Author: Lenny Rudow

Let’s face it, people, docking a boat is of the most stressful moments during a day on the water. These tips and tricks will make it seem easy. If you think pilings should really be called bumpers and you’d consider buying a new boat just to get one of those snazzy push-button auto-docking systems, then you may be among the docking challenged. But don’t worry – this is not a permanent condition. In fact, with the right prescription, you’ll be swinging into the slip without putting a single blemish on that beautiful gel coat. Ready to become a docking doctor? Then…

The Tidelines 365 Offshore is a power catamaran lover’s angling dream. You may love power catamarans or you may hate ‘em, but one thing is for sure: the Tideline 365 Offshore is a natural-born fish-killer. In the world of offshore powercat fishing boats, the Tidelines 365 amounts to heavy artillery. Now, look a bit more closely at that first photograph. Can you think of a 36-foot monohull that has this much deck space in the bow? One of the advantages a cat holds is that it carries its beam all the way forward. While a monohull would taper to a…

There will come a day when you merely press a button to dock your boat – and that day is a lot closer than you might think. Whether you’re talking about the newest generation of marine radar, the latest in outboard engine two-stroke technology, modern virtual anchoring systems, or today’s options for remotely monitoring a “connected” boat, one thing is for sure: tech is having a huge impact on our boats and how we use them. And since we now have enough technology to create auto-parking cars, it shouldn’t shock anyone that some folks in the marine industry have been…

The Grady-White Canyon 326 is ready for distant voyages, big crews, and fish. Lots of fish. Sure, we love mammoth quad-engine center console yachts like the Grady-White Canyon 456 but some people would call them excessive, and many die-hard anglers may want a fish boat that’s smaller and easier to manage – like the Canyon 326. Wait a sec, doesn’t Grady already have a slew of boats that slot nicely between their flagship and much smaller models? Sure they do. But the 326 fits perfectly into a specific niche that many bay and offshore anglers will find appealing: it’s big…

The Boston Whaler 345 Conquest ties together high performance, fishability, and complete weather protection. If you want an outboard-powered boat with a protected helm you’ll probably be choosing from between a pilothouse, cuddy cabin, or walkaround, but there aren’t many boats of these styles that reach up into the mid-30-foot range. There are even fewer that are this size yet can offer what one might call “sporty” performance. And there fewer still which offer a high level of luxury inside the cabin. Enter: the Boston Whaler 345 Conquest Pilothouse. Since the protected helm and cabin are what sets the Conquest…

Replacing a rotten boat deck is a fairly common task, and it’s a lot easier than you might think. Hopefully, when you bought your boat you gave it a thorough pre-purchase inspection and didn’t get any nasty surprises. But if you buy a fixer-upper or have an older boat you love and don’t want to part with, there’s a fair chance you’ll need to replace part or all of the rotten boat deck at some point. Although more and more boats are all-composite these days, the use of plywood in the deck was a standard boatbuilding procedure for decades. As…

To keep that outboard engine running smoothly, you need to choose and use the right powerhead and lower unit oils. The key outboard engine maintenance chores that will keep an engine running smoothly for years on end can be boiled down to a very short list: give the engine a freshwater flush after every saltwater use, use a top-notch engine and lower unit oil, and change the oils regularly according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Take care of these simple chores, and a modern outboard will run strong for years to come – hopefully, even for decades. Choosing the Best Engine Oil Choosing…

Can a jet boat be a fishing boat? Yamaha says yes, with the 210 FSH. When you’re looking at center console fishing boats, you’re almost certainly looking at boats powered by outboards. On rare occasions, you may be looking at boats with stern drives or inboards. But, what about jet drives? Setting aside those outboard jet rigs used in rocky rivers, it’s almost unheard-of: Almost. A few years ago, Yamaha Watercraft, the division of Yamaha Motors that makes PWCs and jet boat runabouts, introduced the 190 FSH. It was their first attempt at building a center console fishing boat and…

