminum multispecies boats offers a clever idea that expands the aft casting deck without compromising cockpit space or making the boat longer. The X-Pods on either side of the outboard extend the aft deck by 16 inches. This gives the angler more foot room and makes it easier to fish around the motor. Each X-Pod also incorporates stowage space.
