Hungry? Dock and Dine!

Imagine the following scenario: You've been out all day on your boat having a great time, when you start to get hungry. Naturally you head below decks to grab something from your galley’s fridge, only to discover there’s some cheese you probably should have thrown out last weekend and a couple of bottles of flat soda. There’s still a bag of unopened Doritos, but that’s just not gonna cut it. What do you do?

Never fear, Discover Boating is here! The program, a national awareness campaign created by the National Marine Manufacturers Association to promote boating, surveyed boaters and on-the-water dining enthusiasts to come up with a Top 10 list of dock-and-dine spots:

1. Bali Hai Restaurant, San Diego, CA. The South Pacific meets Southern California, complete with Mai Tai cocktails (only for your guests if you’re driving, of course).

2. Captain Dave’s Dockside Restaurant, Murrells Inlet, SC. Regional favorites like Low Country Shrimp & Grits have been keeping people coming back since 1975.

3. Carrol’s Creek, Annapolis, MD. Right on Chesapeake Bay, serving up Maryland Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes—what could be better?

4. Cousino’s Navy Bistro, Toledo, OH. On the Maumee River, the restaurant ages its own steaks. You can dock at The Docks, a “parking lot” serving Cousino’s and other waterfront spots.

5. Dockside Restaurant, Wilmington, NC. After you’re done eating seafood and Southern dishes, you can “feed” your boat, as the restaurant is at Dockside Marina, which offers fuel.

6. Finz Waterfront Grille, Stuart, FL. Twenty-three boats can fit at Finz’s dock. Make sure you pull in for the weekend “deck jams” and order the Tilapia Imperial.

7. Flatwater, Chicago, IL. Fusion cuisine featuring Asian, Spanish, and Indian flavors, in the shadows of the Windy City’s skyscrapers.

8. Rafferty’s Dockside Restaurant, Muskegon, MI. Yachts to 70 feet can tie up here. Dishes include Pretzel Crumb Walleye.

9. Rockafeller’s, Virginia Beach, VA. A private dock can accommodate you, but call the restaurant at least two days in advance to make sure you can get a spot. The grilled tuna is back on the menu due to popular demand.

10. Waterway Café, Palm Beach Gardens, FL. No time to stop? Radio in a pick-up order for Rajun Cajun Pasta or other dishes.

Have you been to any of these places? Tell us about your experience—or about your own favorite dock-and-dine spot.

Rousing Rescue by the USCG Auxilary

Thirteen isn't always an unlucky number. Just take the 13 passengers rescued in Alaska moments before their vessel sank in 39-degree water, for example.

Fortunately for those aboard the 40-foot charter vessel, a U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary crew happened to be performing routine towing drills approximately 20 miles away. After receiving the call, the crew put the pedal to the metal and arrived at the sinking vessel's side to find the passengers on the bow of the boat with the stern awash.

"We came alongside the stricken vessel and the 11 passengers were pulled aboard to the forward deck of the Auxiliary vessel," [coxswain Shane] Taylor said. "We removed the 11 passengers, then the vessel rolled over on its side within 30 seconds after the last passenger was removed. We backed away momentarily to clear the sinking vessel while the two remaining people on board, the master and his crewmember, climbed the hull as it rolled. We then approached again and nosing up to the overturned vessel, we pulled the two remaining survivors aboard."

"Within a minute of the last survivor boarding our boat, the stricken vessel sank completely," said Taylor. "The sunken vessel's life raft deployed and broke the surface approximately one minute later."

Luhrs 41 Convertible Recall

The Luhrs Coropration has put out a voluntary recall on the first 38 of the 41 Convertible Hulls built due to a port-side heel problem as well as a potential bow-steering issue. If you own Hull No. 101-139 you should contact the builder soon:

LUHRS 41 CONVERTIBLE VOLUNTARY RECALL NOTICE
Dear Luhrs 41 Convertible Owner,

The Luhrs Corporation has received reports from a few owners that, under certain conditions, early versions of its 41 Convertible may heel to port while underway. It has also been reported that this condition can sometimes lead to slight to moderate bow steer.

To date, Luhrs has received no reports of accidents or injuries that have resulted from this condition. Because of these reports, the Luhrs Design and Engineering staff has conducted sea trials on several of the vessels and, thus far, have been unable to reproduce the condition.

