Soundings Editors

In an effort to improve employee ergonomics, the Maine Boat builder is building the 57-foot hull of a custom motor yacht in four sections.

A Norwegian Krysser is reflected in the waters of Norway’s Tromso harbor. The traditional herring and cod boats, which developed out of the Skoyte and Kutter, are still used for fishing, and as tour boats or personal craft.

Kim Hapgood, the program director at Sail Newport in Rhode Island, offers advice on how to keep sailors of all ages engaged in the sport.

Hurricane Florence leaves flooding and destruction in her wake, particularly in New Bern, North Carolina, where boat owners and builders were forced to stay vigilant.

Barnegat Light, New Jersey

In July, Jeanneau unveiled the new flagship in its NC model range: the 35-foot NC 1095.

Albemarle Boats is constructing a 27-foot dual console for boaters who want a family-friendly, versatile platform that can anchor at the sandbar, go for a dinner cruise or tackle offshore fishing.

Test your knowledge with these Coast Guard license exam prep questions from the National Captain’s Institute captains.com

Photography by Onne van der Wal

Sam Temple started working at Rockport Marine in  Rockport, Maine, when he was 11 years old. Today he co-owns and runs the place.

Zodiac-Nautic in June launched its OPEN 5.5 RIB.

Test your knowledge with these Coast Guard license exam prep questions from the National Captain’s Institute captains.com

The Figaro Beneteau 3, or FB3, is the world’s first production foiling one-design monohull.

San Diego, California by Pim Van Hemmen

Jim Moores has restored more than 100 antique and classic boats over the past 35 years, including the 1930 93-foot Defoe-designed Presidential yacht Honey Fitz.

Cape Rosier, Maine by Pim Van Hemmen

In his latest Ask Mario video, Mario Vittone answers Craig Warner's question: " When would you let one of your crew go into the water to assist someone who is unable to help themselves?"

For years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been using huge research vessels to gather data on annual fish populations, but now the agency is testing saildrones to do the same work. READ MORE

A crafty thief has been stealing bells and gongs off navigational buoys in Maine waters for the past nine months. Because it endangers lives, costs the taxpayers money and is a crime, the U.S. Coast Guard wants the culprit caught. READ MORE

People go boating because it makes them happy, but now research shows that going boating is actually good for you, and your brain. READ MORE

For centuries, ornithologists and textbooks said that birds lack a sense of smell. Now a researcher says that birds — in particular certain ocean birds — have very finely tuned olfactory function, which allows them to smell their next meal from as far as 12 miles away. READ MORE

Two New Jersey fishermen experienced a Captain Ahab moment when a whale breached beneath their boat and sent both of them into the ocean. You can see the rescue effort in this video. WATCH

The news has been filled with frightening stories about great white sharks off the coast of Massachusetts, but now large, harmless basking sharks off the coast of France are making headlines. READ MORE

Jamie White  has sailed over 30,000 miles on square-rigged and traditional vessels and served as chief rigger for some of the world's greatest tall ships.

Test your knowledge with these Coast Guard license exam prep questions from the National Captain’s Institute .

Every year, for the past 35 years, boat lovers have been able to board and ogle vintage 20th century sail and motor boats at the Antique & Classic Boat Festival, and this year will be no different. This year’s event, the 36th, will take place on August 25 and 26 in Salem, Massachusetts.

For the past year, Mario Vittone has been writing the Lifelines: Safety And Rescue At Sea blog for Soundingsonline.com. Now he is undertaking a new venture with Soundings, called Ask Mario, where readers can get answers to their boating safety questions. In this video, Mario answers the question: How often should thru hull fittings be replaced? WATCH

More builders are getting in on the electric boat movement, but a Finnish electric propulsion maker, which has been installing its electric saildrives in various manufacturers’ boats, is now getting into the game with its own stunning motorboat. WATCH

Many sailors are drawn to the sea by its natural beauty. Now, a photographer and cinematographer have teamed up to produce cinemagraphs, which allow you to view hypnotic moving images of the ocean from the comfort of your living room chair. WATCH

Apparently, manta rays can fly. It took less than two minutes for a helicopter to airlift a nearly 900-pound manta ray with an 11.4-foot wingspan from a Bahamas aquarium to the nearby ocean. WATCH

Test your knowledge with these Coast Guard license exam prep questions from the National Captain’s Institute captains.com

Some people feel born and bred to do a job, but for Cindy Purcell hers is also a labor of love.

Alison Langley is well-known for her nautical photography, but she also studied film at New York University, which she put to good use to tell the story of Marilee, a 1926 Nathanael Herreshoff New York 40 that the French & Webb yard rebuilt in Belfast, Maine. The documentary is 38 minutes long. If you love beautiful boats, it’s worth every minute of your time. WATCH

The Dutch city of Amsterdam has teamed up with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to develop autonomous boats, called Roboats, to deliver people and goods via its canals. WATCH

For those boat operators who do not relish the thought of docking a yacht, Volvo Penta may just have invented a dream solution, advanced self-docking technology that will allow a yacht to dock itself. WATCH

A German World War II U-boat captain, who brought warfare to America’s doorstep in 1942 and who was the last of the “Aces of the Deep,” died on June 9 at the age of 105. READ MORE

A drone camera recorded the final journey of a former 320-foot ferry as she was intentionally sunk to become part of an artificial reef off the New Jersey and Delaware coasts. WATCH

For the past year, former US Coast Guard rescue swimmer Mario Vittone has been teaching Soundings readers how to be safer on the water through his “Lifelines: Safety And Rescue At Sea” blog. He will continue to educate us, but first, he wants to hear from you. READ MORE.

Drones have completely changed the way the Volvo Ocean Race is covered. This Volvo Ocean Race drone video compilation shows footage that was unattainable in the pre-drone era and is worth a look. WATCH

Photography by Andrew Mills

It’s said that in the 1880s, seven of the 10 boatbuilders on Man-O-War Cay in the Bahamas had the last name Albury.

Photography by Pim Van Hemmen