There’s no better way to view 4th of July fireworks than from the deck of your boat. The view is great, the show is reflected on the water, and you’re boating. Here are five tips for enjoying fireworks by boat in 2022.

1. Check out the Local Notices to Mariners for your area for any special Coast Guard instructions for boaters during the event.

2. Make sure your running and anchor lights are working properly, and that you have all the required safety equipment aboard.

3. Get to your anchorage early, downwind of the show, if possible. Anchored upwind, you may not be able to hear the full sonic power of the fireworks.

4. Don’t let the kids or landlubbers play with flashlights, and don’t use your spotlight to “see if that’s Billy’s boat over there.” Doing so can ruin night vision. Use the VHF or your phone.

5. Take your time leaving the event. Let all the revelers get going before weighing anchor. This avoids a … let’s just say some folks enjoy themselves too much sometimes.

For a list of 4th of July fireworks displays you can view from your boat, click here.

You’ll also find these links useful for rafting up with friends while viewing fireworks by boat.

Related Articles
How to Raft Up With Other Boats
Tips For Navigating at Night
Anchoring at Night
Deploying Fenders

The post Tips for Viewing 4th of July Fireworks From Your Boat appeared first on Boating Mag.

If you follow us on YouTube or visit our website and other social channels, as well as enjoy reading our print magazine, then you know we produce a ton of videos each year. These number about 150 annually. I could cite the number of views, minutes viewed and other metrics, but suffice to say, we continue to reach more and more boaters via our digital platforms, and especially with video.

We hope to leverage that success and visibility for the greater good. Moving forward, you’ll see Boating editors wearing life jackets when aboard boats underway. Why? Simply stated, because wearing life jackets saves lives. Wearing a life jacket is the No. 1 thing we boaters can do to prevent fatalities on the water. The data proves it. Review it for yourself: uscgboating.org/statistics/accident_statistics.php.

Meantime, here’s a key takeaway: Where cause of death was known, 79 percent of fatal boating accident victims drowned. Of those accidents that contain reported life-jacket usage, 86 percent of drowning victims were not wearing a life jacket.

The 2020 Annual Boating Statistics report comes out in April, so I haven’t compiled the 2020 figures as of this writing. But according to the 2019 report, 613 recreational boaters died on US waters that year. Do the math regarding life-jacket wear and that’s some 430 families missing a loved one.

Yeah.

So, while we hope more boaters will come to the same conclusion we have and choose to wear life jackets as a matter of course, this editorial is the heaviest statement you’ll hear from us. We won’t be finger-pointing, berating, or smugly sniffing or blowing our own horn. We just hope our action will speak louder than words.

Read Next: Inspect Life Jackets Regularly

To make this initiative happen, we partnered with Mustang Survival, outfitter to the US Coast Guard, law enforcement and other maritime professionals, and procured two types of life jackets for our team. The first, the M.I.T. 100, is an auto-inflatable that’s streamlined, features big armhole cutouts, and can be set to deploy manually. It delivers 22 pounds of buoyancy, with USCG Recreational Type III approval and performance when worn. We’ll wear these mostly.

The second life jacket is the Khimera dual-flotation model. The Khimera is a thin foam vest that provides 7.5 pounds of inherent buoyancy, enough to make most adults neutrally buoyant. With its large armholes, the Khimera serves as a flotation aid for active water activities, such as stand-up paddleboarding or riding a PWC. Inflate it manually, if needed, and it goes to 20 pounds of buoyancy. It carries the new Harmonized Level 70 rating—good in both Canada and the US—and is equivalent to a Type III life jacket.

Statement from Mustang

“Bringing people safely home from a day out on the water is of paramount importance to Mustang Survival – we see our life vests and inflatable PFDs as your trusted sidekick. We focus on designing and engineering our PFDs to be lightweight, comfortable and easy to wear all day, so your focus can be having fun on the water. But should the worst case ever arise, you can trust we have your back. Working with Boating, we hope we can spread the message to always wear your PFD on your boat – no excuses. The only PFD that can bring you home to your loved ones is a PFD that is being worn. #wearit”

Jason Leggatt – President, Mustang Survival

The post Why We Wear Lifejackets appeared first on Boating Mag.

We’ve also been listing the many reasons a boater might choose to repower beyond performance and reliability. With a new engine comes the latest technology and one feature installed along with our test engine will be Active Trim. Below are two shots of the Active Trim control panel, just installed at our project boat’s helm.

