CLASSIC BASS
Winter is an exciting time of year for boating enthusiasts. It signals the start of the boat show season--a chance to climb aboard and take a close look at a variety of boats and accessories before you buy. While you're looking, keep in mind that ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
How It Works - Volvo Open 70 Offshore Sailboat
Masthead pod measures wind speed and direction. LCDs on the mast and on deck display the data. Navigators watch wind, course and boat speed on a wireless tablet PC. Kevlar yarns laminated onto Mylar films save weight by placing fibers only along ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Volvo Ocean Race gets Going
Fueled by air, water and freeze-dried food, the new Volvo Open 70 will love stormy weather. This is the boat that will take one of the world's most extreme adventures into a new dimension. With just a few months to get ready for the November 5 ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
FOUR-STROKE REVOLUTION
Boat ramps on weekend mornings buzz with promise. Families organize coolers and gear, anglers stow tackle, and uncooperative boat trailers are coaxed into the water. Then outboard motors howl as weekend helmsmen warm them up, filling the air with ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
DO YOU FEEL LUCKY, MATE?
TANKED: A one-tenth scale model of the American Challenge undergoing water-tank tests. In the winter of 2005, a craft that's currently in the design phase will fire up its engines on a large reservoir in eastern Washington state and try to crack ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Zodiac CZ7 SEAL Boat
Zodiac calls it outrageous. Extreme. Extraordinary. And that's just the price. Almost 200 grand for a rubber boat is enough to quicken--or stop--anyone's pulse. But the Zodiac CZ7 (Civilian Zodiac 7-meter) isn't your father's rubber boat. As a ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Mercury Supercharged "Verado" Outboards
Rarely does an outboard motor come along that stands the marine industry on its ear. But, at the Miami International Boat Show, one such motor--the all-new-from-the-skeg-up Mercury Verado--was unveiled to the thunderous silence of competitors' ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Smart Shimano Calcutta TE DC Casting Reel
There's something about fishing that goes beyond the primal urge to whup something lower than you on the evolutionary ladder. Maybe it's the challenge of outsmarting your scaly opponent, although on paper comparing a human brain to a fish's makes ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Sea-Doo RXP Supercharged Personal Watercraft
It's a shame that PWCs don't have doors. It would be so much fun seeing them blown off by Sea-Doo's RXP--the undisputed new king of personal muscle craft. The closest thing to being shot out of a particle accelerator, on the water, the RXP ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Amphibious Motorhomes And Sport Utilities
The Terra Wind grabs as much attention in the water as a zillion-dollar yacht. Beware the giant amphibians. At night by the lake, amid the incessant chirping of crickets and the croaking of frogs, comes the sound of Fordus Excursionus slithering ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Wake-Up Call
A pair of deuces beats a full house? You betcha. Officially, a poker run winner is determined by the best hand. Unofficially, the winner is the person driving the best boat--best being the fastest, coolest-looking and most in-your-face. For 2004, ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
Mercury Unveils 'Project X' Outboards As Verado Family
The wraps are finally off Mercury's new family of big 4-stroke outboards. Merc had been teasing everybody with these motors, code-named Project X (to coincide with the company's secret testing area--Lake X). The real name--Verado (for the motors, ... [... more]
Popular Mechanics |
