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Seabreacher X

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The Seabreacher X is one of the most advanced submersible watercraft that we have built to date. This exciting version is similar in size to the Y Model, but with higher performance and a more aggressive shark style body. The X Model also steps up the performance envelope with optional 300hp or 325hp supercharged engine upgrades. The new patented fully vectored thrust system mimics the tail articulation of real aquatic animals like sharks and dolphins.

The X Model’s smaller control surfaces make it a more agile and responsive vessel, allowing it to jump 90° out of the water. The X Model is purpose built for pilots who want to get the most out of their Seabreacher watercraft. Even though the Seabreacher X has shark style body, the paint scheme doesn’t necessarily need to reflect a real shark – the possibilities are endless!

SPECIFICATIONS

• Two seat (Pilot: 6′ 4″, Passenger: 6′ 2″)
• Rotax ACE 1500cc 4 stroke engine
• 230 hp supercharged, intercooled
• High output, low emissions
• Fuel capacity: 14 gallons (52L)
• Length: 200″ (5.08m)
• Width:  42″ (1.06m)
• Wingspan:  78″ (1.98m)
• Height: 58″ (1.47m)
• Approximate weight: 1450lb (657.7kg)

• Redesigned shark style body
• Fully vectored jet nozzle for increased maneuverability
• High performance, low profile wings and elevators
• Underwater view ports (mouth shaped)
• Tinted drag boat style canopy
• Marine grade audio system with Bluetooth
• Solid or Two-Toned Paint Scheme
• Fully customized upholstered interior
• Custom powder coated hardware

• 300hp or 325hp Performance Upgrades
• Custom Aluminum Trailer
• Depth Finder
• LED Speaker Upgrade
• Waterproof headsets
• Custom Boat Cover
• Lifting Cradle / Yacht Mount
• Custom Airbrushing / Artwork
• Portable Cooling Unit

Don’t forget to check out the new Jet Shark as well! www.thejetshark.com (@thejetshark)

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True Spirit (2023)

Why did jessica watson want to sail around the world.

According to the True Spirit true story, Jessica's desire to sail solo around the world began when she was 12 when her mother read Jesse Martin's book Lionheart: A Journey of the Human Spirit to her and her siblings as a bedtime story. Jesse Martin was a German-Australian sailor who in 1999 became the youngest person to sail solo, nonstop, and unassisted around the globe. Jessica had spent much of her life on the water and had taken sailing lessons with her brother and sisters. She had spent five years living on a 16-meter cabin cruiser with her family. They also lived on a retrofitted double-decker bus for a period of time. She was quoted in The Los Angeles Times discussing the reason for her journey, "I wanted to challenge myself and achieve something to be proud of. And yes, I wanted to inspire people. I hated being judged by my appearance and other people's expectations of what a 'little girl' was capable of. It's no longer just my dream or voyage. Every milestone out here isn't just my achievement, but an achievement for everyone who has put so much time and effort into helping getting me here." As is noted in her book True Spirit: The True Story of a 16-Year-Old Australian Who Sailed Solo, Nonstop, and Unassisted Around the World , her father, Roger Watson, was against her going, and while her mother, Julie, was supportive, she was not living a missed dream vicariously through Jessica. It was clear to her coach and mentor Bruce Arms (represented to some degree by actor Cliff Curtis' Ben Bryant character in the movie) that the decision was very much her own. An image of the real Jessica Watson (left) is shown on one of the original covers of the True Spirit book. Australian actress Teagan Croft (left) appears on the new cover of the book.

How did Jessica Watson prepare for her around-the-world journey?

While conducting our True Spirit fact-check, we learned that like in the movie, she was heavily involved in the preparation for her trip, including overseeing various modifications to her boat, Ella's Pink Lady . The sailing vessel was refitted with a new galley, reconditioned water and diesel tanks, and underwent an entire reconstruction of the electrical system. By that point, Jessica had roughly 6,000 ocean and 6,000 coastal miles of sailing experience. She had also taken numerous courses, including several maritime safety and first-aid courses. She completed a radar course, diesel engine course, radio operator course, and a yachtmaster ocean theory course.

How big was Jessica Watson's boat?

Her sailing vessel, named Ella's Pink Lady , was 10.23 meters long (33.6 feet). Built in 1993, the pink boat was a Sparkman & Stephens model S&S 34. French skincare brand Ella Baché sponsored the boat, hence the naming. Jessica Watson did not own the boat. It was lent to her by Australian adventurer Don McIntrye. Jessica Watson's boat Ella's Pink Lady is pictured in real life (left) and as it's depicted in the movie (right). Photos: Facebook Jessica Watson / Netflix

Did Jessica's boat collide with a Chinese cargo ship a month prior to her leaving on her around-the-world voyage?

Yes. In answering the question, "How accurate is True Spirit ?" we confirmed that about a month before Jessica Watson left, she was en route from Brisbane to Sydney when her boat, Ella's Pink Lady , collided with the Silver Yang , a 63,000-ton Chinese bulk carrier. She had reportedly been taking a five-minute nap at the time of the collision and had failed to spot the Silver Yang on her radar prior to lying down. She also had forgotten to turn on her proximity alarms. "'No, no,' I go, 'It's alright, really, I'm okay, but lost half my mast, yeah,'" she stated after the accident. She managed to get the boat to port using the motor. Jessica said that the collision scene in the movie is "really accurate" ( Entertainment Weekly ). A final report concluded that both boats were at fault, with the Silver Yang's watchkeeper failing to maintain an adequate lookout and spot her in time to avoid her. It's true that the accident ignited even more controversy around whether a 16-year-old girl should be attempting a solo circumnavigation. - 60 Minutes Australia

Did Jessica receive a lot of pushback arguing that she was too young to sail solo around the world?

Yes. Like in the Jessica Watson movie, the prospect of a 16-year-old girl sailing solo, nonstop, and unassisted around the world indeed generated a considerable amount of controversy. Critics argued that she was too young and didn't have enough experience. The Australian Childhood Foundation raised concerns over whether a 16-year-old had the ability to fully understand the risks. Jessica would not be allowed assistance from anyone during her journey, nor would she be allowed to moor to another boat or to any port. However, advice via radio communication was permitted.

Is Cliff Curtis' character, Ben Bryant, based on a real person?

No. Ben Bryant is a fictional character that was created to represent a number of the different men who helped make Jessica Watson's journey possible. In a January 2023 Instagram post, Jessica wrote, "The fictional character Ben is one of my favourite things about the movie. Ben represents a whole team of people. While there are many who so deserve their own character @cliffcurtis_ has beautifully captured the spirit of these men who were so determined to see a young girl take on the world and the way they are some of my best mates. Forever grateful to everyone who played a part in making the voyage possible!" One of the men the Ben Bryant character represents is Jessica's mentor and project manager, fellow sailor Bruce Arms. In the book, Jessica describes Bruce as being "crucial in getting me ready." Another experienced sailor who helped Jessica was Don McIntyre. He had sailed solo around the world in 1990, and he and his wife Margie bought the boat Jessica used for her around-the-world trip. Other men who contributed were Scott Young and Andrew Fraser, who acted as Jessica's managers and helped her attract sponsors.

Did Jessica Watson forget her hairbrush?

No, at least not on her round-the-world trip. "That happened on a sea trial," she clarifies. She did use a fork, having gotten the idea from sailor Jesse Martin, who forgot his brush when he circumnavigated the globe. The movie finds Jessica (Teagan Croft) taping two forks together and using that as a brush.

What route did Jessica Watson take when she sailed around the world?

Alone with her boat and the open ocean, the True Spirit true story confirms that 16-year-old Jessica Watson completed a global circumnavigation that was almost entirely within the southern hemisphere. She set out from Sydney across the Pacific Ocean to the northeast, briefly crossing the equator into the northern hemisphere. She then crossed back over the equator and sailed southeastward far into the freezing southern waters to round South America's infamous Cape Horn, where the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans meet. From there, she sailed northeastward through the higher latitudes and round the horn of Africa before reentering the unforgiving Southern Ocean as she made her way back into Australian waters, traveling a total of 24,285 nautical miles. The Jessica Watson map below traces her voyage.

Did Jessica Watson's boat steer itself most of the time?

Yes. Jessica Watson's Pink Lady boat was equipped with a self-steering wind vane system. Jessica called the system "Parker" after the chauffer of the pink Rolls-Royce in the British television series Thunderbirds .

Is the reporter in True Spirit based on a real person?

No, at least not directly. Todd Lasance's character, reporter Craig Atherton, is not directly based on a real-life individual. Instead, he represents all of the members of the media who were naysayers and criticized Jessica's plans. "There were some that were pretty damn similar to him," she said with a chuckle. "I was protected slightly from some of the intensity of it at the time because I was just so single-mindedly focused on this thing, which you need to be to do something like that. It was my team and my poor family who caught the worst of that, but it was intense." -Entertainment Weekly

Did Jessica perform the tradition of dunking herself in salt water when she crossed the equator for the first time?

Yes. In fact, she filmed the moment and shared the equator video with her followers. It could be found via Jessica Watson's blog. "Oh, it's my first time across the equator," she stated, "so uh, it's traditional to have a dunk in salt water as you go across." She then proceeded to pour a bucket of salt water over her head, similar to what she does in the movie. Jessica Watson celebrates crossing the equator for the first time by performing the tradition of drenching herself in salt water.

Is Jessica Watson dyslexic?

Yes. "For a long time I struggled with reading and spelling," she wrote in her book, adding that she still has problems with spelling. She said that her mom and teachers realized early on that she was dyslexic. The language disorder is typically defined as a "difficulty recognizing and learning the connection between sounds and words." Jessica says that her mother always encouraged her affinity for books and read to her regularly.

What animals did Jessica Watson see on her journey?

A True Spirit fact-check reveals that Jessica reported seeing a variety of marine life, including dolphins, fish, and a blue whale. She saw various birds, including albatross that circled around her boat. In her blog, she also described a frightening moment at night when a large sea creature that she could not identify repeatedly jumped out of the water around her boat.

What did Jessica Watson do while she was on the boat?

"I always had something to do," she told 60 Minutes Australia . "I don't know what I did, but I always found something to do. There was always, you know, a boat to look after, bits and pieces of maintenance to do, and, you know, people to talk to, blogs to write, just sitting there soaking it in, reading. I read a lot, did a little bit of schoolwork." Teenage sailor Jessica Watson (left) shared this image of herself to social media during her around-the-world journey. Actress Teagan Croft (right) is pictured as Watson in the Netflix movie.

Does Jessica Watson have any siblings?

Yes. As seen in the Netflix Jessica Watson movie, she has an older sister named Emily and a younger brother and sister, Tom and Hannah. Like her parents, her siblings were able to communicate with her via her satellite phone and email as she sailed.

Did Jessica Watson get knocked out by a frying pan during a storm?

No. In the first significant storm she encounters in the Netflix True Spirit movie, Jessica is knocked out when an unsecured frying pan hits her in the head. According to Jessica, the scene never happened in real life. "I feel bad calling out some of the things that weren't quite true, but no, no frying pan," she told Entertainment Weekly . "Although there was legitimate danger with stuff flying around inside the boat in a storm — household everyday objects become deadly. Keeping your cabin tidy is something I should have been better at."

Did Jessica Watson's parents fly over in a small plane?

Yes. Though it's not shown in the film, Jessica Watson's parents flew over her boat twice during her journey. The first time was in a twin-engine plane shortly after she rounded Cape Horn (pictured below) in January 2010. The flight was paid for by the media. Due to poor weather conditions, it took three tries until her parents were able to reach her location. "Hi, mum, how are you? How do I look from up there?" she asked her mom during the flyover. "You look so small on that huge ocean," her mother replied. They both shed tears during their conversation. Her parents flew over her again in April to celebrate her entering Australian waters. On her blog, Jessica shared these images on January 14, 2010 of when she rounded Cape Horn (pictured), which is located on Hornos Island in the Hermite Islands group at the foot of South America.

Did Jessica Watson have to perform repairs during her journey?

Yes. In researching the question, "Is True Spirit accurate?" we learned that Watson indeed encountered several complications on her journey, including various repairs that she had to make to her boat. The repairs were chronicled on Jessica Watson's blog, including repairs to the mainsail, battery monitor, stove, toilet (twice), kettle, and the replacement of the wind generator blades. She eventually replaced the wind generator with a spare, and she replaced the engine's fuel pump after being plagued by engine trouble toward the end of her journey. "The little Yanmar engine is going again! A little delicately, but it is running with a water transfer pump rigged up in place of the fuel pump which had stopped working," she explained in her blog. "It's pretty dodgy with all the mismatching hoses but should do the job." As for the leak that arises in the movie, Watson says that it didn't happen in real life. "There's quite a leak in the movie that it looks like I'm fixing with blu-tack. In reality, there was nothing major, which again, was a real testament to the preparation behind it and a lot of things going right; a lot of conservative decisions." Jessica shared this photo on social media in April 2010 with the caption, "Fitting the blade to the new wind generator." Photo: Facebook

How many days was Jessica Watson alone at sea?

Jessica's solo, nonstop, unassisted around-the-world journey took 210 days (approximately seven months) and she logged 24,285 nautical miles, though her officially recognized sailing distance was considerably less. She departed Sydney Harbour on October 18, 2009 and returned on May 15, 2010.

Did Jessica encounter the monster waves shown in the movie?

Yes. She survived a total of seven knockdowns on her voyage, which is when a boat is knocked over on its side to roughly 90 degrees or less by wind or waves. In terms of sailing, it is characterized by the boat capsizing to the point that the mast touches the water. Some of the knockdowns were severe, including one in which Ella's Pink Lady was thrown upside down into the trough of a wave. Jessica clung to the handholds as things flew around the cabin and her feet inched up the wall and onto the roof, with the mast pushed 180 degrees into the water. This was one of four knockdowns that occurred during a late-January storm in the South Atlantic Ocean, which had produced 65-knot winds or greater. The True Spirit movie true story confirms that in the latter portion of her journey, Jessica encountered three monster low-pressure systems that formed in succession off Antarctica and surged through the Southern Ocean, producing 50-knot winds and gigantic waves up to 12 meters (39 feet) high.

Was Jessica Watson's boat underwater?

In an intense moment in the Netflix movie, Jessica's boat is submerged upside down and is at least 15 feet underwater. Several minutes seem to pass before her boat resurfaces. The real Jessica Watson said that this moment in the film was dramatized. "But of course, there's movie magic involved as well," she said. "There are some details that certainly don't follow the reality, and sailors will, no doubt, pick them up. The big storm scene where the boat's underwater for quite some time, in reality, wasn't that dramatic. But in that moment, it certainly felt like it. So maybe it's sort of true to the feeling behind it." -Practical Boat Owner She told Entertainment Weekly , "The 15 ft. underwater is real because my emergency beacon did self-activate as the boat sank. That happened. But the time I was upside down for, it certainly felt like a long time. I haven't really got a concept of how long it was in reality, but we are talking seconds compared to what we see in the movie, which stretches on forever in minutes and minutes and minutes. That's a little bit of an exaggeration there, but it was real to the experience of it feeling like forever."

How old was the real Jessica Watson when she completed her solo sailing trip around the world?

Like in the Netflix movie, Jessica was 16 when she sailed into Sydney Harbour on May 15, 2010 to complete her solo, nonstop, unassisted journey around the world. She stepped off the Pink Lady boat and into the arms of her relieved parents just three days before her 17th birthday. Jessica Watson steps off her boat and into the arms of her relieved parents after completing her circumnavigation.

How did Jessica Watson handle being alone at sea for so long?

Jessica says that she handled it "really well." "I'm not sure if that means that I'm really simple or not, but I really did enjoy being by myself," she told 60 Minutes Australia . "I obviously really missed everyone, you know, from the day, the minute I started out of Sydney Harbour, you know, it was something's missing and I missed everyone so badly, but I did, I really enjoyed it. You know, once I got used to it, I enjoyed, you know, the sort of freedom, the independence of being by yourself." Though we don't see it in the Jessica Watson movie, she cried after she departed and the boat with her mom and dad on it had turned back (in the film, they bid her farewell from the dock). In her book, she mentions crying when she found out her brother got his first job because she couldn't be there to congratulate him. She also describes breaking down and crying prior to passing Cape Horn when she felt like she wasn't making any headway toward the cape. Her parents were scheduled to fly over and she felt guilty that she was delaying everyone. She later describes being in a "black hole" of depression for three days when she was several hundred miles from Australia, blaming her mood on the rainy weather but then saying that justification was "complete nonsense." Jessica Watson (left) is pictured as she rounds Cape Horn in poor weather conditions. As she did in the movie (right), she was able to talk to her parents via sat-phone, including when they flew over her location. Photo: Facebook

Did Jessica expect nearly a hundred thousand people to show up to welcome her home?

