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1 week ago | 
soundingsonline.com | John Wooldridge
Boat buyers of the early 1980s will remember the energy crisis of the late 1970s. Boat builders were looking for ways to offer models with better fuel efficiency. Some did it with trawlers that had slower-speed, displacement-style hulls that sipped fuel. Others did it with semi-planing hulls that offered better speed and range while retaining optimal seaworthiness. These were often called “fast” or “performance” trawlers. Albin Marine of Greenwich, Connecticut, offered both types and turned to C.
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1 month ago | 
soundingsonline.com | John Wooldridge
The Garlington 61 has been described by its owners and admirers as classic, elegant, graceful and iconic. In the early 1980s, Richard Garlington was well known as a Stuart, Florida, builder of custom sportfishing boats using the cold-molded wood construction technique. His boats, most in the 40-plus-foot range, were highly regarded on the tournament circuit and prized for their finish as much as their ability to handle offshore conditions.
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2 months ago | 
soundingsonline.com | John Wooldridge
When it comes to beauty and efficiency, sailboat designs by Sparkman & Stephens rank at or near the top of virtually all lists. The Tartan 37, which debuted in 1976, is one example of the iconic work produced by this naval architecture firm. With its modest but pronounced overhangs, gently sprung sheer and low trunk cabin, the Tartan 37 looks timeless.
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Jan 14, 2025 | 
soundingsonline.com | John Wooldridge
A slim, elegant 60-footer slips through the waves of the Mediterranean Sea near the town of Lavagna, home to Italy’s renowned Sangermani shipyard, where the motoryacht received a comprehensive refit in 2022. The vessel is Sally, and even from a distance, her lines recall Modernism design principles from the 1940s and 1950s, making her stand out from every other boat in her vicinity.
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Dec 16, 2024 | 
soundingsonline.com | John Wooldridge
The first Legacy, launched in 1991, was a 40-footer, based on a 39-foot semi-custom Downeast cruiser built by Canadian master builder Mark Bruckman to a design by Mark Ellis. Paul Petronello, president of sailboat builder Freedom Yachts, visited Bruckman’s yard with Roe O’Brien, Freedom’s marketing and sales vice-president, purchased the tooling, and Freedom’s new powerboat division, Legacy Yachts, was underway.
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Dec 16, 2024 | 
soundingsonline.com | John Wooldridge
Brian Trautman, his wife Karin Syrén, their 5-year-old daughter Sierra, and Brian’s brother Brady are the core crew of Delos. They have made several long ocean crossings totaling over 85,000 nautical miles, touched 45 countries and become accomplished video bloggers with their own YouTube channel, Sailing SV Delos. The channel includes over 300 videos for its 846,000 followers.
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Oct 25, 2024 | 
soundingsonline.com | John Wooldridge
It’s not unusual for a production sailboat builder to make a foray into the powerboat market. One of the earliest examples was Bristol Yachts, which debuted the Bristol 42 Offshore Trawler in 1969. Bristol Yachts got its start in 1964 after Clinton “Clint” Pearson, who had founded Pearson Yachts with his cousin Everett in 1956, left that company, bought out Sailstar, and hired Carl Alberg to design the Bristol 27 sloop. Alberg had previously designed the hugely successful Pearson Triton 28.
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Oct 21, 2024 | 
soundingsonline.com | John Wooldridge
On March 19, 1931, on a statute-mile-measured course in England, the world record for a speed boat was set at 98.76 mph. The next day, in North Miami Beach, Florida, Detroit’s Gar Wood and his longtime friend, throttle man and engine mechanic Orlin Johnson, drove Miss America IX on Indian Creek to become the first men to exceed 100 mph on a powerboat. Miss America IX was powered by twin 1,200-hp, 12-cylinder Packard motors featuring vertical exhaust pipes.
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Sep 16, 2024 | 
soundingsonline.com | John Wooldridge
By the time Jarvis Newman delivered his first 36-foot Downeast powerboat in 1971, he had already earned a reputation for building high-quality fiberglass sail and power boats that were lauded for their finish and seaworthiness. That 36-footer, the Jarvis Newman 36, came from a mold taken off Irona, a classic wooden lobster boat designed by Raymond Bunker and built by Ralph Ellis. Bunker was Newman’s father-in-law, and he let Jarvis make the mold to bolster his business.
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Aug 12, 2024 | 
soundingsonline.com | John Wooldridge
First built in 1975 by Chuck Paine to his own design, the Frances 26 is a small, shoal draft double-ended boat with rounded bilges and a transom-attached rudder. Measuring 26 feet LOA with an 8-foot, 2-inch beam, and drawing 3 feet, 10 inches, the Frances 26 displaced close to 7,000 pounds, roughly half of which was lead ballast. Paine built the first hull as a one-off for his own use, but then his shop burned down with the boat and all his tools inside it.