In the weatherman, we do not trust. Reading Marine Weather It’s important to get a feel for understanding marine weather forecasts, but being able to read between the weatherman’s lines isn’t good enough – you also need to be able to do a bit of predicting on your own marine weather. Yes, trying to predict the weather is like trying to predict when and where the fish will bite. You might be right some of the time, maybe even a lot of the time, but there’s no way on Earth you’ll be right all the time. And that means that…

Wrapping A Prop Boating blunders can be costly, but the mistakes you make with the boat itself can be even costlier. Case in point: A few years ago, we were chunking on the drift for when the water started erupting with tuna and three out of four lines in the water went down simultaneously. In the ensuing chaos, one line broke and then a hook pulled, whittling us down to one fish. Determined not to lose the last tuna, as it ran towards the bow, I opposed the outboards to keep the fish off the stern. But one of the…

The Sea Ox 24 is a no-nonsense fishing machine with a rock-solid disposition. In Best Center Console Fishing boats: 10 Traits to Consider the very first item we suggest every boat-buyer consider is construction, and from the moment I stepped aboard the Sea Ox 24, I knew I could check off that box. The tide was out, I had to jump down maybe four feet from the pier. I landed on the deck with a muted thud. So, I tried stamping over a hatch, swinging from the back of the T-top, kicking the console, and lunging against the leaning post.…

You want to be a better boater? These tips will help with everything from boat maintenance to navigational skills. Running a boat is a big part of fishing, and so many of us fish from boats that we’ve created an entire section on BD Outboors called Boating Tips. Tips are great because the digital age has us breaking down data into tiny tidbits that blip from here to there, and today, getting people to read hundreds of words at a time is a stretch. But a tip puts knowledge into an easy to understand, easy to read package that’s so…

The Boston Whaler 345 Conquest ties together high performance, fishability, and complete weather protection. If you want an outboard-powered boat with a protected helm you’ll probably be choosing from between a pilothouse, cuddy cabin, or walkaround, but there aren’t many boats of these styles that reach up into the mid-30-foot range. There are even fewer that are this size yet can offer what one might call “sporty” performance. And there fewer still which offer a high level of luxury inside the cabin. Enter: the Boston Whaler 345 Conquest Pilothouse. Since the protected helm and cabin are what sets the Conquest…

The World Cat 400CC-X and 400DC-X bring center console yacht size and style to the powercat realm. If you pay any attention whatsoever to the market, you’ve almost certainly noticed that outboard-powered center console fishing boats and dual console fishing boats have been growing larger and larger in recent years. In fact, the preponderance of over-40-foot center console yachts (like the Grady-White Canyon 456, the 65’ HCB Estrella, and the Scout 420 LXF) would have dumbfounded most of us one short decade ago. Now, we’ve come to expect it. What we haven’t seen to date, however, is an outboard powercat fishing…

Evinrude has created an all-new G2 platform for engines of 115, 140, and 150 horsepower. Back in 2015 the newly-introduced Evinrude E-TEC G2 won an NMMA Innovation Award right out of the gate. Then two years ago when Evinrude introduced a down-sized version of the E-TEC G2, it won Top Product Honors from Boating Industry Magazine. Well, we hope they’ve dusted off another shelf on their awards cabinet. After spending a day running various boats rigged with the all-new 115 HO, 140, and 150 horse G2, we’re guessing that this powerhead will prove to be another hands-down winner. There are three…

The all-new Cabo 41 brings a new take to a storied name. Remember when new Cabos were considered among the best offshore express fishing boats being built? It wasn’t all that long ago that they were setting new benchmarks. We all know what happened next – the Great Recession – and Cabos haven’t made many waves since then. In fact, after the crunch production ceased entirely and we haven’t seen a new Cabo hit the water since 2013. This year, however, the Cabo 41 signals a resurgence that fishing boat fans are sure to find exciting. Back in the day,…