No, her surprise in the movie is true to real life. "I expected a few people here to meet me," she told 60 Minutes Australia , "but what we got coming into Harbour was just completely overwhelming." Roughly one hundred thousand people packed Sydney Harbour to welcome her home, including Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who called her the "newest Australian hero," to which she really did disagree. "I don't consider myself a hero, I'm an ordinary girl," she told the crowd. "You don't have to be someone special to achieve something amazing, you've just got to have a dream, believe in it, and work hard."

Did Jessica Watson chronicle her journey in a blog?

Yes. The True Spirit true story confirms that Jessica Watson's blog featured near-daily posts that she made about her journey. She also shared many pics and several videos with her growing number of supporters. Each one of her posts received hundreds of comments, mostly wishing her well. Though she has a new website at JessicaWatson.com.au , her original blog from her journey can still be read at YougestRound.Blogspot.com . It's a must-read if you want a better idea of what her real-life trip was like. On her blog, Jessica shared this picture that she took from atop the mast of the Pink Lady in January 2010.

Did Jessica Watson's journey add up to an officially recognized circumnavigation?

No. Technically, her primarily southern journey did not go far enough north of the equator to satisfy the World Speed Sailing Record Council (WSSRC) to be a true around-the-world trip. The WSSRC, which is the official record body, recognizes a full circumnavigation of the globe as having traveled an orthodromic distance (great circle) of at least 21,600 nautical miles, the circumference of the Earth. According to Sail-World.com , Jessica's voyage came up at least 2,000 nautical miles short and therefore would not go into the WSSRC's record books as a full global circumnavigation. It's true that her own log had her traveling 24,285 nautical miles, but official sailing distances do not include the amount her vessel tacked and detoured for weather. The 1999 officially-recognized circumnavigation of one of her idols, German-Australian sailor Jesse Martin, went significantly farther north of the equator. "I could give you a million technical arguments, you know, my trip is no different to so many other people who have circumnavigated and you know become very famous for doing it," said Jessica, "but it's like I said, it doesn't worry me. There's always going to be someone out there who says something, and possibly because they just don't want to believe that it's possible for a 16-year-old to sail around the world." In her book True Spirit , she stated, "If I haven't been sailing around the world, then it beats me what I've been doing out here all this time!" Her manager, Andrew Fraser, defended her journey by pointing out that the WSSRC does not recognize records achieved by sailors who are not yet eighteen, so their input doesn't matter. He argued that it was never stated she would be going for a world record, simply that she would become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo, nonstop, and unassisted ( Brisbane Times ). In the book, Jessica says that she wrote several letters to the WSSRC asking the organization what she had to do to secure the record. They responded by stating that she would not be able to since age records were no longer recognized. The "youngest" category was removed in an effort to prevent ambitious parents from sending ever-younger kids out to sea. Still, she felt that she had done everything necessary for the record, including starting and returning from the same point and crossing the equator and all meridians of longitude. She pointed out that she sailed "a little longer" than Kay Cottee's solo, unassisted, and nonstop circumnavigation, which was recognized by the WSSRC.

Where can I see Jessica Watson's boat, Ella's Pink Lady ?

The nearly 34-foot yacht was purchased jointly in 2011 by the Queensland and Commonwealth governments for $300,000. It is currently on display at the Queensland Maritime Museum. Jessica Watson is pictured with the boat Ella's Pink Lady  at the Queensland Maritime Museum, where it has been on display since 2011. Photo: Queensland Maritime Museum Facebook

Where is Jessica Watson today?

After successfully completing her around-the-world journey, Jessica wrote about it in her 2010 book True Spirit , which became the basis for the 2023 Netflix movie. The TV documentary 210 Days , narrated by Richard Branson, was also released in 2010. It featured footage of Jessica before, during, and after her solo trip. In 2011, she was named Young Australian of the Year, and in 2012, she was awarded the Order of Australia Medal. Jessica became involved in various projects, including becoming the youngest skipper in Australia's famous Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Her team, which was the youngest ever to compete, took second in their division. Humanitarian work included becoming a Youth Representative for the United Nations World Food Programme, a role that took her to far-away Laos and refugee camps in Lebanon and Jordan. According to her website, Jessica graduated from university, completed an MBA, and was a founding member of the marine start-up Deckee, which advertises itself as an "all-in-one boating app" that combines official information with crowdsourced reports, focusing on marine weather, safety alerts, activity logging, location sharing, official regulations, and local knowledge. In 2014, she gave a TEDx Talk in Brisbane in which she discussed her experience sailing around the world. She wrote a second book that was published in 2018, a sailing-themed middle-grade novel titled Indigo Blue . She's been a sought-after corporate speaker and has worked as a management consultant as part of Deloitte's Human Capital consulting team. In 2021, she was a consultant on the True Spirit Netflix movie about her 2010 circumnavigation. The real Jessica Watson (left) was a consultant on the True Spirit Netflix movie. She's pictured with actress Teagan Croft (right) who portrays her in the film. Photo: Instagram @jessicawatson_93

Is Jessica Watson married?

In 2021, tragedy struck when Jessica Watson's boyfriend of ten years, Cameron Dale, 29, died six weeks after suffering a catastrophic stroke. The pair had met at Hamilton Island's Race Week in 2011, the year after Jessica's solo circumnavigation. Like Jessica, he was a passionate sailor and had spent days trying to meet her. At the time of Cameron Dale's death, Jessica had been acting as a consultant on the True Spirit movie and continued to do so after his passing. However, she points out that she was not heavily involved in the shooting of the movie, "Because obviously, I was with Cam in an ICU (Intensive Care Unit)." On Instagram, she wrote, "On Monday, 30 August 2021 we lost our Cam – my long-term partner in every aspect of life and planned future. ... Cam and I have been inseparable since 2011, our shared world centered on messing about on boats. Describing what Cam means to me is impossible – everyone who knows us understands how much we simply loved each other. ... Being Cam's 'Jess' is the role I'm most proud of." Just over a year later, The Weekend Australian Magazine wrote an article about her loss. In it, she stated, "I've been called courageous for my sailing exploits – but the courage it's taken to get through this is incomparable." Tragically, Jessica Watson's boyfriend of ten years, Cameron Dale, passed away in 2021 after suffering a severe stroke. Photo: Facebook Jessica Watson

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The Best Marine Sealants and Caulks to Stop Any Leaks or Cracks

Written by J. Harvey / Fact checked by S. Numbers

Choosing the best marine sealant and caulk products requires an in-depth familiarity of their application method, elasticity, and compatibility factors. Each marine grade sealant product, its type, and intended use can have incorrect information or be misinterpreted by boaters.

This is understandable considering a lot of them are available among underwater caulk and underwater boat sealant products. Nonetheless, considering these factors, especially the application method for each boat adhesive sealant or boat caulk is imperative.

• The application method of each marine product influences whether you can use them to seal gaps, seams, and joints. Understanding how to use them determines when and whether they are applied dry, below the waterline, or submerged in water.
• Also, these products differ in terms of elasticity, an essential factor for both the product and surface. The elasticity of their formulation determines the durability, which relies on the application method and holding strength against external elements. You should know that a sealant is best for spaces with frequent movements, contraction, and expansion. Caulk has a firm hold and is rigid when it dries unlike sealants that are flexible. The quality of use or application comes when a sealant provides elasticity and a caulk ensures strong bond.
• Secure the product’s compatibility to seal and protect your boat or its parts against dirt and the adverse marine environment. Understanding whether these products fit for all hardware parts above or below the water lines, can help you make your choice. Also, know if these solutions work for fiberglass, plastic, metal, wood, and painted boats.

Hence, it is best to secure boat maintenance products that are flexible, waterproof, and chemical resistant that balance elasticity, compatibility. and ease of application.

Searching for the factors to consider, features, buyer guide, and common questions about these marine grade caulk and sealant products is challenging. But, you can find these factors to consider on our buyer’s guide to deal with issues on your boat or watercraft. Browse through the following series of reviews to choose the best underwater sealant and best marine caulk for your boat.

• Fast drying tack free
• Tough permanent bond
• Highly strong but flexible 

• Fast drying
• Easy to apply
• Provide waterproof bond

• Permanently seals
• Resistant to movements
• Extremely strong adhesive sealant

Table of Contents

1. 3M 3004.7747 Marine Adhesive Sealant Fast Cure

2. star brite marine silicone sealant, 3. 3m 5200 marine adhesive sealant, 4. loctite 2016891 pl marine fast cure adhesive sealant, 5. 3m 3004.7819 marine adhesive sealant fast cure, 6. better boat waterproof marine grade sealant and adhesive, 7. sika 90919 adhesive and sealant, 8. 3m mg sil marine grade silicone sealant, 9. shoreline marine goop marine, 10. dap 694 silicone rubber auto/ marine sealant, 11. travaco gluvit waterproof epoxy sealer, 12. boatlife 1033 life-calk sealant cartridge, 13. gorilla 8090001 clear silicone sealant, 14. totalboat seal marine sealant, factors to consider when choosing marine sealant and caulk, what is the difference between caulk and sealant, can you use caulk on a boat, how do i apply marine sealant, how long does it take for marine sealant to dry, is there a sealant that can be applied underwater, best marine sealant and caulk reviews.

Another best selling product from 3M, this fast cure marine adhesive sealant version of 5200 is packed in a 3-ounce tube. It is a one-component and gap-filling polyurethane that has a high-strength permanent bond for aluminum, fiberglass, gelcoat, and wood surfaces.

This is one of the best fiberglass sealers formulated to cure surfaces within a day or two. Its tough polymer substance interacts with moisture providing an elastic but strong bond that withstand movements and vibrations. I like how it preserves the permanent bond despite swelling, shrinking, and contractions on the surface. It really works well in all parts of the boat, from above the water lines to underwater.

The sealant is so amazing it dries tackfree in half a day. Polyurethane sealants that have strong bonds are hard to be this flexible. I used this fast cure sealant to maintain my boat’s durability for years, making it tough against extreme marine environments. I would recommend this product for sealing and caulking fiberglass boat seams, and other boat surfaces needing repair.

• Formulated as a fast cure version of the 3M 5200 marine adhesive sealant
• Highly strong but flexible polyurethane polymer sealant
• Tough permanent bond for aluminum, fiberglass, gelcoat and wood surfaces
• Fast drying tackfree in half a day and quick cure within a day or two
• Resilient sealant against vibrations, swelling, shrinking or contractions
• Requires storing the sealant in cool place or freezer to prevent it from hardening

One of the top-ranks in this list is a marine silicone sealant from Star Brite. It guarantees customer satisfaction as a waterproof, airtight, and marine-grade flexible sealant for use above and below the water lines.

This marine silicone caulk is compatible with boat surfaces like aluminum, metal, fiberglass, glass, wood, and some plastics. Since it provides waterproof and airtight bonds that are easy to remove when needed on applications above and below the waterline, it is considered one of the best sealants for deck hardwares. This boat sealant remains flexible without shrinking, cracking, and discoloring even under direct sunlight, hot weather, and harsh marine environments.

Despite offering the same high quality results as other high-priced silicone sealants, this product is reasonably affordable. Applying and drying the sealant would not take long as it can dry tack-free in about an hour or so. The curing time takes a day but it has kept my boat and the sealant’s color well enough for a surprise boat trip. I like its color options, which match my boat’s black and white color combinations.

• Easy to apply, remove and bonds well on aluminum, fiberglass, glass, metal, wood and plastics
• Fit for use above and below the waterline to provide waterproof and airtight bond
• Best for deck hardwares and resilient for direct sunlight, weathering, or solvents
• Fast drying with tack-free bond in one hour and cures within the day;
• Not suitable for use underwater for long periods of submission

The first bestseller on our review is the 3M marine adhesive sealant that is formulated for boats and RVs. It packs a 10 fluid ounces cartridge that is easy to apply without the need of mixing.

This adhesive can fix dents, cracks, and gaps on fiberglass, metal, and wooden surfaces. It is a flexible sealant with a permanent bond, working best as a fiberglass sealer for boats. This 3M sealant is effective below the waterline and on boat hull and deck seams, fitting, housing, and portholes. I used it to repair cracks on the deck, hull and stem joints of my boat and it delivered excellent results.

The boat sealant is so strong that it remained unchanged even after a week of curing time. I am amazed by how resilient it is when left under the direct heat of the sun or underwater. I would recommend this for boaters to seal and bond their exterior and interior fixtures. Its long lasting polyurethane polymer formulation is tough and resistant to adverse weather, saltwater, and marine environments.

• Flexible and compatible for fiberglass, metal and wood boat and RV surfaces
• Extremely strong adhesive sealant for above or below waterline applications
• Permanently seals and bonds exterior and interior mountings of boats and RVs
• Tough polyurethane sealant that is resistant to movements, direct sunlight, weathering, and saltwater
• Strong bonding elements not suitable for use on painted or plastic surfaces

This Loctite marine adhesive sealant is a fast cure polyether with watertight and flexible seals in 24-hours setting time. Using this moisture-resistant sealant above and below water lines is safe as it can also develop shrinkage-free when cured.

I would recommend this product for boaters who search for sealants that don’t discolor when exposed to direct sunlight. It does not use solvents, which prevents bubble formation and discoloration. I like how this sealant withstands the effects of freshwater, saltwater ,and other boating environments. I’ve used this fast-setting sealant on my deck fittings for years now.

I can attest to its reliability, especially on through-hull fastening, above the deck, and below the water line applications. What is really good about this product is its adhesion, which is as a strong marine grade caulking sealant. This is one of the sealants I have used that has a firm, watertight bond for single or multiple applications. The deck sections and leaked PVC pipes of my boat that I have fixed using this adhesive sealant are still in place.

• Handy and easy to use 10-ounce cartridge packaging for single or multiple applications
• Fast cure strong bond sealant with 24 hour setting time
• Delivers a watertight, flexible bond for above or below waterline applications
• Can be used to repair other materials like PVC pipes
• Apply the sealant wearing protective gears (long sleeves and gloves)

Another bestseller from 3M, the marine adhesive sealant fast cure 4200 is a flexible and semi-permanent sealant for boats and RVs. This handy product is the right choice when looking for fast curing mid-strong bonds for overboard and underwater boat repairs.

Polyurethane products stand out when choosing a life caulk vs 4200 sealants. It promises tough bonds that withstand varying marine environments. It has evidently helped me maintain my boat against external elements for several years now. Moreover, I have the option of using it on both dry and wet applications for my boat and other vehicles.

It’s not a surprise that most boaters favor this 3M 4200 vs 5200 sealant for its gently strong bond and fast curing attributes. It needs no mixing and sets fast within a day allowing you to be in the water the next day. It’s a flexible and strong sealant that will not peel off or crack despite movements or vibrations and prolonged use. This medium-strength adhesive sealant can be removed without damaging the bonded areas after prolonged use.

• Easy to apply straight without mixing and cures fast in 24 hours or less
• Effectively shields bonded joints, hardwares, and other areas of boats and RVs from external elements
• Highly durable polyurethane polymer formula that is weather and salt water resistant
• Flexible and medium-strength bond that does not crack or peel-off on vibrations, movements and prolonged use
• Can get messy when instructions for smooth applications are not followed

This top-rated brand, the Better Boat marine sealant and adhesive is a premium waterproof marine-grade formula for boats and RVs. It comes in a 10-ounce cartridge and has a strong adhesion suitable for below waterline applications.

Boaters highly favor this handy sealant for its reliable function of blocking leaks, fixing joints and seams of any watercraft. I believe in its waterproof features forg my boat’s bottom, deck and hull, as well as portholes and wind-shields. I think it can quickly set on aluminum, metals, ceramics, fiberglass, gel coat, glass, plastic, and wood. It adheres to these boat surfaces with flexible but strong permanent bonds to withstand movements or prolonged storage.

This USA-made sealant is helpful for my boat and RVs, making them more resistant to adverse marine and weather conditions. I feel safe when using this sealant to fix my boat prior to trips on rough and fast water currents. I am amazed as I can use its bonding efficacy anytime on my boat movements to fix dents and cracks.