The testing was conducted while using information supplied to us by current 41 Convertible owners. Despite these inconclusive test results and in the interest of safety, Luhrs Corporation has made the decision to conduct a voluntary recall of hull numbers 101 through 139 inclusive in order to perform a hull modification. The procedure consists of extending the existing hull tunnels by 5 inches and creating a rocker along the hull bottom at the transom. This will provide added assurance against the possibility of an occurrence of the reported instability. To date, the hull modification was performed on seven of the subject vessels.
HULL NUMBERS INVOLVED - USCG CAMPAIGN # 070017T
LHRPC101F304 through LHRPC139A505

Luhrs Marine Corporation will perform the hull upgrade to all of the above vessels at its expense including, if necessary, transportation to the location where the modifications will be performed. As an added measure, Luhrs Corporation is in the process of contacting all owners of the subject vessels by telephone to help with arrangements for making the upgrade while answering any questions that may arise. Failure to comply with the voluntary recall and free upgrade may result in abnormal heeling and the possibility of slight to moderate bow steer.

If you have any questions regarding this recall, please contact Luhrs Corporation Customer Service Department at 800-248-2980 or send an e-mail to 41recall@luhrs.com and we will assist you in making arrangements for this free upgrade.

Smart Cruising With Dockwise

While some boats and yachts are built to handle Atlantic (or Pacific, for that matter) Ocean crossings to enjoy cruising in different parts of the world, not every owner wants to put his or her vessel through the wear and tear—or put crewmembers through it, either, as sometimes it’s impossible to outrun a storm. That’s where transport ships come in. These massive vessels feature a semisubmersible section that permits yachts to literally float on and off as cargo.

There are a handful of companies that carry yachts, but Dockwise Yacht Transport (DYT), which has been in business since 1987 and solely focuses on the pleasure market, can now boast ownership of the largest transporter in the world. The photo here, taken by famous yachting photographer Onne van der Wal, is of Yacht Express, measuring nearly 688 feet long—that’s more than 130 feet bigger than DYT’s previously largest carrier. Equally impressive, Yacht Express has nearly 106 feet of beam and displaces 15,000 tons. DYT commissioned the vessel from Yantai Raffles Shipyard in China in 2005 to meet the ever-increasing demand for yachts traveling to and from Florida and the Med. To date, DYT says it’s transported more than 8,000 motor- and sailing yachts.

As this photo (also by Onne van der Wal) shows, there’s 541 feet of deck length for boats and yachts to be transported on. Because crewmembers need to be present when the yachts are ready to disembark, Yacht Express features complimentary cabins for them—plus a swimming pool, restaurant, movie theater, fitness center, and other amenities to make the passages more enjoyable. Even better, because the vessel is capable of an 18-knot speed, DYT says transatlantic trips can be reduced from 15 to eight days.

Yacht Express will be picking up and dropping off boats in Australia and New Zealand in the coming weeks and then heading to Florida. She’ll be rechristened at the Monaco Yacht Show in late September during a special ceremony, complete with a fireworks display.

Lyman-Morse's Green Facility

On Memorial Day weekend, venerable Maine boatbuilder Lyman-Morse celebrated the grand opening of a new facility that incorporates some of the latest design, construction, and operation concepts as outlined in the construction-industry wide, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. The 22,400-square-foot Varco/Pruden (the VP) building—pictured above with Electra, a 94-foot Hunt yacht built by Lyman-Morse—is constructed of high-energy efficient foam core (SIPS): It’s a material that’s similar to a core-infused hull, with a polystyrene rigid-foam sandwiched between something called oriented strand board, which forms the interior and exterior sheathing. This results in much less construction debris and better insulation than wood frame construction.

Inside, several green systems work in concert to ensure that the VP building will be among the most environmentally responsible facilities of its type. A passive-solar panel system on its roof is designed to handle approximately 40 percent of the 22,400-square-foot building’s heating needs via an in-floor radiant heat system; four gas-fired boilers (rated at 92-perecent efficiency) will kick in as needed. Low E-rated, thermal windows provide ample light but do not allow for heat to escape in cooler weather. And all lighting is energy-efficient.

The facility was designed as a joint venture between Lyman-Morse and Reluminati, a Washington, D.C.-based company comprised of alternative-energy gurus and the workplace of Cabot and Heidi Lyman’s son Zach. Lyman-Morse is implementing an environmental bent across the board: The builder is working with Maine's Harvest Fuels to provide them with 20-percent biodiesel fuel—B20—to run its new 110-ton TravelLift and its other diesel equipment.