Mercury Marine’s active trim enhances fuel economy and ride by automatically trimming the engine(s) to suit the conditions. It is unique in that it is a GPS-based trim system that uses changes in speed to make changes, a better method, I think than other trim systems which use changes in engine rpm. Higher engine rpm does not always mandate higher trim; it may just be that the boat is more heavily loaded, for example.

Active Trim responds to maneuvers, like turns, and changes in speed: accelerate and the engine trims up; decelerate and the engines trim down. That’s a simplistic way to put it, since, like an experienced boater, Active Trim makes continual changes to trim for optimum ride comfort and fuel efficiency. We’ve run test boats with Active Trim for several years now, but this repower project will allow us to “live with” the system, so look for a follow on report.

By the way, Active Trim is probably not a DIY add-on. For one thing, it requires wiring-in a dedicated CPU, like the computer that runs the engine. For another, a Mercury Service Tool is required for many installations, such as making it work with Smart Craft Guages We are happy to have certified technicians, like the pros at Hampton Watercraft and Marine doing the install.

I know some of you are scoffing. “Who needs automatic trimming?” Well, I’ll answer that in several ways, starting with the fact that one of Boating’s most enduring and clicked on articles ever is this one: How To Trim Your Boat During Turns. A bunch of people apparently want it.

Secondly, we’ve used Active Trim, as stated, and really couldn’t “beat” it. Active Trim trimmed the boats just as appropriately for the situation as our test team members did. And by the way, our team runs more than 100 boats a year. They know how to run boats, if I do say so myself. Anyway, Active Trim has an OFF switch. In fact, all you need to do is hit the trim switch on your control box and manual control is restored. So, by all means, trim manually. But perhaps when your brother-in-law or other inexperienced crew member asks for a trick at the helm, you’ll then re-engage the system.

Finally, why fight it? Technology is a good thing. I have a childhood memory of my grandfather decrying my dad’s purchase of a LORAN because it indicated he might not know how to navigate, which was not true. Who today would give up GPS? (“Don’t you know where you are?”) Or, fuel injection? (“Don’t you know how to prime and choke an engine without flooding it?”) Or, hydraulic or power steering? (Weaklings!) Is anybody returning a car or truck to the dealer because of anti-lock brakes, power windows or auto-dimming headlights?

Auto Trim is a great feature and we look forward to enjoying its convenience and efficiency aboard our project boat. Look for a comprehensive report from the water coming soon.

Learn more about our repower with Mercury Marine.

Active Trim

Active Trim is compatible with:

Mercury FourStroke outboards from 40 to 400 HP

Mercury SmartCraft-capable two-stroke outboards

Mercury SmartCraft-capable gas and diesel sterndrive engines

The post Engine Repower 2020: Part 6 appeared first on Boating Mag.

It’s a big moment: the day your new engine or engines get mounted on your boat’s transom. But there’s more to this seemingly simple act than meets the eye. The devil, as ever, is in the details. So, we worked alongside the pros at Hampton Watercraft and Marine as they installed a new 250-hp Mercury 4.6L V-8 FourStroke outboard aboard our project boat in order to show you how trained technicians at a full-service authorized dealer do this job right and what you might expect during your repower project.

You should know that mounting the new outboard was a three-person effort, with two technicians working hands-on the engine and a third operating the fork truck. The process took about 90 minutes. Here’s how it went.

The engine, in its crate, was brought beside the project boat by fork truck. Mercury Marine crates outboard engines in a steel-framed assembly that protects and secures the engine during transport. So, after the cardboard covering is cut away, this frame must be disassembled by unbolting.

Next, using a two-point hoist strap, the engine is lifted by the fork truck. Mercury Marine incorporates lifting eyes on the powerhead for this purpose. As two technicians steady the 527 pound (the lightest 250-hp outboard currently offered) outboard engine and prevent it from swinging. Suffice to say that the skill and finesse of the fork truck operator plays a big role in engine mounting.

Next, the engine is carried to the centerline of the boat and suspended just aft of the transom by the fork truck, and lined-up with the existing mounting holes in transom. But it’s not as simple as just bolting-up to those holes and calling it done. Transom heights are nominal and each re-power boat must be considered as an individual.

Check out our complete Repower 2020 Guide!