When the bottom jumps up and grabs your boat, what comes next? Finding a sun-warmed marsh draining into a cut and throwing jigs for summer flounder can be the ticket to success in the skinny waters near Wachapreague, VA, and as we zipped across the water’s surface, I figured there had to be a monster doormat just around the next bend. I kept pushing, farther, until I heard that tell-tale sound of the motor slowing as the prop started slicing mud. In a millisecond two options flashed through my pea-brain: continue running and risk damaging the prop and/or lower unit,…

The all new Mercury Verado 400 is similar, but not identical, to the Mercury Racing 400R. We’ll assume for argument’s sake that you’re already familiar with the Mercury Verado 350 and the Mercury Racing 400R outboards, both based on the Mercury Marine 2.6-liter in-line-six block that gets a serious power-booth from a water-cooled supercharger. So, why would they roll out another version of the same powerhead with different decals? They wouldn’t. Fortunately, the new Verado 400 is more than just a new paint job. Mercury managed to take the Verado from 350 to 400 horses in the 400R version by…

For decades Albemarle has focused solely on hard-core fishing boats. That hasn’t changed, even as they offer one with a dual console design. The dual console fishing boat is not commonly a die-hard angler’s first choice, but it does offer a great combination of fishability and family-friendliness that can make everyone who’s giving input on the buying decision happy. DCs have advantages when it comes to weather protection, versatility, and comfort, and many are just as adept at yanking a water skier out of the hole as they are at offering a cockpit that’s eminently fishable. There’s just one problem: many…

Do you really need WiFi on your boat? Here’s why the answer might surprise you. It’s quite unlikely that you remember when we published New Products from Simrad, all the way back in November of 2013. That was five years ago, and it was when the NSS16 evo2 hit the streets with an option for GoFree WiFi. In a few short years, we’d see WiFi go from an optional add-on, to a built-in standard feature. And not just on big glass-bridge helms and megabucks MFDs. A number of compact MFDs currently on the market which cost less than a grand…

Regardless of what hull design your boat may have and how efficient it may or may not be, just how much fuel you burn on any given fishing trip will be influenced by how you run your boat. Who among us wouldn’t like to burn less fuel? Reality Check: The best way to burn less fuel is often to simply go slower. But for many of us, fishing time is precious and we’ll be running just as fast as the sea conditions and our boats allow – easing back on the throttle to save a few gallons simply isn’t going…

The Ranger VS1660 will put a hurtin’ on the fish, but not on your bank account. Even those of us who aren’t five-percenters, much less two-percenters, love to dream about owning a sick convertible fishing boat like the Bertram 61, or a monster center console yacht like the HCB 65 Estrella. But many folks are concerned that so much emphasis is put on those uber-expensive fishing machines that the average Joe gets left out of the mix. They think that new boats have just become way too expensive for most of us to afford. Those folks clearly aren’t familiar with models…

The Insetta Boatworks 45 sets a new bar for bad-a** fishing boats. There’s no need to mince words: the Insetta 45 is one beast of a power catamaran, with oodles of integrated fishing features, a full cabin in the console, and an eye-opening top-end of 70-plus mph. You say speed isn’t your thing? Get the boat rigged with twin inboard diesels instead of the twin or quad outboards, and range is a rather shocking 1,000 miles at 35 mph. Any way you cut it, get ready to be impressed. One of the hottest fishing machines to hit the water in…

5 Tricks that will help you look like a pro at the ramp and on the road. You avoided having any boat trailering disasters on the way to the ramp, the livewell’s full, all the gear is stowed, and the motor fires up on the first crank – you’re ready to attack the fish. All that’s left to do is back the boat off the trailer, and as you sit at the helm your buddy ducks under the bow, promising to unclip it. Then you hear a “bloop,” and your buddy says “darn, I dropped it.” Dropped what? All he…