Pumping Out Prototypes
Among boat owners and builders the Whale brand has long been synonymous with marine pumps and their evocative model names, like Gusher, Gulper, and Orca. But there’s more to the… Read more »
Systems
Jim Wynne, Volvo, and History of the Sterndrive
At last year’s IBEX, in Louisville, Kentucky, Volvo Penta introduced a new line of 5.3L V8 gasoline engines for sterndrives. Its press release quoted president Ron Huibers as saying, “Volvo… Read more »
IBEX Opens Registration, Announces Seminars
Online registration is open for the 26th International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition and Conference (IBEX), which will be held October 4-6 at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. Show organizers have… Read more »
ABYC Names New Technical VP
The American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) announced that industry veteran Craig Scholten has joined the standards-crafting organization as technical vice president. In this newly created position, Scholten will oversee the… Read more »
What’s Burning?
In recent issues of PBB, Nigel Calder pointed out that statutory changes in fuel and emissions standards have caused unfortunate trade-offs for marine diesel engines. For example, where’s the environmental… Read more »
When Lightning Strikes: Following Standards Minimizes Boat Damage
Living and working on the Chesapeake Bay for the past two decades, I’ve learned many things about lightning, the most important of which is this: be skeptical of anyone who… Read more »
Fighting the Smoke Detector Exception
You would be hard-pressed to find a home, school, workplace, plane, train, or ship that isn’t equipped with smoke detectors, yet these inexpensive life-saving alarms remain the exception rather than… Read more »
An Electric-Powered Bamboo Boat
At IBEX 2013 we met Symphony Boat Company founder Marcel LaFond of Duluth, Minnesota. After a lifetime working for other builders, such as Burger Boats and Tollycraft, he ventured out… Read more »
Don’t Close the Door on Side Access Ports
Fouling of diesel fuel tanks with asphaltene, water, and biological growth is a given, meaning that at some point in a vessel’s life, tank cleaning will be required. Having stuck… Read more »
Inspecting LP Gas Systems
When surveying vessels with LP systems, I routinely encounter LP tank lockers with vertical hatches. While they may be part of the vessel’s overall design, and thus not easily modified,… Read more »
