Boats

Did You Know?

BOATING sets records, designs boats, builds reefs...more

By Kevin Falvey

Updated: June 3, 2015

Boating Magazine Artificial Fishing Reef De Witt Clinton

Great screen grab from a video by LISA EDWARDS of the Boating Magazine Reef ( a.k.a., ” Clinton Wreck,” ) off of Pompano Beach, Florida. Lisa Edwards http://www.ledivevideo.com/

With nearly 200,000 of you subscribing to our print magazine and another half-million visiting boatingmag.com each month—you probably are not surprised that BOATING is the World’s Largest Powerboat Magazine and the most popular source of recreational boating information. And as a loyal visitor, reader, friend, fan, or follower, you are no doubt aware of our award winning boat tests, articles and the spectacular video, still photography and illustrations we deliver each month. (Did I mention that we have more Twitter followers than any other entity in, or covering, recreational boating? Now you know!)

Yes, it’s time to toot our own horn. Here are four things we are proud of in addition to the above. ( We also caught-and-released a sailfish from a Sea Doo PWC, crossed the Bering Strait riding Personal Watercraft, and drove stunt boats in a film starring Burt Reynolds and Christopher Atkins, but those are stories for another time.)

Boat of the Year

Boating editors test more boats than anyone, averaging about 150 new model boats per year. From that field, we select the one boat really breaks the mold. A “ category killer.” (sometimes a “category maker.”) In short, Boat of the Year is the one boat that stands out in its category, more than any other boat stands out in any other category. That boat is awarded the prize most coveted by recreational boatbuilders: Boating’s Boat of the Year.

Learn more about Boat of The Year

Bermuda Challenge

Chris Fertig ( left) and Tyson Garvin prepare to cast off on their record-setting Bermuda Challenge run aboard a Skater 399 V-bottom powered by Cummins Diesels turning Arneson Surface Drives.

Boating’s Bermuda Challenge is a race between New York and Bermuda. The current record for the Bermuda Challenge is held by Chris Fertig and Tyson Garvin who made the 720 mile run in 15 hours and 48 minutes in August of 2013 aboard a Skater 399 V-bottom. The Bermuda Challenge was conceived as a means to push the limits of recreational boats, the boaters who run them, and thereby serve as an impetus to the industry to enhance and improve safety, seakeeping and efficiency. Boating is the only Keeper of this record and the only Official Timekeeper.

Learn more about the Bermuda Challenge

World Record

David Seidman aboard the custom-built craft powered by a Honda outboard turning a prop designed by Naval Architect Dave Gerr that achieved 103-mpg efficiency.

Boating Magazine’s Editor-At-Large, David Seidman, beat the Guinness Book of Records world record for achieving the most MPG (highest efficiency) ever in a powerboat: 103.36 miles per gallon. The feat was accomplished on August 24, 2004 in a boat of our own design powered by a 2-hp Honda outboard and fitted with a propeller designed for us specifically for use in the record run by noted Naval Architect, Dave Gerr.

Read what the The Westlawn School of Yacht Design has to say about the feat

Artificial Reef Builder

The decommissioned dredge, De Witt Clinton, just prior to being sunk for use as the Boating Magazine Reef under the banner of ” Wildlife Forever.”

The Boating Magazine Artificial Reef (a.k.a, the “Clinton Wreck.”) is located off Pompano Beach, Florida. Emplaced in 1995, Boating facilitated the sinking of the 150-foot LOA Dewitt Clinton, a decommissioned steel dredge, to enhance habitat, foster marine life and help ensure the viability of recreational fishing for the future. Here are the GPS coordinates. Catch ’em up!