The certified technicians at the transom begin taking crucial measurements. Key among these is the engine mounting height. For most purposes, the anti-ventilation plate, which is just above the propeller, should be even with the hull bottom when the engine is vertical. If the mounting is too low, excess drag will be introduced; if it’s too high, cooling water intake can suffer and the prop may ventilate., or, “suck air.” This is confirmed using a straightedge off the hull bottom. This drives the decision as to which of the four mounting holes on the Mercury’s bracket to use.

Confirming that, a power pack is connected to the engine wiring harness so that the engine bracket can be tilted to match the transom angle. This makes installing the bolts easier. Sealant is applied and the bolts are inserted through the holes. Note that we had already reamed the mounting holes prior to the project boat’s arrival at Hampton Watercraft and Marine, but normally, this task would need to be completed at this time.

At this point, the way in which the techs installed the mounting bolts caught my attention. The top bolts were run through from inside the boat, the threads and nut ends protruding out through the transom. They installed the lower pair of bolts the opposite way, installed from the outside with the threaded ends protruding inside the boat.

The reasons for this procedure? The top bolts are run through from the inside out so that the exposed end does not interfere with steering assemblies. The lower bolts are run from the outside in because they are low enough to be submerged and thus the threads could become fouled over time especially for a boat that stays in the water.

The techs explained that it’s that way in the installation manual. Not that I doubted their training or experience, but a quick look at the many Boston Whaler boats (Hampton Watercraft is a big Whaler dealer) around us, confirmed that this is the way is done at the factory.

Our Regulator project boat’s transom is 23 years old, and it is cored with closed cell Klegecell foam, and it is still structurally sound, even after two decades of chasing fish in the Atlantic. For good measure, though, we installed a transom plate, a machine aluminum bar (Visit T-H Marine for more info) that spreads the engine mounting bolt loads across a wider area. We think this is good practice.

Check back soon for future installments of repower 2020. We’ll be covering rigging details, systems integration and tips for deciding where to buy your repower outboard.

Takeaway: Make sure your boat’s transom is structurally sound before repowering. A certified dealership, marine surveyor, or fiberglass repair expert can help you make that call.

The post Engine Repower 2020: Part 5 appeared first on Boating Mag.

Mercury Marine wins prestigious 2020 Red Dot Design Award

FOND DU LAC, Wisc. (April 16, 2020) – Mercury Marine, the world leader in marine propulsion and technology has been awarded a 2020 Red Dot Design Award for the V-6 and V-8 FourStroke and V-8 AMS Verado outboard engines. The distinction “Red Dot” has become established internationally as one of the most sought-after seals of quality for good design. Mercury won the award in partnership with Designworks, a BMW Group Company, Mercury’s long-time product design partner.

“We are honored to be given a Red Dot Design award,” said Chris Drees, Mercury Marine president.” “We know that Red Dot means that we belong to the best in design and business and our V-6 and V-8 engines are well deserving of this honor. Both platforms have been very well received by our customers and their success is a testament to extensive design thinking work that takes place within our product development and world-class engineering team.”

Learn More About Boating’s Repower 2020 Project

Mercury Marine launched the V-6 family during the 2018 Miami International Boat Show and the V-8 lineup in May 2018. Some of the many innovations that differentiate these outboards are many customer driven features that offer unparalleled comfort and convenience including a top cowl service door that provides easy oil check and fill (if needed) without removing the cowl – an innovation that has been praised by consumers around the world.

Red Dot stands for belonging to the best in design and business and appeals to companies who want to distinguish their business activities through design. The distinction is based on the principle of selection and presentation.

“Design continues to be part of our product development strategy and will continue to drive many of our new product development plans,” said Todd Dannenberg, Mercury Marine director of industrial design. “We know our customers love these engines, they have been very well received around the world and now to win another design award for this product is very exciting.”

In 2019, Mercury Marine was recognized with an International Forum Design (iF) award in the Discipline Product category, presented to the company for its V-6 outboard lineup. The same product also won an NMMA Innovation Award at the Miami Boat Show in 2018.