• Premium waterproof marine-grade sealant for boats and RVs
• Highly suitable for use below waterline or submerged applications once cured and dry
• Sets faster on aluminum metals, ceramics, fiberglass, plastics and wood materials
• Exceptional quality that is proudly USA-made
• Needs to completely cure and dry before using it for prolonged submersion to water

This white adhesive and sealant from Sika is a marine-grade polyurethane elastomeric product in a 10-ounce cartridge. Boat owners use this for its fast cure time and one-component formulation that delivers effective and speedy applications.

I used this effective sealant to install poles and rails on my boat that withstand harmful saltwater effects. It’s a light-duty bond compatible with fiberglass, gel coats, glass, metal, and wood that you can replace after some time. This marine adhesive and sealant works better than a 3M 4000 vs 4200 sealant which is easily removed. It’s soft, durable, and flexible after drying it completely, which is also a good caulk for boat interiors.

The sealant is very sticky like glue so be extra careful in applying it. It’s a proudly USA-made elastomeric adhesive product that is quick to cure. It makes it easy for me when I’m in a hurry but I make sure to apply it carefully. I always use a caulk dispenser or a brush to apply the Sikaflex-291 sealant to get consistent high-quality results.

• Fast cure and effective sealant for above and below waterline applications on surfaces like fiberglass, gelcoats and many more
• High-quality USA-made product that withstands harmful saltwater effect
• Long lasting durability and sticky solution like glue that can stay intact for some time
• Approved for potable water (black and white colors) and incidental food contact
• Very sticky like glue, needs careful application to avoid mess

Another amazing product from 3M, the marine grade silicone sealant is formulated for boats and RVs. This silicone sealant comes in a 305-ml cartridge that is mildew resistant and effective for above waterline use.

This marine sealant is specially developed by 3M to be a tough and flexible silicone bond. It is effective for a wide range of above waterline applications for boats and RVs. The product can be applied straight from its container to the surface area that needs fixing. I love it because I do not need to mix it and thus can save more time.

I highly recommend this very versatile boat sealer that works on fiberglass, glass, metal, paint, wood and many more. Using it on your boat can help keep the watercraft look brand new and sharp. It provides a high-quality bond that is resistant to extreme temperatures, molds, mildew and prevents yellowing under UV rays.

• Specifically formulated tough and flexible marine silicone sealant with fast curing formulation
• Compatible for use with fiberglass, metal, glass, paint and other surfaces
• Easy to apply straight from the cartridge requiring no more mixing
• High-quality bond that is resistant to temperatures, molds, mildew, and discoloration
• Not fit for use on underwater applications lacking adhesion that it can easily peel off

This Shoreline Marine amazing GOOP marine sealant comes in a handy 3.7-ounce cartridge with a clear adhesive and sealant solution. The product is formulated with a super strength formula to repair, seal, and bond a wide range of boat surfaces.

The amazing GOOP formula can block leaks on a variety of marine and watercraft equipment. It can seal off diving masks, rafts,air-inflated mattresses, waders, and wet suits easily right from the tube-type cartridge. It is highly resistant to stress, weathering, and UV rays so it does not have tendencies to crack or collapse. I absolutely recommend this for boaters who are searching for a super strong formula.

You can safely use it on fabric, fiberglass, glass, laminate, metal, plastic, rubber, vinyl, wood, and other materials. This is so far the most versatile marine adhesive sealant I have used to maintain my boat and marine equipment. It worked well as a single-component marine adhesive that can stand against varying environments.

• Super strength formula designed to repair, seal and bond a wide range of boat surfaces.
• Compatible on a wide range of materials like fabric, glass, laminate and more
• Very tenacious compared to all purpose adhesive sealants
• Can withstand extreme weather and varying marine environments
• Hazy or cloudy color and not 100% clear like a silicon sealant as the label says

One of the bestsellers, the clear-colored silicone rubber auto/ marine sealant, is a long-lasting product manufactured in the United States. It is a 100% silicone rubber sealant and bond formula for automotive and marine repair and maintenance.

This product is easy to use, durable, and weatherproof so it will not crack or shrink under severe environments. It’s a flexible formulation that resists saltwater and freshwater effects, vibration, electrical noise, power surge, and other external elements. This silicone sealant is best used as a marine-grade caulk for boats, providing you the best maintenance companion for a wide array of automotive and marine applications.

The silicone rubber sealant is highly recommended to be part of the maintenance and repair kit of boat owners. It is also popular among do-it-yourselfers or DIY-ers. This product is used to fix many automotive fittings and parts and even on some truck maintenance. I can attest to this as I’ve used it on my boat trailer truck with no issues at all.

• The product is used for automotive and marine maintenance and repairs
• Heavy duty sealant that provides consistent adhesion while underwater
• Forms a strong waterproof seal once cured that withstand harmful saltwater effect
• Excellent adhesion and flexibility that will not crack or shrink under severe external environments
• Sealant can harden when the cap is not tightened or container is not sealed

The Marine-Tex waterproof epoxy sealer by Travaco is a marine-grade formula that seeks, fills, and seals leaks and cracks. Its Gluvit barrier coating seals and protects boat hulls, cabin, and decks while it flexes with the boat movements.

This marine-grade epoxy sealant has a remarkable goodwill with most boat owners by providing them with superior curing features. It is effective on various surfaces like wood, aluminum, steel, and fiberglass parts of a boat. I love how this best marine sealer did great with aluminum boats. The epoxy sealer helped me seal-off my aged aluminum boat and made it appear brand new after a few decades.

I’m impressed by how it seals every hairline crack, pinhole, and minor dents on my aging boat. Even hidden cracks and tiny holes can not escape its superior curing and sealing features. It is highly resistant to corrosion and prevents mold and mildew buildups and other marine hazards. Its protective coating also flexes with the movements of my boat to do a complete sealing.

• Marine-grade waterproof epoxy sealant that fills and seals minor and hidden dents, cracks and pinholes
• Seeks, fill and seal-off leaks on aluminum, steel, fiberglass, and wooden surfaces, etc
• Resists corrosion and prevents mold and mildew buildup
• Flexes with movements of the boat
• Sealant dries quickly, requiring agile application

This BoatLIFE Life-Calk sealant cartridge is packed in a handy container that can be applied right away. It has a white-color long lasting solution that is designed to be a permanently flexible marine sealant.

The Life-Calk sealant can be sanded and painted for maximum shielding against the sun and other external elements. It can cure tack-free within one to three days while providing strong resistance against teak oil, diesel fuel, gasoline, and other petroleum-based fluids. This sealant can seal and protect decks and hull, hardwares, fittings, and underwater seams of a boat. You can also use it for emergency underwater repairs and damp surfaces.

It is the best for use above and below the waterline to bond fiberglass, metal, glass, and wood. Furthermore, it can withstand sunlight and does not change color. I used it on my boat deck a few years ago and it is still white until now. Once cured, it can turn into a firm but flexible rubber seal with high-quality waterproofing and adhesion.

• Contains more silicone that can be used for other purposes than a boat or watercraft
• Does not discolor when exposed to direct sunlight over time
• Best use for underwater sealing applications once completely cured and dry
• Long-lasting flexible polysulfide flexible marine sealant
• Not intended as a marine gasket sealer as it turns firm once cured

This bestseller, the Gorilla clear silicone sealant caulk is packed in a 2.8 ounce squeeze tube that works indoor and outdoor. It can work on almost everything: a boat, marine equipment, and household items making it incredibly versatile.

This product is a 100% silicone sealant that turns translucent after curing and drying. It is 100% waterproof so it works outdoors, indoors on household items, and almost everything without turning yellow, cracking, or shrinking. I used it to seal gaps and seams of my windows, floor edges, kitchen, bath, door, gutters, automobile, marine, and many more. It is mold and mildew resistant too.

The Gorilla sealant once cured is safe to touch. Hence, it can be used for food-contact surfaces like food trays, preparation areas, countertops, and canisters. It can safely seal food canisters without posing threat to food and other edible items. The sealant can incidentally come in contact with food but is considered food safe whenever it happens. So, this is something you would not have to worry about during your family boat trip.

• Incredibly flexible full silicone sealant that turns translucent clear when it cures
• Waterproof, suitable and safe for indoor, outdoor, household and food-contact purpose
• Mold and mildew resistant marine silicone sealant
• Highly durable that will not turn yellow, crack or shrink over time
• Not suitable as adhesive for long-term solution as it cannot hold spaces together

The last top-rated item on our list is this white colored TotalBoat seal marine sealant packed in a 10-ounce cartridge. It is best for boat hardwares with a fast curing elastomeric marine sealer to block and stop any leaks or cracks.

This marine sealant is UV stable so it can cure in the temperatures between-20°F to +120°F. It can be applied on a damped surface or wet sanded. It is best to be painted after curing for optimized shielding. In addition, this sealant works solidly on bedding hardware, windshields, and portholes of any boat or watercraft. The product can be applied easily using a standard caulk gun or a putty knife.

I always cautiously squeeze the substance from the tube just enough for a thin application but it often flows out non-stop. Good thing, it does not burst out to create more mess for me to clean up. To avoid this, make sure that you remove the cap slowly and squeeze the tube lightly with the cap ready near you. You can immediately put the cap back onto the container in case of incessant flows.

• Best use for boat hardware, windshields and portholes
• Easy to apply using the standard caulk gun or spread it with a putty knife
• Fast curing elastomeric marine sealer that seals leaks and cracks
• Easy to remove when need to replace the bonded area
• Careful applying the sealant straight from the container as it can get messy

The different types of marine sealant and caulk

Silicone, polysulfide, and polyurethane are the different marine sealant types, plus polyether, butyl, hybrid, and new epoxy variants. They offer tight bonding seals and block electrical noise or power surges. Here are a few details worth knowing about.

These are synthetic polymers and primary sealants for boats. Silicones may not be the best underwater silicone sealant and not a glue but are flexible to many plastics.

• Polysulfide

Polysulfides are synthetic rubbers resistant to heat, sunlight, chemicals, fuel, and oil corrosions. They can even be used as power insulators, vibration blockers, and cosmetic seals that copes movements and contractions like a boat life caulk.

• Polyurethane

These have superior fast cures that stand out among other types. They offer the best permanent bond for above or below waterline, underwater use, or under direct sunlight.

• Polyether and SMP

Polyether and Silane-modified polymers (SMP) offer good adhesion, are removable, and do not discolor under sunlight with cure times similar to polyurethane.

These appear like a tape, are non-messy, and contain no adhesion like chewing gums. It’s quick and easy to apply but remains for years and is hassle-free to remove when needed. They are not advised, however, for underwater boat caulking or sealing.

Hybrid combines all other elements to formulate special sealants by figuring out and strengthening the pros in the new blend. Like blending the heat-resistance of silicone with the toughness of polyurethanes to provide a better and moderate bonding strength.

• New Epoxy Variants

These are multi-functional adhesive sealants that cure materials exposed to excessive moisture. An example is the sikaflex marine sealant, which is a non-sag type of polyurethane-based epoxy. They are the best alternatives to semi-permanent flexible blends.

Benefits and drawbacks of using a marine sealant and caulk

Marine sealants take care of a boat’s life and function and have the following benefits and drawbacks:

• The best choice to keep a boat waterproof, airtight, and gain longer life span
• Saves money, time, and resources for boat repairs than hiring professionals
• Makes boats durable, sturdy, and resilient to external and marine environment damages.
• Easy-to-use protection for a boat that is available at the nearest store or home depot.

Disadvantage

• Confusing variants to choose from among leading marine sealants for different boat surfaces

Buyer’s Guide for the marine sealant and caulk

The terms sealant or caulk are interchangeable but they differ on some qualities:

• Purpose of Use

Know your intended purpose of using the sealant and identify which one is appropriate to which surface. Reading the sealant’s label, understanding its attributes and how it works to achieve best results is important.

• Formulation Performance

The sealant’s overall performance depends on its formulation to provide a durable and elastic bond for the needed cure. Each product is formulated for permanent results or temporary bonds to ease future use.

• Flexibility Attributes

Boat owners favor marine sealants that are elastic, waterproof, and airtight despite movements, contractions, expansions, vibrations, and extreme external elements. These are flexible qualities every best marine sealant and caulk should have. Serving a variety of purposes and leaving an appearance that does not brittle, discolor, or turn to yellow over time is also critical.

• Application Method

Users favor a sealant or caulk that is easy to apply and tighten the bond within gaps. It needs planning to ease the preparation work, application, cleaning, and compressing the seals. Be sure to clean any dirt off the surface, dry it, and mask the edges for good application.

• Curing Time

It varies between marine caulking vs silicone and other types but it generally takes from t 5 to 7 days or 10 to 20 days. Plan your boat trips ahead to use the boat without conflicting with the curing period. However, air moisture on decks or water mists may help cure faster for polysulfide or polyurethane sealants.

• Tidying to Stay Neat

Mask the edges when applying sealants and use caulking tools to remove excess beads to be tidy and appear professional. Use appropriate cleaners for a dry clean surface before and after the application to stay neat.

Care and maintenance

Apply the sealants slowly but surely on specific areas of your boat following their intended use. Carefully read product labels when using sealants that create permanent and strong bonds, such as the polyurethanes. Always keep your marine sealant near you for ease of access

Though “caulk” and “sealant” are interchangeably used for filling spaces, joints, and seams, they do differ slightly. Elasticity makes each sealant different in holding up or stretching with frequent movements or external pressures. On the other hand, the caulk once dried appears more firm and inelastic than sealants to elongate the bonding effect.

Boat caulking helps hardwares above the deck and serves as marine sealant below waterline. The right marine caulking sealant relieves challenging work on a boat. The silicone blends and new epoxy types work for plastic and painted surfaces and above the waterline. Polyurethanes like those listed in a 3m marine sealant chart are effective for above and below water line applications. The polysulfide caulk types on the other hand are suitable for underwater or below water lines.

Applying the marine sealant depends entirely on the intended purpose and type of material to fix. For applications below or above the waterline, choose between a silicone, polyurethane, or polysulfide sealant that fits the need. Avoid the use of water-absorbing sealants for underwater applications as they are unsuitable for long periods of water submersion.

Any marine silicone sealant can take 24 hours more or less to complete its drying and curing stages. They can be safely exposed to water, moisture, and other marine conditions of normal use after they are completely cured.

Look for waterproof silicone sealant underwater types on these reviews. They are flexible and tough while working fine underwater, such as the loctite marine sealant vs 4200 mentioned above. They are leak-resistant below waterline sealant that you can mix and apply to cure submerged boat sections.

These best marine sealant and caulk products we have laid down are your optimal solutions. Their essential factors, features, types, benefits, buyer guides, and other details will help you make a smart choice. Numerous bestselling marine sealants and caulks are provided in the market for a specific purpose. Understanding their materials or properties, surface to bond, and application method influence the type of marine sealant you’ll choose.

This series of reviews, however, make you diligent enough to use the right one while enjoying a quality boating time. Gain the maximum benefits of cost efficiency, tightness or elasticity of bonding results that these products can provide you. Cease the search for the marine calking formula and use this bestsellers list to ease your active life. It is your ticket for the best buy to extend your boat’s lifespan.

“I am James Harvey – founder of Boating Basics Online. It is established with the drive to help out first-time boaters, which are those desiring to explore their way through the water. So if you are new to boating, start from here with me. “

• Yachting World
• Digital Edition

43 of the best bluewater sailboat designs of all time

• January 5, 2022

How do you choose the right yacht for you? We highlight the very best bluewater sailboat designs for every type of cruising

Which yacht is the best for bluewater boating? This question generates even more debate among sailors than questions about what’s the coolest yacht , or the best for racing. Whereas racing designs are measured against each other, cruising sailors get very limited opportunities to experience different yachts in real oceangoing conditions, so what is the best bluewater sailboat?

Here, we bring you our top choices from decades of designs and launches. Over the years, the Yachting World team has sailed these boats, tested them or judged them for European Yacht of the Year awards, and we have sifted through the many to curate a selection that we believe should be on your wishlist.

Making the right choice may come down to how you foresee your yacht being used after it has crossed an ocean or completed a passage: will you be living at anchor or cruising along the coast? If so, your guiding requirements will be space, cabin size, ease of launching a tender and anchoring closer to shore, and whether it can comfortably accommodate non-expert-sailor guests.

