Brownie’s Yarns from Thunderboat Row
I’ve been grinning all week, and it’s not because I won the lottery or found a lost dog. Allan “Brownie” Brown mailed me a copy of his new book, titled Tales… Read more »
Rovings
Westlawn’s Dwindling Graduation
In the December 2014 issue (PBB No. 152), we announced that the American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) wanted to divest itself of the Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology, which… Read more »
Beneteau’s Airstep Hullform
The old saying that there’s nothing new under the sun certainly has variants. Tracing a succession of patents on stepped powerboat hullforms, proves it. Professional BoatBuilder has covered this topic… Read more »
Isolation Transformers with a Boost Feature
We’re talking shore-power transformers with a boost feature to compensate for variations in dockside shore-power voltage, because two years ago Charles Industries, a major supplier to boat builders and yards,… Read more »
King StarBoard: The Simple Versatility of Plastic Sheeting
Not long ago I was looking for some backing-plate material for a new piece of deck hardware. Not wanting to drive a long distance to the nearest chandlery, I bought… Read more »
Oyster Marine is Bought and Sold
Last March, British entrepreneur Richard Hadida, 52, bought beleaguered Oyster Marine, which had been in administration only since February, a result of the Oyster 825 Polina Star III sinking off… Read more »
Eight Bells: John Letcher
John S. Letcher Jr. died at age 76 in Bangor, Maine. (Although he had a PhD in aerodynamics from the California Institute of Technology, he seldom seemed to invoke that… Read more »
Onboard Charging Unplugged
As wireless electronic connectivity has come to dominate our smartphone- and tablet-driven world, I’ve had great hopes that the technology could help eliminate some of the long cable runs and… Read more »
New Boat, New Record by Fabio Buzzi
Last we visited with famed Italian powerboat designer, builder, and racer Fabio Buzzi was in 2016, when we published a Design Brief of his SAR 60 (18.3m), developed to help… Read more »
Sailing to the North Pole
The number of records for exploring our water-covered planet is limited only by one’s wild imagination…first to sail solo nonstop around the world, first to do the deed the “wrong… Read more »