Additional information on Mercury’s V6 design can be found at: mercurymarine.com/en/us/engines/outboard/v-6/

About Mercury Marine

Headquartered in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Mercury Marine is a world‑leading manufacturer of marine propulsion systems. A $3 billion division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), Mercury designs, manufactures and distributes engines, services and parts for recreational, commercial and government marine applications, empowering boaters with products that are easy‑to‑use, extremely reliable and backed by the most dedicated customer support in the world with 10,000 service points globally. Mercury’s industry‑leading brand portfolio includes Mercury outboard engines and Mercury MerCruiser sterndrive and inboard packages. Mercury’s global parts‑and‑accessories offerings include: propellers; SmartCraft electronics; Power Products Integrated Solutions; MotorGuide trolling motors; Attwood, Garelick and Whale marine parts; Land ’N’ Sea, BLA, Payne’s Marine, Kellogg Marine and Lankhorst Taselaar marine parts distribution; and Mercury and Quicksilver parts and oils. More information is available at mercurymarine.com.

The post Engine Repower 2020: Part 4 appeared first on Boating Mag.

Repowering is a great time to re-assess your boat’s complement of batteries. The battery bank, or banks, must offer enough cranking amps and reserve capacity to meet the new outboard engine’s requirements.

For example, the 250-hp Mercury Four Stroke re-power we are documenting, requires 975 cold cranking amps and a 65 minute reserve ( or 800 marine cranking amps with a 135 minute RC25 rating). This is a V-8 engine replacing a V-6.

That’s not all. The battery must be an absorbed glass mat (AGM) type. Wet cell (a.k.a, flooded electrolyte or, “regular”) batteries and Lithium Ion ( LiOn) batteries are specifically not to be used. Finally, each engine must have its own dedicated starting battery.

Note that Mercury 250 Four Stroke boasts an 85-amp alternator, so there is plenty of output to charge a larger capacity battery bank, plus run a host of systems like livewells, lights and electronics. It also boasts a feature called, Idle Charge. Idle Charge provides up to 48% more battery charging at idle speed to support the greater power demands the systems and accessories found aboard many of today’s boats.

We have had great personal experience with AGM batteries having used them for many years.

Read Next: Why I Choose AGM Batteries For My Boat

As result of this confidence, we again selected AGM batteries by Optima for this project. Shown are a pair of Optima Blue Top D27M batteries, rated at 800 CCA/ 1000 MCA and 66 AH 140 minutes reserve. The Optima Bluetop D27M batteries measure 6.81 inches wide x 12.19 inches long x 8.75 inches high and weigh 53.8 pounds each. They retail for $298.99. Visit optimabatteries.com for more information.

Let’s dispel a widely-held myth: AGM batteries do not require a special charger, or at least these Optima’s don’t. I can attest to this. You can learn the technical reasons why, in this video:

Battery Terms

CCA = Cold Cranking Amps = measured at 0°F. The number of amps a battery can deliver at 0°F for 30 seconds while maintaining a voltage of at least 7.2 volts.

MCA =Marine Cranking Amps = measured at 32°F. The number of amps a battery can deliver at 32°F for 30 seconds while maintaining a voltage of at least 7.2 volts.

AH =Amp Hour Rating = The number of minutes a fully charged battery at 80°F will discharge 25 amps until it drops below 10.5 volts.

RC25 = Number of minutes for sustaining 25A draw at 80°F.

Check out all of our Engine Repower 2020 content, here.

The post Engine Repower 2020: Part 3 appeared first on Boating Mag.

Part 1: Removing the Old Motor

Welcome to Outboard Repower 2020! This is the first in a series of articles that will detail all that’s required to install brand-new outboard power aboard your existing boat. In the course of producing this series, we’ll show you all you need to know about repowering your boat with a new outboard. Let’s meet the players.

Our project boat is a 1997 Regulator 23. The boat weighs 3,800 pounds, boasts 24-degrees of transom deadrise, features a 30-inch transom and is rated for 400 hp.

Our choice of new motor is a 250-hp Mercury Marine Four Stroke. This engine was chosen for its light weight, high torque and host of innovative convenience and performance features. We’ll explore these in detail as they are installed, but if you can’t wait, you can check out all the info on Mercury Marine’s website:

mercurymarine.com/en/us/engines/outboard/fourstroke/

Also, you can enjoy this video, giving a brief, on-water description of this engine family and its features and control.

Removing the Motor

For repower boaters, removing the old motor often presents the biggest problem, or quandary. In our case, we used an engine hoist to lift the old motor off. Because our project boat was stored on a gravel driveway, we laid down a few sheets of plywood so that we could roll the engine over to the transom of the boat it was going to be installed on. We had backed that boat up right next to our project boat, so that we didn’t have to move the engine far.