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All of these considerations have generated the inexorable rise of the bluewater catamaran – monohulls can’t easily compete on these points. We have a full separate feature on the best bluewater multihulls of all time and here we mostly focus on monohulls. The only exceptions to that rule are two multihulls which made it into our best bluewater sailboats of 2022 list.

As so much of making the right choice is selecting the right boat for the venture in mind, we have separated out our edit into categories: best for comfort; for families; for performance; and for expedition or high latitudes sailing .

Best bluewater sailboats of 2022

The new flagship Allures 51.9, for example, is a no-nonsense adventure cruising design built and finished to a high standard. It retains Allures’ niche of using aluminium hulls with glassfibre decks and superstructures, which, the yard maintains, gives the optimum combination of least maintenance and less weight higher up. Priorities for this design were a full beam aft cabin and a spacious, long cockpit. Both are excellent, with the latter, at 6m long, offering formidable social, sailing and aft deck zones.

It likes some breeze to come to life on the wheel, but I appreciate that it’s designed to take up to five tonnes payload. And I like the ease with which you can change gears using the furling headsails and the positioning of the powerful Andersen winches inboard. The arch is standard and comes with a textile sprayhood or hard bimini.

Below decks you’ll find abundant headroom and natural light, a deep U-shape galley and cavernous stowage. For those who like the layout of the Amel 50 but would prefer aluminium or shoal draught, look no further.

Allures 51.9 price: €766,000

The Ovni 370 is another cunning new aluminum centreboard offering, a true deck saloon cruiser for two. The designers say the biggest challenge was to create a Category A ocean going yacht at this size with a lifting keel, hence the hull had to be very stable.

Enjoyable to helm, it has a practical, deep cockpit behind a large sprayhood, which can link to the bimini on the arch. Many of its most appealing features lie in the bright, light, contemporary, clever, voluminous interior, which has good stowage and tankage allocation. There’s also a practical navstation, a large workroom and a vast separate shower. I particularly like the convertible saloom, which can double as a large secure daybed or pilot berth.

Potentially the least expensive Category A lift keel boat available, the Ovni will get you dreaming of remote places again.

Ovni 370 price: €282,080

There’s no shortage of spirit in the Windelo 50. We gave this a sustainability award after it’s founders spent two years researching environmentally-friendly composite materials, developing an eco-composite of basalt fibre and recycled PET foam so it could build boats that halve the environmental impact of standard glassfibre yachts.

The Windelo 50 is an intriguing package – from the styling, modular interior and novel layout to the solar field on the roof and the standard electric propulsion, it is completely fresh.

Windelo 50 price: €795,000

Best bluewater sailboat of 2022 – Outremer 55

I would argue that this is the most successful new production yacht on the market. Well over 50 have already sold (an equipped model typically costs €1.6m) – and I can understand why. After all, were money no object, I had this design earmarked as the new yacht I would most likely choose for a world trip.

Indeed 55 number one Sanya, was fully equipped for a family’s world cruise, and left during our stay for the Grand Large Odyssey tour. Whereas we sailed Magic Kili, which was tricked up with performance options, including foam-cored deckheads and supports, carbon crossbeam and bulkheads, and synthetic rigging.

At rest, these are enticing space ships. Taking one out to sea is another matter though. These are speed machines with the size, scale and loads to be rightly weary of. Last month Nikki Henderson wrote a feature for us about how to manage a new breed of performance cruising cats just like this and how she coaches new owners. I could not think of wiser money spent for those who do not have ample multihull sailing experience.

Under sail, the most fun was obviously reserved for the reaching leg under asymmetric, where we clocked between 11-16 knots in 15-16 knots wind. But it was the stability and of those sustained low teen speeds which really hit home  – passagemaking where you really cover miles.

Key features include the swing helms, which give you views from outboard, over the coachroof or from a protected position in the cockpit through the coachroof windows, and the vast island in the galley, which is key to an open plan main living area. It helps provide cavernous stowage and acts as the heart of the entertaining space as it would in a modern home. As Danish judge Morten Brandt-Rasmussen comments: “Apart from being the TGV of ocean passages the boat offers the most spacious, open and best integration of the cockpit and salon areas in the market.”

Outremer has done a top job in packing in the creature comforts, stowage space and payload capacity, while keeping it light enough to eat miles. Although a lot to absorb and handle, the 55 offers a formidable blend of speed and luxury cruising.

Outremer 55 price: €1.35m

Best bluewater sailboats for comfort

This is the successor to the legendary Super Maramu, a ketch design that for several decades defined easy downwind handling and fostered a cult following for the French yard. Nearly a decade old, the Amel 55 is the bridge between those world-girdling stalwarts and Amel’s more recent and totally re-imagined sloop designs, the Amel 50 and 60.

The 55 boasts all the serious features Amel aficionados loved and valued: a skeg-hung rudder, solidly built hull, watertight bulkheads, solid guardrails and rampart bulwarks. And, most noticeable, the solid doghouse in which the helmsman sits in perfect shelter at the wheel.

This is a design to live on comfortably for long periods and the list of standard features just goes on and on: passarelle; proper sea berths with lee cloths; electric furling main and genoa; and a multitude of practical items that go right down to a dishwasher and crockery.

There’s no getting around the fact these designs do look rather dated now, and through the development of easier sail handling systems the ketch rig has fallen out of fashion, but the Amel is nothing short of a phenomenon, and if you’ve never even peeked on board one, you really have missed a treat.

Photo: Sander van der Borch

Contest 50CS

A centre cockpit cruiser with true longevity, the Contest 50CS was launched by Conyplex back in 2003 and is still being built by the family-owned Dutch company, now in updated and restyled form.

With a fully balanced rudder, large wheel and modern underwater sections, the Contest 50CS is a surprisingly good performer for a boat that has a dry weight of 17.5 tonnes. Many were fitted with in-mast furling, which clearly curtails that performance, but even without, this boat is set up for a small crew.

Electric winches and mainsheet traveller are all easy to reach from the helm. On our test of the Contest 50CS, we saw for ourselves how two people can gybe downwind under spinnaker without undue drama. Upwind, a 105% genoa is so easy to tack it flatters even the weediest crewmember.

Down below, the finish level of the joinery work is up there among the best and the interior is full of clever touches, again updated and modernised since the early models. Never the cheapest bluewater sailing yacht around, the Contest 50CS has remained in demand as a brokerage buy. She is a reassuringly sure-footed, easily handled, very well built yacht that for all those reasons has stood the test of time.

This is a yacht that would be well capable of helping you extend your cruising grounds, almost without realising it.

Read more about the Contest 50CS and the new Contest 49CS

Photo: Rick Tomlinson

Hallberg-Rassy 48 Mk II

For many, the Swedish Hallberg-Rassy yard makes the quintessential bluewater cruiser for couples. With their distinctive blue cove line, these designs are famous for their seakindly behaviour, solid-as-a-rock build and beautifully finished, traditional interiors.

To some eyes, Hallberg-Rassys aren’t quite cool enough, but it’s been company owner Magnus Rassy’s confidence in the formula and belief in incremental ‘step-by-step’ evolution that has been such an exceptional guarantor of reliable quality, reputation and resale value.

The centre cockpit Hallberg-Rassy 48 epitomises the concept of comfort at sea and, like all the Frers-designed Hallberg-Rassys since the 1990s, is surprisingly fleet upwind as well as steady downwind. The 48 is perfectly able to be handled by a couple (as we found a few years back in the Pacific), and could with no great effort crack out 200-mile days.

The Hallberg-Rassy 48 was launched nearly a decade ago, but the Mk II from 2014 is our pick, updated with a more modern profile, larger windows and hull portlights that flood the saloon and aft cabin with light. With a large chart table, secure linear galley, heaps of stowage and space for bluewater extras such as machinery and gear, this yacht pretty much ticks all the boxes.

Discovery 55

First launched in 2000, the Discovery 55 has stood the test of time. Designed by Ron Holland, it hit a sweet spot in size that appealed to couples and families with world girdling plans.

Elegantly styled and well balanced, the 55 is also a practical design, with a deep and secure cockpit, comfortable seating, a self-tacking jib, dedicated stowage for the liferaft , a decent sugar scoop transom that’s useful for swimming or dinghy access, and very comfortable accommodation below. In short, it is a design that has been well thought out by those who’ve been there, got the bruises, stubbed their toes and vowed to change things in the future if they ever got the chance.

Throughout the accommodation there are plenty of examples of good detailing, from the proliferation of handholds and grabrails, to deep sinks in the galley offering immediate stowage when under way and the stand up/sit down showers. Stowage is good, too, with plenty of sensibly sized lockers in easily accessible positions.

The Discovery 55 has practical ideas and nifty details aplenty. She’s not, and never was, a breakthrough in modern luxury cruising but she is pretty, comfortable to sail and live on, and well mannered.

Photo: Latitudes Picture Library

You can’t get much more Cornish than a Rustler. The hulls of this Stephen Jones design are hand-moulded and fitted out in Falmouth – and few are more ruggedly built than this traditional, up-for-anything offshore cruiser.

She boasts an encapsulated lead keel, eliminating keel bolts and creating a sump for generous fuel and water tankage, while a chunky skeg protects the rudder. She is designed for good directional stability and load carrying ability. These are all features that lend this yacht confidence as it shoulders aside the rough stuff.

Most of those built have had a cutter rig, a flexible arrangement that makes sense for long passages in all sea and weather conditions. Down below, the galley and saloon berths are comfortable and sensible for living in port and at sea, with joinery that Rustler’s builders are rightly proud of.

As modern yachts have got wider, higher and fatter, the Rustler 42 is an exception. This is an exceptionally well-mannered seagoing yacht in the traditional vein, with elegant lines and pleasing overhangs, yet also surprisingly powerful. And although now over 20 years old, timeless looks and qualities mean this design makes her look ever more like a perennial, a modern classic.

The definitive crossover size, the point at which a yacht can be handled by a couple but is just large enough to have a professional skipper and be chartered, sits at around the 60ft mark. At 58ft 8in, the Oyster 575 fitted perfectly into this growing market when launched in 2010. It went on to be one of the most popular models from the yard, and is only now being superseded by the newer Rob Humphreys-designed Oyster 565 (just launched this spring).

Built in various configurations with either a deep keel, shoal draught keel or centreboard with twin rudders, owners could trade off better performance against easy access to shallower coves and anchorages. The deep-bodied hull, also by Rob Humphreys, is known for its easy motion at sea.

Some of the Oyster 575’s best features include its hallmark coachroof windows style and centre cockpit – almost everyone will know at first glance this is an Oyster – and superb interior finish. If she has a flaw, it is arguably the high cockpit, but the flip side is the galley headroom and passageway berth to the large aft stateroom.

This design also has a host of practical features for long-distance cruising, such as high guardrails, dedicated liferaft stowage, a vast lazarette for swallowing sails, tender, fenders etc, and a penthouse engine room.

Privilege Serie 5

A true luxury catamaran which, fully fitted out, will top €1m, this deserves to be seen alongside the likes of the Oyster 575, Gunfleet 58 and Hallberg-Rassy 55. It boasts a large cockpit and living area, and a light and spacious saloon with an emphasis on indoor-outdoor living, masses of refrigeration and a big galley.

Standout features are finish quality and solid build in a yacht designed to take a high payload, a secure walkaround deck and all-round views from the helm station. The new Privilege 510 that will replace this launches in February 2020.

Gunfleet 43

It was with this Tony Castro design that Richard Matthews, founder of Oyster Yachts, launched a brand new rival brand in 2012, the smallest of a range stretching to the flagship Gunfleet 74. The combination of short overhangs and centre cockpit at this size do make the Gunfleet 43 look modern if a little boxy, but time and subsequent design trends have been kind to her lines, and the build quality is excellent. The saloon, galley and aft cabin space is exceptional on a yacht of this size.

Photo: David Harding

Conceived as a belt-and-braces cruiser, the Kraken 50 launched last year. Its unique points lie underwater in the guise of a full skeg-hung rudder and so-called ‘Zero Keel’, an encapsulated long keel with lead ballast.

Kraken Yachts is the brainchild of British businessman and highly experienced cruiser Dick Beaumont, who is adamant that safety should be foremost in cruising yacht design and build. “There is no such thing as ‘one yacht for all purposes’… You cannot have the best of all worlds, whatever the salesman tells you,” he says.

Read our full review of the Kraken 50 .

Wauquiez Centurion 57

Few yachts can claim to be both an exciting Med-style design and a serious and practical northern European offshore cruiser, but the Wauquiez Centurion 57 tries to blend both. She slightly misses if you judge solely by either criterion, but is pretty and practical enough to suit her purpose.

A very pleasant, well-considered yacht, she is impressively built and finished with a warm and comfortable interior. More versatile than radical, she could be used for sailing across the Atlantic in comfort and raced with equal enjoyment at Antigua Sailing Week .

A modern classic if ever there was one. A medium to heavy displacement yacht, stiff and easily capable of standing up to her canvas. Pretty, traditional lines and layout below.

Photo: Voyage of Swell

Well-proven US legacy design dating back to the mid-1960s that once conquered the Transpac Race . Still admired as pretty, with slight spoon bow and overhanging transom.

Capable medium displacement cruiser, ideal size and good accommodation for couples or family cruising, and much less costly than similar luxury brands.

Photo: Peter Szamer

Swedish-built aft cockpit cruiser, smaller than many here, but a well-built and finished, super-durable pocket ocean cruiser.

Tartan 3700

Designed as a performance cruiser there are nimbler alternatives now, but this is still an extremely pretty yacht.

Broker ’ s choice

Discovery 55 Brizo

This yacht has already circumnavigated the globe and is ‘prepared for her next adventure,’ says broker Berthon. Price: £535,000 + VAT

Oyster 575 Ayesha

‘Stunning, and perfectly equipped for bluewater cruising,’ says broker Ancasta International. Price: £845,000 (tax not paid)

Oyster 575 Pearls of Nautilus

Nearly new and with a high spec, this Oyster Brokerage yacht features American white oak joinery and white leather upholstery and has a shoal draught keel. Price: $1.49m

Best bluewater yachts for performance

The Frers-designed Swan 54 may not be the newest hull shape but heralded Swan’s latest generation of displacement bluewater cruisers when launched four years ago. With raked stem, deep V hull form, lower freeboard and slight curve to the topsides she has a more timeless aesthetic than many modern slab-sided high volume yachts, and with that a seakindly motion in waves. If you plan to cover many miles to weather, this is probably the yacht you want to be on.

Photo: Carlo Borlenghi

Besides Swan’s superlative build quality, the 54 brings many true bluewater features, including a dedicated sail locker. There’s also a cockpit locker that functions as a utility cabin, with potential to hold your generator and washing machine, or be a workshop space.

The sloping transom opens out to reveal a 2.5m bathing platform, and although the cabins are not huge there is copious stowage space. Down below the top-notch oak joinery is well thought through with deep fiddles, and there is a substantial nav station. But the Swan 54 wins for handling above all, with well laid-out sail controls that can be easily managed between a couple, while offering real sailing enjoyment to the helmsman.

Photo: Graham Snook

The Performance Cruiser winner at the 2019 European Yacht of the Year awards, the Arcona 435 is all about the sailing experience. She has genuine potential as a cruiser-racer, but her strengths are as an enjoyable cruiser rather than a full-blown liveaboard bluewater boat.

Build quality is excellent, there is the option of a carbon hull and deck, and elegant lines and a plumb bow give the Arcona 435 good looks as well as excellent performance in light airs. Besides slick sail handling systems, there are well thought-out features for cruising, such as ample built-in rope bins and an optional semi-closed stern with stowage and swim platform.

Outremer 51

If you want the space and stability of a cat but still prioritise sailing performance, Outremer has built a reputation on building catamarans with true bluewater characteristics that have cruised the planet for the past 30 years.

Lighter and slimmer-hulled than most cruising cats, the Outremer 51 is all about sailing at faster speeds, more easily. The lower volume hulls and higher bridgedeck make for a better motion in waves, while owners report that being able to maintain a decent pace even under reduced canvas makes for stress-free passages. Deep daggerboards also give good upwind performance.

With bucket seats and tiller steering options, the Outremer 51 rewards sailors who want to spend time steering, while they’re famously well set up for handling with one person on deck. The compromise comes with the interior space – even with a relatively minimalist style, there is less cabin space and stowage volume than on the bulkier cats, but the Outremer 51 still packs in plenty of practical features.

The Xc45 was the first cruising yacht X-Yachts ever built, and designed to give the same X-Yachts sailing experience for sailors who’d spent years racing 30/40-footer X- and IMX designs, but in a cruising package.

Launched over 10 years ago, the Xc45 has been revisited a few times to increase the stowage and modernise some of the styling, but the key features remain the same, including substantial tanks set low for a low centre of gravity, and X-Yachts’ trademark steel keel grid structure. She has fairly traditional styling and layout, matched with solid build quality.

A soft bilge and V-shaped hull gives a kindly motion in waves, and the cockpit is secure, if narrow by modern standards.

A three or four cabin catamaran that’s fleet of foot with high bridgedeck clearance for comfortable motion at sea. With tall daggerboards and carbon construction in some high load areas, Catana cats are light and quick to accelerate.

Sweden Yachts 45

An established bluewater design that also features in plenty of offshore races. Some examples are specced with carbon rig and retractable bowsprits. All have a self-tacking jib for ease. Expect sweeping areas of teak above decks and a traditionally wooded interior with hanging wet locker.

A vintage performer, first launched in 1981, the 51 was the first Frers-designed Swan and marked a new era of iconic cruiser-racers. Some 36 of the Swan 51 were built, many still actively racing and cruising nearly 40 years on. Classic lines and a split cockpit make this a boat for helming, not sunbathing.

Photo: Julien Girardot / EYOTY

The JPK 45 comes from a French racing stable, combining race-winning design heritage with cruising amenities. What you see is what you get – there are no superfluous headliners or floorboards, but there are plenty of ocean sailing details, like inboard winches for safe trimming. The JPK 45 also has a brilliantly designed cockpit with an optional doghouse creating all-weather shelter, twin wheels and superb clutch and rope bin arrangement.

Photo: Andreas Lindlahr

For sailors who don’t mind exchanging a few creature comforts for downwind planing performance, the Pogo 50 offers double-digit surfing speeds for exhilarating tradewind sailing. There’s an open transom, tiller steering and no backstay or runners. The Pogo 50 also has a swing keel, to nose into shallow anchorages.

Seawind 1600

Seawinds are relatively unknown in Europe, but these bluewater cats are very popular in Australia. As would be expected from a Reichel-Pugh design, this 52-footer combines striking good looks and high performance, with fine entry bows and comparatively low freeboard. Rudders are foam cored lifting designs in cassettes, which offer straightforward access in case of repairs, while daggerboards are housed under the deck.

Best bluewater sailboats for families

It’s unsurprising that, for many families, it’s a catamaran that meets their requirements best of increased space – both living space and separate cabins for privacy-seeking teenagers, additional crew or visiting family – as well as stable and predictable handling.

Photo: Nicholas Claris

Undoubtedly one of the biggest success stories has been the Lagoon 450, which, together with boats like the Fountaine Pajot 44, helped drive up the popularity of catamaran cruising by making it affordable and accessible. They have sold in huge numbers – over 1,000 Lagoon 450s have been built since its launch in 2010.

The VPLP-designed 450 was originally launched with a flybridge with a near central helming position and upper level lounging areas (450F). The later ‘sport top’ option (450S) offered a starboard helm station and lower boom (and hence lower centre of gravity for reduced pitching). The 450S also gained a hull chine to create additional volume above the waterline. The Lagoon features forward lounging and aft cockpit areas for additional outdoor living space.

Besides being a big hit among charter operators, Lagoons have proven themselves over thousands of bluewater miles – there were seven Lagoon 450s in last year’s ARC alone. In what remains a competitive sector of the market, Lagoon has recently launched a new 46, with a larger self-tacking jib and mast moved aft, and more lounging areas.

Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget

Fountaine Pajot Helia 44

The FP Helia 44 is lighter, lower volume, and has a lower freeboard than the Lagoon, weighing in at 10.8 tonnes unloaded (compared to 15 for the 450). The helm station is on a mezzanine level two steps up from the bridgedeck, with a bench seat behind. A later ‘Evolution’ version was designed for liveaboard cruisers, featuring beefed up dinghy davits and an improved saloon space.

Available in three or four cabin layouts, the Helia 44 was also popular with charter owners as well as families. The new 45 promises additional volume, and an optional hydraulically lowered ‘beach club’ swim platform.

Photo: Arnaud De Buyzer / graphikup.com

The French RM 1370 might be less well known than the big brand names, but offers something a little bit different for anyone who wants a relatively voluminous cruising yacht. Designed by Marc Lombard, and beautifully built from plywood/epoxy, the RM is stiff and responsive, and sails superbly.

The RM yachts have a more individual look – in part down to the painted finish, which encourages many owners to personalise their yachts, but also thanks to their distinctive lines with reverse sheer and dreadnought bow. The cockpit is well laid out with the primary winches inboard for a secure trimming position. The interior is light, airy and modern, although the open transom won’t appeal to everyone.

For those wanting a monohull, the Hanse 575 hits a similar sweet spot to the popular multis, maximising accommodation for a realistic price, yet with responsive performance.

The Hanse offers a vast amount of living space thanks to the ‘loft design’ concept of having all the living areas on a single level, which gives a real feeling of spaciousness with no raised saloon or steps to accommodation. The trade-off for such lofty head height is a substantial freeboard – it towers above the pontoon, while, below, a stepladder is provided to reach some hatches.

Galley options include drawer fridge-freezers, microwave and coffee machine, and the full size nav station can double up as an office or study space.

But while the Hanse 575 is a seriously large boat, its popularity is also down to the fact that it is genuinely able to be handled by a couple. It was innovative in its deck layout: with a self-tacking jib and mainsheet winches immediately to hand next to the helm, one person could both steer and trim.

Direct steering gives a feeling of control and some tangible sailing fun, while the waterline length makes for rapid passage times. In 2016 the German yard launched the newer Hanse 588 model, having already sold 175 of the 575s in just four years.

Photo: Bertel Kolthof

Jeanneau 54

Jeanneau leads the way among production builders for versatile all-rounder yachts that balance sail performance and handling, ergonomics, liveaboard functionality and good looks. The Jeanneau 54 , part of the range designed by Philippe Briand with interior by Andrew Winch, melds the best of the larger and smaller models and is available in a vast array of layout options from two cabins/two heads right up to five cabins and three heads.

We’ve tested the Jeanneau 54 in a gale and very light winds, and it acquitted itself handsomely in both extremes. The primary and mainsheet winches are to hand next to the wheel, and the cockpit is spacious, protected and child-friendly. An electric folding swim and sun deck makes for quick fun in the water.

Nautitech Open 46

This was the first Nautitech catamaran to be built under the ownership of Bavaria, designed with an open-plan bridgedeck and cockpit for free-flowing living space. But with good pace for eating up bluewater miles, and aft twin helms rather than a flybridge, the Nautitech Open 46 also appeals to monohull sailors who prefer a more direct sailing experience.

Made by Robertson and Caine, who produce catamarans under a dual identity as both Leopard and the Sunsail/Moorings charter cats, the Leopard 45 is set to be another big seller. Reflecting its charter DNA, the Leopard 45 is voluminous, with stepped hulls for reduced waterline, and a separate forward cockpit.

Built in South Africa, they are robustly tested off the Cape and constructed ruggedly enough to handle heavy weather sailing as well as the demands of chartering.

Photo: Olivier Blanchet

If space is king then three hulls might be even better than two. The Neel 51 is rare as a cruising trimaran with enough space for proper liveaboard sailing. The galley and saloon are in the large central hull, together with an owner’s cabin on one level for a unique sensation of living above the water. Guest or family cabins lie in the outer hulls for privacy and there is a cavernous full height engine room under the cabin sole.

Performance is notably higher than an equivalent cruising cat, particularly in light winds, with a single rudder giving a truly direct feel in the helm, although manoeuvring a 50ft trimaran may daunt many sailors.

Beneteau Oceanis 46.1

A brilliant new model from Beneteau, this Finot Conq design has a modern stepped hull, which offers exhilarating and confidence-inspiring handling in big breezes, and slippery performance in lighter winds.

The Beneteau Oceanis 46.1 was the standout performer at this year’s European Yacht of the Year awards, and, in replacing the popular Oceanis 45, looks set to be another bestseller. Interior space is well used with a double island berth in the forepeak. An additional inboard unit creates a secure galley area, but tank capacity is moderate for long periods aboard.

Beneteau Oceanis 473

A popular model that offers beam and height in a functional layout, although, as with many boats of this age (she was launched in 2002), the mainsheet is not within reach of the helmsman.

Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 49

The Philippe Briand-designed Sun Odyssey range has a solid reputation as family production cruisers. Like the 473, the Sun Odyssey 49 was popular for charter so there are plenty of four-cabin models on the market.

Nautitech 441

The hull design dates back to 1995, but was relaunched in 2012. Though the saloon interior has dated, the 441 has solid practical features, such as a rainwater run-off collection gutter around the coachroof.

Atlantic 42

Chris White-designed cats feature a pilothouse and forward waist-high working cockpit with helm position, as well as an inside wheel at the nav station. The Atlantic 42 offers limited accommodation by modern cat standards but a very different sailing experience.

Best bluewater sailing yachts for expeditions

Bestevaer 56.

All of the yachts in our ‘expedition’ category are aluminium-hulled designs suitable for high latitude sailing, and all are exceptional yachts. But the Bestevaer 56 is a spectacular amount of boat to take on a true adventure. Each Bestevaer is a near-custom build with plenty of bespoke options for owners to customise the layout and where they fall on the scale of rugged off-grid adventurer to 4×4-style luxury fit out.

The Bestevaer range began when renowned naval architect Gerard Dijkstra chose to design his own personal yacht for liveaboard adventure cruising, a 53-footer. The concept drew plenty of interest from bluewater sailors wanting to make longer expeditions and Bestevaers are now available in a range of sizes, with the 56-footer proving a popular mid-range length.

The well-known Bestevaer 56 Tranquilo  (pictured above) has a deep, secure cockpit, voluminous tanks (700lt water and over 1,100lt fuel) and a lifting keel plus water ballast, with classically styled teak clad decks and pilot house. Other owners have opted for functional bare aluminium hull and deck, some choose a doghouse and others a pilothouse.

Photo: Jean-Marie Liot

The Boreal 52 also offers Land Rover-esque practicality, with utilitarian bare aluminium hulls and a distinctive double-level doghouse/coachroof arrangement for added protection in all weathers. The cockpit is clean and uncluttered, thanks to the mainsheet position on top of the doghouse, although for visibility in close manoeuvring the helmsman will want to step up onto the aft deck.

Twin daggerboards, a lifting centreboard and long skeg on which she can settle make this a true go-anywhere expedition yacht. The metres of chain required for adventurous anchoring is stowed in a special locker by the mast to keep the weight central. Down below has been thought through with equally practical touches, including plenty of bracing points and lighting that switches on to red light first to protect your night vision.

Photo: Morris Adant / Garcia Yachts

Garcia Exploration 45

The Garcia Exploration 45 comes with real experience behind her – she was created in association with Jimmy Cornell, based on his many hundreds of thousands of miles of bluewater cruising, to go anywhere from high latitudes to the tropics.

Arguably less of a looker than the Bestevaer, the Garcia Exploration 45 features a rounded aluminium hull, centreboard with deep skeg and twin daggerboards. The considerable anchor chain weight has again been brought aft, this time via a special conduit to a watertight locker in front of the centreboard.

This is a yacht designed to be lived on for extended periods with ample storage, and panoramic portlights to give a near 360° view of whichever extraordinary landscape you are exploring. Safety features include a watertight companionway door to keep extreme weather out and through-hull fittings placed above the waterline. When former Vendée Globe skipper Pete Goss went cruising , this was the boat he chose to do it in.

Photo: svnaima.com

A truly well-proven expedition design, some 1,500 Ovnis have been built and many sailed to some of the most far-flung corners of the world. (Jimmy Cornell sailed his Aventura some 30,000 miles, including two Drake Passage crossings, one in 50 knots of wind).

Futuna Exploration 54

Another aluminium design with a swinging centreboard and a solid enclosed pilothouse with protected cockpit area. There’s a chunky bowsprit and substantial transom arch to house all manner of electronics and power generation.

Previous boats have been spec’d for North West Passage crossings with additional heating and engine power, although there’s a carbon rig option for those that want a touch of the black stuff. The tanks are capacious, with 1,000lt capability for both fresh water and fuel.

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The Definitive Guide to Sailboat Hull Types

If you’ve ever been on a sailboat or any kind of boat, one of the first parts of the boat you saw was its hull and you might not have even known it.

Simply put, the hull is the bottom part of a boat that rides in and on top of the water. When a sailboat is underwater, it’s accompanied by the keel and the rudder.

Just like knowing the different types of sails , knowing the hull type on your sailboat means you’ll have a better understanding of how your boat operates while it’s out on the water.

All in all, the hull of any boat is meant to keep the boat afloat and to ensure minimum resistance against the water while being propelled forward. Now let’s dive into the different sailboat hull types and even some other types of hulls in boats in general!

Main Sailboat Hull Types

There are two main hull types that we’ll be looking at that encompass the many other types of hulls that vary from these two main types.

Depending on the type of boat you have, you’ll be floating around with one or the other. We’ll take a look at what you can expect if your boat has either of these hull types.

Displacement Hulls

The most common sailboat hull type you’ll find out there is the displacement hull, which is very effective at pushing the water aside and powering through it during forward propulsion.

A displacement hull is often found not only on sailboats, but also fishing, freight, cruise, and other larger boats.

All boats that have a displacement hull will be limited in their speed based on the waterline length of the hull. Regardless of how much power you use, whether it’s from the wind or motor, the maximum speed can’t be increased.

This is why you’ll see people mention the waterline length of a boat’s hull when putting them on the market to sell.

The big advantage of having a displacement hull is that they require far less power to get moving across the water compared to the other main hull type; the planing hull.

What this means is that your boat will be able to cruise for a long time with the same amount of energy, which also allows you to carry more items on board.

Planing Hulls

It’s almost guaranteed that your sailboat won’t have a planing hull since they’re most commonly found on powerboats and personal watercrafts (PWCs), like jet skis.

Planing hulls allow the boat to lift itself out of the water, reducing drag and increasing the speed of the boat.

Almost any boat that’s equipped with a planing hull will be able to attain a speed much greater than a boat with a displacement boat.

The main reason for this is the lift that’s produced when traveling at high speeds which reduces drag on the water.

The maximum speed of a boat with a planing hull is dependent on the horsepower of the engine and how much of the hull can be removed from the water while still cruising.

The biggest advantage of having a planing hull is that your boat will be able to pick up speed quickly and reach a greater maximum speed.

This allows for shorter journey times. However, there needs to be a source of all that energy, which comes directly from a combustion engine. The faster a boat with a planing hull goes, the larger the cost of fuel will be.

How Planing Works

The way planing works is actually pretty interesting, so I thought I’d dive into it a bit. Even though a sailboat is virtually guaranteed not to have one, it’s always nice to know how other boats operate while out on the water.

1. Displacement

Before a boat with a planing hull actually planes, it starts out acting like a displacement hull.

As a matter of fact, a boat with a planing hull needs to reach a certain speed before it starts to produce lift. Before that happens, it’s essentially a displacement hull.

While a boat with a planing hull is picking up speed and lifting itself out of the water, it’s in a plowing mode.

You’ll know when a boat is in plowing mode when the bow of the boat is elevated and the boat is throwing a relatively large wake. The goal, however, is to move from plowing mode to planing mode, which requires further acceleration.

Once the boat with a planing hull reaches a certain speed, it’ll leave plowing mode and enter planing mode.

As I already described, planing is when the hull is gliding across the water with a smaller amount of the hull dragging in the water when compared to the previous modes. Different boats will start planing when reaching different speeds.

Common Sailboat Hull Styles

Now that we’ve gone over the two main types of hulls you’ll find in sailboats and other types of boats, we have a good foundation for the hull styles you’ll commonly see when out on the water.

There are three main hull styles that you’ll see quite often, so let’s take a look at those.

By far the most common hull style you’ll see on sailboats is the monohull, which is simply a single hull.

Traditionally, a sailboat will have a monohull and they can be found all over the place. It’s probably the style of hull that comes to most peoples’ mind when imagining a sailboat.