Six Engine Removal Tips

1. An impact driver makes removing the mounting bolts easier.

2. Take notes, take pictures, and label connectors as you de-rig.

3. Have a battery pack at hand, as you may need to tilt the motor to gain clearance as different boats, may have more or less ground clearance on a trailer. Our project boat was on stands; the new boat was on a trailer, and the engine needed to be tilted up to clear the ground.

4. If loading your old engine into the buyer’s pickup truck, rather than mounting on transom, have them pad the bed with an old mattress, cardboard, etc.

5. Have a short length of chain (2-3 feet) with two hooks on hand to be used with the hoist by hooking through the lifting eye on the engine.

6. Some engines have a hoisting loop/bale built on; others use an eye-bolt that screws into the flywheel.

Check out our full Engine Repower 2020 guide!

The post Engine Repower 2020: Part 1 appeared first on Boating Mag.

Ever had to replace old marine electronics and need to “fill the hole” left by the old gear? It’s a common challenge and a common task that boaters need to do-or have done-whether replacing a stereo, a radar a fishfinder or any other component at the helm. How to make the new marine electronics fit in the holes left by the old marine electronics being replaced?

In this episode, Editorial Director Kevin Falvey shows how to fabricate a mounting plate using polyethylene “lumber” in order to install a new Clarion Marine Media System.

The post Making New Electronics Fit In The Old Cutouts appeared first on Boating Mag.

Yeah, the future is boating. The future of manufacturing, at the least, if you consider a recent accomplishment by a team from the University of Maine Composites Center. They created a center console boat said to be 25 feet long and displacing 5,000 pounds, according to published reports like this one from the Associated Press.

The boat is named 3Dirigo, a play on Maine’s motto, “Dirigo,” which is Latin for “I lead.” It was, according to the AP report, created in one solid piece during a nonstop printing over 72 hours. It cost about $40,000 to produce.

A team from Guinness World Records was on hand to certify that the boat was the largest 3D object ever printed.

It’s reported 5,000-pound weight and 40,000 dollar cost are both high, compared to manufactured fiberglass or aluminum boats. Still, there is promise in that as this technology develops, boats could be printed, “on-site,” or regionally, rather than being built in a factory that may be a continent-or an ocean-away from the retail boat buyer. Or not. Time will tell.

Read Next: Boat Construction Comparison

Read the full report, here.

Takeaway: You create a good future by creating a good present.
–Eckhart Tolle

The post World’s Largest 3D Printed Object is a Boat! appeared first on Boating Mag.

Boating is a successful media enterprise. We produce hundreds of videos per year, welcome millions of visitors per month to our digital channels and, of course, publish the world’s largest circulation magazine covering recreational boating. As a team, we enjoy the high profile, accolades and financial rewards of that success. But, as a team, we also believe that success comes with a responsibility to do more. We believe we should use the platform success has granted us to give something back to the world that has blessed us with that success.

We chose to do so by helping raise awareness of breast cancer.

Why breast cancer? We’ve each been personally affected by breast cancer, having either friends or family members afflicted. Breast cancer is also the most common cancer in women worldwide. That is why this month’s cover model, Annie McFarland, is not only a vivacious and life-loving woman, she is also a lifelong boater and a breast cancer survivor. Annie’s very presence on the cover is an affirmation that cancer is not an automatic death sentence. It also proves that patients can thrive in its wake.

Experts at the American Cancer Society, and others, maintain that body image is often one of the many deleterious effects breast cancer patients must struggle with. Certainly, learning to deal with the physical consequences of breast cancer, which can range from temporary hair loss to the permanent loss of all or part of a breast or breasts, is a personal journey for which no single solution exists. But, by the power of example, the confidence required to star on the cover of a magazine, clad in a swimsuit, celebrates body image in an impactful way. We believe, to paraphrase novelist Paul Coelho, that the world is changed by one’s actions, not one’s opinions.

There’s more for you to consider about breast cancer and boating than just a cover image, which was expertly shot, by the way, by our own Garrett Cortese. Annie’s story, which you can read here, is a message of joy and hope from a boater, just like us and just like you. It is hope and joy that we aim to use our success to deliver.

The post Boating Gives Back appeared first on Boating Mag.