Monohulls on sailboats are virtually all displacement hulls. As we went over previously, this allows your sailboat to cruise for long stretches and has a greater efficiency compared to planing hulls.

However, most boats that exist on planet earth are monohulls, including powerboats, which can also be of the planing hull type.

When it comes to a monohull on a sailboat, the only way it can keep its stability is to have a proper keel attached to it.

A keel is a wing-like object that sticks out of the bottom of the hull in the water and provides a sailboat with ballast for stability. It’s important to understand how a keel works when operating a sailboat with a monohull since it’s one of the main reasons a sailboat can move forward without tipping.

There are certainly a lot of monohull sailboats out there, but there’s no doubt that you’ll also see your fair share of catamarans.

Catamarans are sailboats with two hulls and operate quite differently than their monohull cousin. Catamarans are known to be fast and are likely to outrun most monohull sailboats.

Unlike monohull sailboats, catamarans can be fitted with displacement hulls as well as planing hulls. However, even if they have a planing hull they can still produce a relatively good amount of cruising time and do so rather efficiently.

Catamarans are a bit different than monohulls in the sense that they can reach greater speeds. There are several reasons for this. For one, a catamaran doesn’t need a ballast for stability since the broad stance between the two hulls provides enough stability.

This means there’s no need for a large, heavy keel. Second, they’re often built out of lightweight materials that allow the boat to reach a higher maximum speed compared to heavier sailboats.

Also, if a catamaran has a planing hull, it’ll have the ability to produce lift resulting in reduced drag on the water and even greater speeds.

Unfortunately, catamarans do have the disadvantage of being more likely to capsize in unwanted high-wind situations.

Also, it’s very difficult for a catamaran to recover from capsizing as opposed to a monohull sailboat that has a good ballast from its keel.

You might have already guessed from the name, but I’ll state the obvious anyway. A trimaran is exactly like a catamaran but with three hulls instead of two.

Often times you’ll see a trimaran look like a monohull sailboat with a pair of hulls attached to its side.

Similar to a catamaran, trimarans can hit speeds much greater than your average monohull sailboat. As a matter of fact, they’re known to be “unsinkable” under the situation that the hulls on the port and starboard side of the central hull are completely filled up with water.

One of the coolest aspects of having a trimaran is that when it has a planing hull and/or a hydrofoil, the trimaran’s central hull will lift completely out of the water.

This gives it the effect that it’s floating across the air, which is the result of lift produced from the planing hull or a hydrofoil. It’s very cool to see this!

Sailboat Hull Bottoms

Apart from the main boat hull styles, like the monohull, catamaran, and trimaran, there are hull bottoms that pop up in the world of boating that can differ in style and function.

These hull bottoms are more of a deeper look at the hulls of a monohull, catamaran, or trimaran, so you can think of them more as a feature of any of the previously mentioned styles of hull.

Flat Bottom

A very common hull bottom for boats that are derived from the planing hull type is a flat bottom hull.

The flat bottom hull is considered to be one of the less stable styles of hulls, especially when confronted with rough waters.

However, you’ll often find them on boats that don’t necessarily ride in these situations, including fishing or taxi areas.

• Good for small lakes and rivers due to having a shallow draft.
• Able to hit relatively high speeds once entering planing mode.

Disadvantages

• Not good at handling choppy waters resulting in a rough ride.

Round Bottom

When it comes to sailboats, you’re most likely going to run into monohull sailboats that have a displacement style hull with a round bottom.

While these are the most common hull bottom for sailboats, they can also be found on smaller boats that are used for fishing, canoeing, and other similar kinds of boats.

• Easily moves through the water due to being a displacement hull type.
• When accompanied by a keel, it produces a great amount of stability from the ballast.
• Without a keel, it can roll when entering and exiting the boat as well as when waves are present.
• Less maneuverable compared to other hull styles.

Deep ‘V’ Bottom

If you’re operating a powerboat, then in all likeliness your boat has a planing hull with a deep ‘V’ bottom.

Since deep ‘V’ bottoms are found on planing hulls, these types of boats will be able to pick up speed quickly and at high maximums. This is the most common setup for powerboats out on the water.

This is the most common type of powerboat hull. This hull type allows boats to move through rough water at higher speeds and they provide a smoother ride than other hull types.

• Provides a smooth ride compared to its flat bottom rival.
• Good at handling rough water.
• Requires more power to plane compared to its flat bottom rival.
• Cannot handle sharp turns very well resulting in potential rolling or banking.

Multi-Chine Bottom

We took a good look at multi-hull styles like the catamaran and the trimaran earlier, which are the exact style of hulls that have a multi-chine bottom.

A multi-chine bottom is a great example of a displacement hull on either a catamaran or trimaran as it’s the most common bottom you’ll find.

• In a multi-hull boat, it has a great amount of stability due to its wide beam.
• In a multi-hull boat, it needs a large area when either tacking or jibing.

Main Parts of a Sailboat Hull

There’s some terminology I threw around while describing the many types of hulls a sailboat and other types of boats have.

As is the case with a lot of activities, learning the terminology is just something you have to do.

Thankfully, the terminology will eventually sink in overtime and eventually you’ll be able to ring off any hull terminology that comes up.

The bow is simply the most forward part of a sailboat and, thus, the very front of the hull.

The stern, conversely to the bow, is the most backward part of a sailboat and, thus, the very end of the hull.

The port side of a hull is the left side. I always remember this with the phrase “I left my port on the table”, with the port being wine.

This just so happens to also be the side where boats will have a red light turned on at night, which is the color of port wine.

The starboard side of a hull is on the right side.

Opposite the port side, in the evening boats will have a green light turned on and will be located on the starboard side of the boat.

Fore is a sailor’s way of saying “forward”.

Aft is a sailor’s way of saying “back”.

A transom is the aft-most (see what I did there?) section of the boat that connects the port and starboard sections of the boat.

The flare of a hull is where the hull starts to form a large angle the closer the hull gets to the deck.

The waterline is the line around the hull where the water touches when under a normal load.

Waterline Length

The waterline length, once referred to as the Load Waterline Length (LWL), is the length of the hull where the waterline is located.

This is not the entire length of the boat.

Length Overall (LOA)

The length overall (LOA) is, you guessed it, the overall length of the boat. This is measured from the tip of the bow to the end of the stern.

The freeboard is the space on the hull of a boat above the waterline and below the deck.

The draft is the length from the bottom-most part of a boat (the tip of the keel on a sailboat) and the waterline.

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• Safety & Seamanship

Underwater Epoxy Test

Ps testers dive into a sticky problem. which glue really holds fast when the chips are down.

Although laminating epoxies can tolerate some moisture, we know that excessive moisture can prevent a good cure. So how can we manage an emergency repair, when water is seeping into the bilge through a hairline crack—or worse? Well, there are products intended for underwater use, we’ve used them, and they work.

Although a collision with a reef or shipping container is the nightmare scenario, it really isn’t that easy to knock a hole in the hull of a well-found boat. An enlightening article in Yachting Monthly about emergency leak repair methods noted that it took a marine professional armed with a hammer and chisel 25 minutes to breach the solid-laminate hull of their test boat.

If you rip a 2-foot hole in the hull, there is probably nothing you can do anyway.  But far more boats are lost because of a smallish crack around a through hull, rudder tube, or bow thruster. We’ve hit some hefty submerged logs that were brought down by spring floods. The hull always bounced off with barely a smudge on the antifouling paint, but rudder shaft or daggerboard case was always more vulnerable, bending, cracking, and sometimes leaking. However, these leaks are fixable with a few scraps of wood and some screws—or even underwater epoxy.

What We Tested

In addition to their more traditional repair or laminating epoxies, many vendors also offer underwater cure products, designed for both temporary and permanent repair when hauling out and drying is not possible. The products we tested included Pettit Splash Zone, JB Water Weld, Total Boat Underwater Repair Epoxy, Star brite Epoxy Putty Stick, and Sudbury Wet or Dry Cure Epoxy Repair Putty, representing a cross-section of the types on the market.

How We Tested

First, we made up fiberglass test coupons, sanded them with 60 grit paper, and bonded them together with underwater epoxy. One set was made up dry, and the other set was bonded underwater. These were pulled to failure in shear to determine relative bond strength.

We then cut a rectangular opening in the side of a plastic bucket, bolted a gasketed, replaceable  fiberglass sheet over the opening, and then cut 1/8-inch slits in the fiberglass sheet to simulate cracks. We then fill the bucket with 65F water and attempted to seal the simulated cracks from outside while the water was flowing, judging both difficulty in working with material and the soundness of the patch after curing.

The stick products are stiffer than the tub products. As a result, they are harder to mix and slightly more difficult to get a good bond, but they are superior for stopping an active leak. The tested stick products permanently stopped the 1/8-inch saw cut leak within moments, while none of the tub products held for more than a few minutes.

• Sudbury Wet or Dry Epoxy blows out (top), but JB WaterWeld holds tight.

• Products packaged in tubs bond well but lack the stiffness to stay put under pressure..

• Fiberglass samples were soaked for several weeks before bonding.

• This Star brite sample undergoes shear testing. The epoxies were allowed to cure for 48 hours before shear testing.

• Testers apply pressure to wet fiberglass bonded with Total Boat Underwater Epoxy. Lapping over screw holes creates a mechanical hook.

Observations

Low Strength. The rated tensile strength of these products is 3-8 times lower than laminating epoxies but comparable to filler products, such as Marine Tex. The sticks have enough adhesion to stop a leak, but will need reinforcement.

The tub products are stronger and can produce a permanent repair, depending on the stress and geometry. Our advice, as with duct tape, is to use a lot. Clean a large area, maximize bond area by smearing it out and rubbing it in, and don’t be shy about thickness. Try to avoid high stress for several days; although they appear cured in less than 8 hours, strength continues to increase, sometimes as much as double, over the next 2 days. Our reported strengths are at 48 hours.

Surface Preparation. Obviously, we can skip the “dry” part. But it’s still important that the surface be clear of loose material and dirt. If you’re working from the outside of the boat, the slime must be scrubbed off and antifouling paint must be sanded away to bare laminate.

In the bilge, mud, slime, and oil must be scrubbed off and rinsed away with clear water (fresh or salt). All surfaces should be scratch sanded to create a tooth; 60 grit is not excessive. Most plastics bond reasonably well if sufficiently roughed up; we’ve had good experiences bonding float switch brackets. It also helps to create a mechanical lock around the object. In the case of a float switch, the epoxy must surround the base, forming a buttress. Lap the epoxy up and over screw indentations, creating a mechanical hook.

If you’re repairing a hole in the hull, try to repair from both the inside and the outside; where the two applications meet they will chemically bond and become one piece. Cram the epoxy deeply into cracks and fissures so that it can key into irregularities. If some of the epoxy extrudes out the opposite side of the hull, good. Press it back on itself, like upsetting a rivet.

Low Exotherm. Even fast-setting underwater epoxies, such as JB Weld WaterWeld, set without appreciable exotherm. If we were to mix the same thickness of laminating epoxy, within 10 minutes it would begin to heat, reaching 300F or more, bubbling, and becoming brittle. Underwater epoxies don’t do this, even above water. This is in part because they aren’t as strong. Fewer chemical bonds are created per unit volume, generating less heat.

Application

Once applied, the thermal mass of the boat moderates temperature rise. Application also tends to go more quickly. Instead of fooling around with positioning glass and wetting it out, you mix up a golf ball size piece and smash it into the crack or cavity. Yes, if you mix up a fist-size chunk and then do nothing with it, you’ll feel the heat. Don’t do that. Underwater there is water cooling.

Cold Water. Most of us don’t sail when the air is icy, but even summer sailing in the Great Lakes, Maine, or the United Kingdom has water temperatures below optimum for curing.  Expect a slower cure and reduced strength. Only Simpson FX-764 is recommended for use below 50F.

Mixing. Stick products (JB WaterWeld and Star brite Putty) are cut to length, insuring a perfect ratio. They are very firm and are mixed by repetitive folding and kneading. Tub products are softer and are best mixed by rolling a ball between moistened palms.

All of the products are super sticky; a strong grab is vital when working underwater. The epoxy will stick to your hands more than the work piece, so keep your hand wet; underwater this happens naturally, but working in the bilge you may have to remember to wet your fingers, as you would when rolling meatballs. Press the epoxy firmly in place, wiggling the wad and pressing down firmly to get a good bond. Rub it down thoroughly with wet fingers, tapering the edge into the substrate.

Although Pettit states that working with bare skin is acceptable and it is true that the epoxy sticks more to gloves. But gloves work just fine as long as you keep them wet. In cold field conditions, warm the two parts to room temperature before mixing; the sticks are very difficult to mix below 60F.

Working Time. Like laminating epoxy, underwater epoxy bonds best when fresh. Try to apply the mixed epoxy within a few minutes. Once it begins to kick, even though it may still feel workable, it will not bond as well.  Better to throw the remainder away and mix a fresh batch.

Not for Potable Water. None of the tested products are rated for drinking water. Among other things, it is too difficult to insure a perfect mix.

Underwater Epoxies

Stopping Leaks. The stick products are stiffer than the tub products. As a result, they are harder to mix and to achieve a good bond, but they are far superior for stopping an active leak. Both of the stick products permanently stopped the 1/8-inch saw cut leak within moments, while none of the tub products held for more than a few minutes.

Even when we reached inside the bucket and pressed the extruded material over the crack from the other side, like upsetting a rivet, they blew out within a few minutes. The tub products can stop a leak if applied from the outside (pressure side), if you apply enough and the crack is not too large. In this case, it also helps to make the gap smaller by filling with wadded up fiberglass cloth or wood scraps.

High pressure. An advantage of fast cure products is that you can hold them in place by rubbing them down until they begin to stiffen. When working deeper in the bilge, with more pressure, the required 15 minutes passes slowly when stopping a leak.

Just as a welder will tack pieces together to hold them in place and prevent warping while he runs structural beads, I often tack projects together with thickened 5-minute epoxy, before laying on the filets of thickened epoxy that will provide the actual strength. The same is true with underwater epoxies and leaks. Push in some stick epoxy to stop the flow, and then reinforce inside and out with a stronger tub product or conventional laminating products and procedures.

The tub products are better at repairing a ding that is not leaking, such as one resulting from grounding or striking dock. Lower in viscosity, they flow more deeply into the cracks and fissures, and the resulting repair may well be permanent, assuming no structural damage was done.

Shelf Life. Every so often we hear reports of stick-type putties that just crumbled when mixed. We’ve seen this too, although the product was opened, half used, and probably a decade old.  The two parts are not separated by a physical barrier, only their extreme viscosity, and over time this close proximity does some damage.

Star brite states the unopened shelf life is two years and advises no more than 6 months for opened packages. Two-tub epoxy products and laminating epoxies typically have very long shelf lives.

Sometimes a little more reinforcement is needed, but sometimes it can only be applied from outside. “Laminating underwater—that’s lunacy!” you say. Maybe. But using a few of the right tricks, you can make a pretty serviceable patch that should sail far.

• Laminating resin. It must be relatively thin and capable of both bonding and curing underwater. West Systems G-Flex will do that.
• Cloth. You want to do this in one layer, so you need something that both conforms well and builds some strength. Two layers of 1708 biaxial fiberglass is a good choice.
• Prepare the surface. Bottom paint needs to be sanded off to bare fiberglass. Use course wet/dry sandpaper.
• Pre-wet the cloth on dry land. This is the key. Pour the resin onto the cloth, spread, and work through the cloth using a laminating roller. Ideally, this is done on top of peel ply, but a plastic trash bag will work perfectly well in a bind.
• Apply. With the peel ply still in place, dive under the boat and press firmly over the desired area. Working from the center, slowly work your way outwards to make a good bond. Leave the peel ply in place.

There are two reasons for using peel ply. One is for ease of handling in the water. Although we usually work pre-laminated cloth without peel ply on dry land, it makes handling it in the water much easier. Because the cloth will initially stick to your hands more than the boat, the peel ply makes the patch much easier to apply. Finally, if there is still some inward leakage, the peel ply prevents the water flow from blowing the resin through the cloth and creating leaks.

Once resin is cured, you can remove the peel ply if you want to, but there’s really no need to for an emergency repair, other than to inspect your work. Just leave it.

You can buy a kit for this ( compositepatch.com ). It comes prepackaged, with resin and fabric in a bag. At over $250 for a few square feet it’s rather expensive, but it makes for neat work in awful conditions.

Pettit Splash zone A-788

A soft putty, Splash Zone becomes firm within 2 hours and fully cures in 8 hours at 70F. It should not be exposed to temperatures below 50F for 6 hours. It cures hard, and is nearly 50% of the strength of conventional epoxy products.

Bottom Line: Recommended for underwater dings and general repairs below the waterline and in the bilge.

Very similar to Splash Zone in all characteristics. Firm in 2 hours, cure in 6 hours at 70F. Strong, but won’t hold back a water leak.

Bottom line: Budget Buy for underwater dings and general repairs below the waterline and in the bilge.

Sudbury Underwater Epoxy

A little more difficult to mix, more prone to sagging, weaker than Total Boat and Splash Zone, and more expensive, it was not our favorite.

Bottom line: There are better products.

Simpson FX-764

We’ve used this in industry to repair concrete wastewater tanks in the winter, and the National Park Service uses it to install in-stream monitors in icy trout streams. Although slow curing, it has the advantage of working down to 40F and slightly below, which should be enough for arctic explorers.

Bottom Line: The Best Choice for cold water sailors.

JB Weld WaterWeld

WaterWeld is sticky, completely non-sagging, and stiff enough to hold back water. This is what you’ll reach for when water is coming in.

Bottom line: Our Best Choice for stopping leaks and mounting sump floats.

Star Brite Epoxy Repair Putty

Very similar to JB WaterWeld, this is just a little harder to mix, a little stiffer, and did not seem to adhere quite as well. But it was close.

Bottom line: Recommended for stopping leaks and mounting sump floats.

After all of the lectures about the importance of good surface prep, we had a hard time believing we could get a good bond under water. So we had to test. Underwater epoxies are super sticky; a strong grab is vital when working underwater. Wet your hands frequently to prevent this. Mix by rolling between palms or folding back and forth, but always keep it moving. The corollary is that you must press and kneed the products on to the surface for several minutes to force the water out and create a bond. Just keep rubbing until it sticks. Following this procedure, we never experienced a failure to bond, not even crawling in the bilge fighting active leaks.

• The test setup: Water (in plastic container, partially visible) is for wetting hands before working, the fiberglass coupons are ready for gluing, and the test epoxies are lined up and ready to apply.

• The stick products are very firm and are mixed by repetitive folding and kneading. Tub products are softer and are best mixed by rolling a ball between moistened palms, as shown here.

• Some products, such as the Pettit Splash Zone A-788 allow bare hands, but our testers wore gloves. The gloves are stickier than hands, but as long as they were kept wet, this was not a big problem.

Can these products actually seal underwater leaks in field conditions? In fact, we’ve repaired minor leaks on our test boats working from the bilge. We interviewed multiple marine professionals who related stories of temporary underwater repairs. While you’re not likely to glue a patch over a gaping hole, you have an excellent chance of staunching even a considerable leak around the cracked a rudder tube or through hull fitting.

Need to make your repair a little more permanent, since you have a ways to go to drydock? Get the area dry by sealing with underwater epoxy, and then laminate over it using conventional materials. West System G-Flex bonds reasonably well to wet surfaces and can be used as a laminating epoxy.

In combination with plywood, fiberglass sheets, and a bunch of screws, considerable emergency repair may be possible. Consider putting a patch on the outside as described above in “Yes, You Can Laminate an Underwater Patch.” Although not pretty, a very strong repair can be created. Once the boat is lifted out, you’ll want to grind it off and do a proper repair; such is boat work.

Testing quickly divided the products into two groups. Sticks are fast, stiff, of limited strength, and good for stopping active leaks. The slow cure and lower viscosity of tub products means they are not so good at stopping leaks, but they are stronger and make permanent repairs. Each has a different purpose.

We think it’s prudent to keep a stick in every boat tool kit, plus tub of underwater repair epoxy in the locker if you are going far.

STAR BRITE, www.starbrite.com JB WELD, www.JBWeld.com MARINETEX, www.marinetex.com PETIT, www.totalboat.com SIMPSON, www.strongtie.com SUDBURY, www.sudburyboatcare.com WEST SYSTEMS, www.westsystem.com

RELATED ARTICLES MORE FROM AUTHOR

Emergency Steering? You Can Jury-Rig a Drogue For That

Searching for the best marine epoxy to do some repairs on my boat and other marine watercraft requires in-depth consideration. Thank you so much this information was certainly helpful

The going wisdom is that epoxy does not do well wet or underwater, in particular West. I beg to differ. After rebuilding the cockpit of a laser in our junior sail program, including the delaminating around the skupper, less than 10 min later before the resin even started to warm up the skies opened up.

Within a short period of time the entire cockpit was full of water. What was I to do? Well, years later that boat sailed by an entire cast of intrepid young sailers beat the heck out of it torquing the hull in heavy winds with too many kids on board and capsizing countless times because it is fun, West continues to hold up well.

Did you attempt to test kits from the hardware store for emergency water pipe repairs? For instance, RectorSeal’s Pipe Repair Kit, available at Home Depot? They use a water-activated epoxy that sets in 10mins. I wonder how they would do for below-water repair.

I love JB-Weld. It saved me in the Bahamas! First a little background to set up the situation. My boat Prestissimo has a steel lifting keel that is filled with diesel fuel, both to prevent rusting and to have a backup of 35 gal of fuel that I can pump out if necessary. Every now and then, when I am anchored, and there is wind opposing current, the boat will swing around and wrap the nylon anchor rode around the keel. Once on our Bahamas trip it got pretty rough before I finally got it straightened out. With the nylon rode stretching and contracting and rubbing across the back of the keel, the epoxy/glass layer wore through and exposed the steel to the salt water unbenounced to me. We continued on our multi-month trip in the Bahamas, and one evening I noticed a tiniest thin line of oil film coming from under the boat as we were returning from shore. I dove under the boat and discovered the rust and the tiniest little drop of oil popped out… about a minute later another drop. JB-Weld Underwater to the rescue! I sanded off all the rust and onto the undamaged epoxy/glass, got back on the boat and kneaded the JB-Weld putty, dove under and massaged the putty into the hole and over all the exposed steel, and crossed my fingers that it would work. I checked it regularly (any excuse to dive in the Bahamas) and it held for the next 3 months until we were able to pull the boat, weld the hole, and repair the epoxy/glass that protects it. Now, when I anchor in conditions where my rode could wrap around the keel I lower a kellet about 2 ft lower than my keel. It keeps the rode below the keel to prevent it from wrapping around the keel.

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The true story of True Spirit : What really happened on Jessica Watson's solo sail around the world

EW breaks down fact vs. fiction in Netflix's inspiring movie based on the incredible true story of the 16-year-old who attempted to become the youngest person to sail alone around the world.

Sydney Bucksbaum is a writer at Entertainment Weekly covering all things pop culture – but TV is her one true love. She currently lives in Los Angeles but grew up in Chicago so please don't make fun of her accent when it slips out.

Warning: This article contains spoilers about True Spirit, now streaming on Netflix.

True Spirit , Netflix's latest book-to-movie adaptation, is an inspiring tale about Jessica Watson, a teen who endeavors to become the youngest person to sail alone, nonstop, and unassisted around the world. Starring Titan 's Teagan Croft and based on the book of the same name, the film follows her harrowing journey as she attempts to sail 23,000 nautical miles around the globe in 8 months — something no other 16-year-old had ever accomplished before. But what makes it even more amazing is that it actually happened in real life.

Below, EW breaks down the biggest moments from the film and the true story behind them.

Is Jessica Watson a real person?

Yes! Watson exists, and she wrote the book about her own experience circumnavigating the globe upon which the movie is based. "There's so many layers of emotion in it for me," Watson tells EW of watching the film for the first time. "It's amazing, and Teagan's performance is extraordinary. It's me, but it's also something else, which I just love."

After playing half-demon empath Raven on the DC Comics series Titans for years, Croft was excited to finally take on a role closer to home. "Playing Raven on Titans , it's purple hair, very sullen," she says. "And the [ True Spirit ] producers needed to double-check that I wasn't like that in real life, that I'd be able to play Jess. I cracked a couple jokes, made a couple remarks, and they saw I'd be able to pull off perky. It's much more in my wheelhouse. And being able to act in my own accent was something I hadn't had the opportunity to do before. It was nice to have that burden lifted."

Watson and Croft met in person for the first time over dinner before the movie began filming, and they had a conversation with director Sarah Spillane about how the onscreen version of Watson wouldn't just be an imitation. "Then we also went sailing the next day altogether, and we met a few times up after that," Croft says. "It was so weird and awkward at first. I felt a weird guilt, like, 'Hello, I'm playing you.' But she was so lovely about it, and we get on really well now."

Did she really attempt to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world?

She sure did — Watson, now 29, departed from Sydney, Australia,, on Oct. 18, 2009, and returned on May 15, 2010, just before her 17th birthday.

Did she succeed?

Well, it's complicated and depends on who you ask. Watson sailed an estimated 18,582 nautical miles, crossing through the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans, all on her own and without stopping. But ultimately, the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC) ruled that Watson was ineligible for the record, having traveled just short of the minimum 21,600 nautical miles necessary to claim circumnavigation of the globe. In response to the decision and criticism, Watson wrote on her blog at the time, "If I haven't been sailing around the world, then it beats me what I've been doing out here all this time!"

The movie notably doesn't mention the controversy about whether or not she earned the title of the youngest person to sail solo, nonstop, and unassisted around the world. Once she returns to Sydney Harbour amid a massive celebration, the credits roll immediately. "The movie and what Jess is all about is not about the record," Croft says. "That's not what drove her. That's not what she was sailing for. She was sailing for the love of it. The point of the movie is about this girl who had a goal that was crazy and dangerous, and what she did was incredible."

"The thing is, it's a bit of an invented controversy because there actually is no record," Watson tells EW. "There's no 'youngest' record because the body that does official sailing records doesn't recognize youngest records, which is understandable. So I don't really understand how there can be controversy over a record that doesn't exist. The voyage and the way I sailed around the world was very similar to what other people did, but there's actually no official rules, so it's a bit hard to not comply with rules that don't quite exist."

All these years later, Watson isn't concerned about any official records or titles. "It really doesn't worry me because it was about the adventure," she adds. "But also, gosh, people really feel the need to add some drama or find a way to almost diminish it slightly. And I'm like, 'Cool, you guys do that. I'm cool with that.' Maybe I think about it too simplistically, but I'm just like, 'Why are we arguing about the number of nautical miles for a record that doesn't exist?' There is no set nautical miles. You can't argue over a rule that doesn't exist."

Did all the characters in the movie exist?

All except for two — and those two were still based on real people. In the film, Avatar : The Way of the Water 's Cliff Curtis plays her sailing coach Ben, but Watson reveals he was just a "beautiful representation of a few people who otherwise wouldn't have been able to be portrayed," from the crew who helped her repair her boat to the group of people advising her over the phone about the weather during her voyage and more.

Her parents were pretty much exactly as they appear in the movie, played by Anna Paquin and Josh Lawson . "Mum was the one who firstly read me Jesse Martin's book from the get-go, which was what inspired me to do this," Watson says. "She had the same curiosity and inspiration for the voyage as me, whereas dad really didn't believe it was going to happen for much longer. And then, obviously, he was quite reluctant, as you see. That is probably pretty accurate in terms of mom and dad's dynamic."

Croft struggled the most filming the scenes where Jessica talks to her family over the phone during her journey. "At that point, the other actors were gone, and it was just me, so sometimes that was really difficult to get into the scene," she says. "But what was lucky in a twisted way was that COVID was really big in Australia at that time, and so the borders between my home state and the state we were filming in had closed. I'd just come from filming Titans , I hadn't seen my sisters or my dad for seven months by the end of shooting True Spirit , so I was able to pull a real, genuine emotion from my real life from the real phone calls I was having."

Watson adds that the reporter, played by Todd Lasance, was fictional but represents all of the members of the media who were aggressively and publicly criticizing her plans. "There were some that were pretty damn similar to him," she adds with a laugh. "I was protected slightly from some of the intensity of it at the time because I was just so single-mindedly focused on this thing, which you need to be to do something like that. It was my team and my poor family who caught the worst of that, but it was intense."

She continues, "I can really understand where people were coming from, and it's kind of beautiful that there was so much concern. But at the same time, I don't think people really understood that there had been years and years of preparation. And this is a really safe boat, it's done this a number of times. It's not as crazy as it seems if you've got no idea about that world."

Did her pre-voyage trial run really end in a massive collision?

Unfortunately, yes. Watson forgot to turn on the proximity alarms before taking a quick nap, and a few minutes later, her boat (named Ella's Pink Lady), crashed into a cargo ship. "That collision scene's one of the ones that's really accurate, so that one's pretty intense for me," Watson says. "That was something I still have the occasional nightmare about, but it's so important to the story. It really made me in a way because having to go through that and find the strength to continue really set me up for being able to deal with the storms at sea."

Did she really leave her hairbrush at home?

In a moment of levity in the movie, Jessica realizes she forgot to pack a hairbrush for her long journey and tapes two forks together to detangle her hair for months. That did happen ... but not on her long trip around the world. "That happened on a sea trial," Watson admits. "So not quite the whole voyage. And actually, I got the idea from Jesse Martin who did forget his hairbrush for his trip and used a fork."

Did she battle dyslexia during her journey?

Watson is dyslexic in real life, and she loves how the movie accurately portrays the struggles she faced whenever she got stressed and messed up her longitude and latitude coordinates. "So many people can relate to this, and it's not far off from my reality," Watson says, before admitting with a laugh, "I mean, I like to think that I was never that bad with my lats and longs and getting muddled up. But at the same time, it's also based on the truth that mum did used to call me out when I'm tired or flustered, and I was getting stuff like that wrong."

Did she get knocked out during a storm?

In the first big storm she faces at sea, Jessica is hit in the head with a frying pan and gets knocked out. But it turns out that entire scene was made up for the movie. "I feel bad calling out some of the things that weren't quite true, but no, no frying pan," Watson says. "Although there was legitimate danger with stuff flying around inside the boat in a storm — household everyday objects become deadly. Keeping your cabin tidy is something I should have been better at."

Did her boat get stuck for a week without any wind?

In the movie, Jessica hits an emotional low point when there's no breeze for an entire week. She gets frustrated and ends up arguing with Ben over the radio. That was all fictionalized for the film but was based on real emotions Watson felt throughout her trip. "In reality, you never get such long stretches without wind," she says. "Often, it's more like a couple of days. And even within that, you might get a few puffs along the way. It is, however, very true to what that experience is like for a sailor, how incredibly frustrating it is to just be at the mercy of the elements and just waiting for the wind to come back. There's nothing you can do. Emotionally, they were some of the really tough days out there."

Did a massive storm temporarily sink her boat?

Onscreen, Jessica's journey ends with her biggest test yet, as multiple major storms merged into one. The giant waves flip her boat upside down, and she gets stuck 15 ft. underwater for an extended period of time. It's a terrifying scene, and it turns out, the movie version isn't even the full story.

"There were seven knockdowns," Watson reveals. "Not all of them were quite that bad. A lot of the time, it's just the boat being knocked over. But the 15 ft. underwater is real because my emergency beacon did self-activate as the boat sank. That happened. But the time I was upside down for, it certainly felt like a long time. I haven't really got a concept of how long it was in reality, but we are talking seconds compared to what we see in the movie, which stretches on forever in minutes and minutes and minutes. That's a little bit of an exaggeration there, but it was real to the experience of it feeling like forever."

Was her return to Sydney as epic as it appeared?

Absolutely! When Jessica arrives in Sydney Harbour at the end of her journey, it looks like all of Australia came to celebrate her accomplishment. And as the credits roll, real footage from that moment plays, showing the real Watson reuniting with her family. Incredibly, a young Croft was there in attendance that day.

"I was actually there in Sydney Harbour when she came in, but I'd forgotten since I was only six," Croft says. "When I came across this script, my parents were like, 'We were there!' I've been trying to figure out where we were in the crowd to see if you can see me in that footage. Maybe I'm there in a little pink skirt or something ridiculous."

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• Real story of teen who sailed around the world by herself comes to life in True Spirit trailer
• The 23 best book to movie adaptations of all time
• 50 books we're dying to see get adapted

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Choosing the Best Underwater Lights for Your Boat: Answers to Your Frequently Asked Questions

Posted by Apex Lighting on 23rd Aug 2023

Why Do I Need Underwater Lights for My Boat?

You probably imagine underwater lights as mere cosmetic upgrades for your boat, but they’re not. These fixtures are functional additions that improve visibility under dim light conditions to ensure safe boating .

A 6,000-lumen underwater light, for instance, provides plenty of illumination to avert visibility-related mishaps such as collisions with obstacles and other vessels, especially when navigating murky waters at night.

As a secondary benefit, underwater lights enrich your boating experience by creating an alluring ambiance of color around your vessel. Chilling blues and soothing greens are just some of the options to help you set the perfect mood for a fun nighttime swim or oceanic viewing.

The green light, in particular, serves as an excellent bait for marine wildlife due to its short wavelengths of high energy that are more penetrative and visible underwater.

This improves your chances of spotting rare species, adding a layer of excitement and delight to your boating adventure.

Apex Lighting deals exclusively in top-quality brands to help you realize these benefits of underwater fixtures. The Lumitec Javelin 600X LED Underwater Light , for instance, features a full color-changing illumination of 6,000 lumens and a Color Rendering Index (CRI) of over 70.

That’s a high color resolution that’s excellent for creating an immersive underwater environment, whether you’re after a tranquil ambiance with calming colors or a dynamic atmosphere with intense hues.

What Are the Different Types of Underwater Lights?

Your options for underwater boat lights are excitingly numerous. Each selection offers different mounting styles and lighting colors to suit your taste in aesthetics and functionality, for example:

• Thru-Hull Lights - These fixtures mount from inside your boat and protrude outward from a hole, extending into the water. As such, they appear beneath the waterline, producing a sleek underwater glow for an enchanting ambiance around your vessel. The lights are also serviceable from inside your boat and don’t require dismounting to access the internal components.
• Surface Mount Lights - These fixtures mount directly on the exterior of your boat. They have a higher profile than thru-hull lights but are easier to set up as they require no drilling and subsequent sealing to prevent water intrusion. This makes them the ideal choice for a DIY project , provided you’re trained and experienced in boat light installation.
• Single-Color Lights - These specialized fixtures provide the perfect single-color illumination for specific tasks such as fishing and ocean viewing. A single green light, for instance, has a short wavelength of high energy that’s highly penetrative through water surfaces and excellent for attracting marine life.
• Color-Changing Lights - These fixtures provide the full-color spectrum of red, blue, green, and white with different light effects such as crossfades and strobes. This makes them excellent for creating ambiance around your boat and setting the right mood for a memorable boating adventure.

“I bought two then when I got them I saw how serious they are I bought two more. Impeccable quality bright as anything on the market. I already have 5 OceanLED Pro Xtreme 16's at $1k a piece and these are brighter! You won't go wrong! I can't wait for springtime boating season.” — John, Verified Buyer

How Many Underwater Lights Do I Need for My Boat?

Determining the ideal quantity of underwater lights for your boat involves various factors, primarily, your boat's dimensions and your personal aesthetic preferences .

As a rule of thumb, it's common practice to fit a minimum of two underwater lights for small to medium-sized vessels, specifically attached to the transom.

This symmetrical setup creates a balanced illumination around the transom area, where most of the light-dependent boating activities occur, for instance, fishing and tow surfing.

Case in point, two underwater boat lights are the common design for small to medium pontoons of widths between 7–10 feet. And two fixtures, such as the Lumitec Javelin 600X Rectangular LED provide sufficient illumination when symmetrical, as the video below showcases.

Larger vessels of widths above 10 feet require more than two fixtures, however, the principle of balanced illumination still holds. As such, seeking professional advice on the spacing and exact number of fixtures your boat needs is advisable to ensure safe and adequate lighting.

What Is the Ideal Wattage for Underwater Lights?

There is no one-size-fits-all rule when it comes to the ideal wattage for underwater boat fixtures.

However, there is an efficiency standard that guides the lumen output for your fixture per watt of energy. This is known as lumen efficacy .

Therefore, determining your ideal wattage necessitates first identifying the amount of brightness you require. With this figure, you’re then able to determine the maximum allowable watt rating for that lumen output, according to today’s efficiency standards.

The table below highlights these ranges for different lumen outputs .

Source: Energystar.gov

Can I Install Underwater Lights by Myself or Do I Need a Professional?

Due to their submerged nature and the risks involved, including electric shocks and water intrusion, underwater boat lights require professional installation .

However, a licensed professional helps you not only observe safety guidelines to avoid all the above risks of mixing water and electricity but also ensures your installation is up to code .

One particularly critical regulation requirement for submersible devices is Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) protection . This mandates an automatic shutdown protocol that activates immediately an imbalance occurs, such as a current flowing through water or a person.

As such, compliance with GFCI necessitates a deep understanding of compliant devices, the setup process, and an assessment procedure after installation. These are highly specialized skills and can therefore only be executed correctly by trained and experienced individuals.

Are Underwater Lights Expensive?

Not necessarily. Underwater boat fixtures accommodate different budgets with a trade-off in the number of features and functionality available.

Certainly, the most advanced options , such as the Bluefin LED Great White GW20 , cost upwards of $1,000 , which is pricey. But these are top-tier fixtures with exceptional features like 12,000 lumens and an over 50,000-hour lifespan or 5.7 years of service.

There are alternative entry-level selections , such as the Lumitec Zambezi Mini Surface Mount , which costs less than $500 . These fixtures offer basic features to ensure reliable service, for instance, marine-grade steel housing and full waterproofing at an affordable price point.

Midrangers , such as the Lumitec Javelin 600X LED Underwater Light , strike the perfect balance between cost and functionality by offering more than the basics without the premium pricing.

As such, they cost less than $1,000 and have extra features such as 6,000 lumens and an impressive Color Rendering Index (CRI) of over 70, which signifies a premium level of color resolution.

Want a quick summary instead? The table below provides an overview of the different categories of underwater boat fixtures, including their price ranges, examples, lumens, and typical lifespan.

“Love them, put them in on my 48 foot cruisers.” — Dejan M., Verified Buyer

What Is the Lifespan of Underwater Lights?

How long your underwater boat lights last depends on your type of fixture and maintenance practices .

The most common type today are predominantly LED lights with fluorescent and incandescent fixtures as alternatives, but this order isn’t by accident.

LED fixtures are popular because they have the longest life span of 25,000 hours , with premium products, such as the Bluefin LED Great White GW20 , clocking over 50,000 hours of service .

Fluorescent bulbs and incandescent fixtures , in comparison, have shorter shelf lives of 15,000 and 1,500 hours, respectively.

This difference stems from the greater efficiency of LED bulbs, which convert electricity into visible light with minimal energy losses from heat. Incandescent bulbs, on the other hand, generate heat to produce light, which degrades their internal components faster.

Fluorescent fixtures also depend on a chemical reaction between a gas discharge, phosphor coating, and electricity to generate light. These elements wear out gradually and faster than LEDs, hence their shorter service life.

Can I Use Underwater Lights in Freshwater or Saltwater?

Absolutely, underwater boat lights are versatile tools that operate in freshwater and saltwater environments. They feature protective elements such as rust-proof housing and watertight seals that facilitate this versatility.

Saltwater is notoriously corrosive due to high amounts of chloride ions and a rust-proof material such as powder-coated aluminum is necessary to protect your fixture from developing cracks and openings due to corrosion.

Aluminum’s inherent resistance to rust increases with the powder coating on its surface as it creates an additional barrier between the salt water and your underwater boat light.

While freshwater isn’t as corrosive as salt water, it still poses a risk for the delicate components within your fixture. An intrusion, should it occur, disrupts current flow within the light and causes electrical shorts that damage components, including the bulbs.

As such, underwater boat lights, such as the Zambezi X2 Surface Mount Underwater Light , feature watertight seals that protect its interior from any water intrusion to depths of up to eight feet.

How Do Underwater Lights Enhance the Aesthetics of My Boat?

You’ve probably come across the poetic phrase, “In the night, the sea comes alive.” This is a fact and part of it involves underwater lights.

At night, these submerged fixtures turn any piece of metal and reinforced fiberglass into a captivating vessel, bathing its surrounding water with artistic , vibrant beams . The kind of beams that show off your vessel’s beautiful contours while creating an alluring ambiance.

And if you choose full color-changing underwater fixtures, your vessel dances with the nighttime waves in the dynamic glow of a red, blue, and green combo. One that adds depth and drama to the whole picture.

It’s the sort of magical scene that takes your breath away the first time you see it before turning you into a storyteller and boating enthusiast for the rest of your life.

That’s the elevating effect of underwater boat lights and why Apex Lighting offers the largest collection of fixtures and accessories for all your vessels. It's about sharing this magic and the joy it brings with you and all your loved ones.

Check out the latest designs today and discover something special for your boat.

Bonus Reading: Boat Interior Lights: 3 Easy Tips to Fulfill Your Lighting Needs

Do Underwater Lights Attract Marine Life?

Yes, your underwater light fixtures attract marine life and this shouldn’t be surprising. It’s the same principle with which the anglerfish attracts prey. Pulses of its bacteria-lighted lure moving back and forth are enough to successfully attract pelagic crustaceans and fishes.

In your case, fishing or observing marine life with underwater lights works optimally with a green glow. The color green has a short wavelength (shorter than violet or blue) that generates more energy and penetrates deeper into the water.

This increases its chances of reaching and drawing the attention of marine life underneath, which swim closer out of curiosity.

That said, there are legal restrictions to using artificial light for fishing and similar activities, especially around seasons, location, color intensity, and equipment.

These rules aim to protect delicate marine life, so be sure to check them before purchasing and installing them to avoid legal challenges.

Is It Safe to Use Underwater Lights While Swimming?

Yes, using your underwater lights while swimming is safe , provided the fixtures are installed correctly without any exposed wires and have a watertight design to completely prevent water intrusion and possibly an electric shock.

Such fixtures typically have a minimum rating of Ingress Protection (IP) 67, which signifies comprehensive protection from moisture and water penetration, impactful splashes, and an immersible capability of up to seven feet.

This means the fixture remains optimal and fully resistant to the above marine elements even at seven feet, neutralizing any possibility of an electric shock through seepage.

For high-wattage fixtures, typically exceeding 100 watts, this level of waterproofing is particularly sensitive due to the amount of energy involved. You want your underwater lights to maintain safety even under stressful conditions such as continuous immersion at seven feet.

As such, Apex Lighting steps it up with marine-grade construction for all its fixtures to prevent corrosion, eventual seepage, and the possibility of shocks.

The 120-watt Bluefin LED Great White GW20 , for instance, features high-impact polymer for its lenses. This sturdy material not only prevents water intrusion and impact cracking but also inhibits marine growth and corrosion to maintain safety throughout its over 50,000-hour lifespan.

What Colors Are Available for Underwater Lights?

The palette of underwater lighting offers a broad spectrum of colors , allowing you to customize the luminous display beneath your boat.

These underwater illuminations are available in a myriad of hues, ranging from the purity of white to the serenity of blue , the freshness of green , the intensity of red , and the warmth of yellow.

But the dynamism doesn’t stop there. Some fixtures, such as the SeaBlaze Typhoon Thru-Hull Underwater , offer an exciting dual-color option of white and blue.

These colors are particularly popular for the creative ambiance mix they enable, such as cross-fade pulses of spacious white and calming blue, but are also common because they’re functional.

White and blue are effective at attracting marine life. While they’re not as long in wavelength as green, they are significantly penetrative in the water and noticeable by sea creatures including zooplanktons, which attract fish.

Can I Customize the Color of My Underwater Lights?

Absolutely. Color customization for underwater lights is one of the most exciting aspects of being a boating enthusiast.

It enables you to set the right ambiance for the occasion, showcase the beauty of your vessel, particularly its contours, and realize those breathtaking moments you’ll always be talking about.

Picture your vessel in the ocean, dancing in tune with the gentle nighttime waves under different glows of a full color-changing fixture , possibly in strobes or cross-fades.

It’s one of the most loved color customization methods supported by many manufacturers via programmable RGB underwater boat lights. One classic example is the Lumitec Javelin 600X LED Underwater Light , available from Apex Lighting.

This fixture offers the full spectrum of RGBW plus the dual white and blue mode in a dazzling Color Rendering Index of over 70. That’s a measure of its resolution out of 100 and a rating of over 70 places this fixture on the high end of the spectrum. Imagine the possibilities.

Another creative way of color customization for your underwater boat lights involves hued lenses or filters . They open up the possibility of matching different colors that mimic marine species and their bioluminescent patterns.

For instance, a green-yellow lens simulates the appearance of alluring phytoplankton and helps create a naturally enchanting ambiance around your vessel.

This is an effective color customization method for your fixture, whether you’d like to attract marine life or just set the mood for a memorable nighttime boating experience.

That said, avoid using flashing blue lights or alternating flashing red and yellow lights when customizing your fixtures.

These colors are exclusively reserved for enforcement vessels and will cause confusion for other boat users who must slow down when approached by vessels bearing these types of lights.

Are There Any Regulations on the Use of Underwater Lights?

The use of underwater lighting for boats is governed by a variety of regulations, and these can differ significantly depending on your geographical location.

Notably, some localities have rules that specifically prohibit the use of colored lights which could be confused with distress or official signals . For instance, in the State of Connecticut, the use of flashing blue lights is forbidden for non-enforcement vessels.

This is a crucial safety measure designed to prevent potential misunderstandings that could lead to unnecessary emergency responses.

Additionally, in certain jurisdictions, such as Connecticut, regulations stipulate that only specialized commercial assistant boats , such as towing boats, can display flashing red and yellow lights.

This typically ensures the safety of other water users and prevents any possible accidents such as collision with the disabled vessel being towed.

As a boat owner, it's your responsibility to understand and adhere to these rules. Therefore, prior to installing and using underwater lights, it's highly recommended to conduct thorough research into the specific rules that apply in your area.

This can often be done by consulting with local boating authorities or marine law enforcement agencies.

What Is the Warranty Period for Underwater Lights?

The duration of warranty for underwater lighting systems can differ significantly based on the specific product and the manufacturer .

Typically, expect a warranty period of between two and three years , as is the case with the Bluefin LED Piranha P12 and SeaBlaze X2 LED Underwater Light CHROME , respectively.

These are reasonable warranty offers considering LED bulbs, which dominate modern underwater light designs and are the most durable, have a lifespan starting from 25,000 hours or 2.85 years.

It also means that 3-year warranties are among the best offers, demonstrating a manufacturer's confidence in the reliability and durability of their underwater boat lights.

That said, there are different types of warranties with different covers. Some are exclusive to specific parts of the lights, such as the internal components, while others are more comprehensive and include more parts, like the fixture housing.

Therefore, you must be fully informed before making a purchase to select the best offer for your type of fixture. Naturally, for the premium options above $1,000, full coverage for the most time period is the most preferred choice.

Can I Switch Underwater Lights From One Boat to Another?

Absolutely, transferring underwater lights from one vessel to another is possible , provided they’re compatible .

This means that their conditions for operation are similar. For instance, they share voltage ratings, share mounting styles (whether surface mount or thru-hull), and have similar dimensions that fit comfortably in each other's mounts.

This type of compatibility is common between models of the same brand. Manufacturers often use similar specifications with slight variations for different editions. It’s a lean production strategy that limits the demand for independent lines and materials, lowering the overall cost of production.

As such, a fixture such as the Bluefin LED Piranha P3 and the Bluefin LED Piranha P6 LED Color Changing share multiple specifications such as surface mounting, a 24-volt rating, and a diameter of 3.8 inches.

Even so, it’s important to consult a licensed professional l for guidance on the best matching light fixtures, installation, and local regulations.

What Is the Best Material for Underwater Lights?

The best material for underwater lights is one that protects your fixturefrom corrosion , strong UV radiation , impact , and prevents water ingress to ensure longevity.

However, there are plenty of effective candidates, which is the reason for the exciting variety of design options in underwater fixtures today.

So, let’s start with the best materials against UV radiation and impact.

You’ve probably purchased and experienced a plastic-cased device that faded, became brittle, and deteriorated after continuous sun exposure. Soon after that, the impact of dust and frequent handling led to cracks and breaks.

Well, this is also possible with your underwater fixtures, especially the lens, without a sturdy material.

Excellent examples of sturdy materials include shatterproof polycarbonate , which is 250 times stronger than glass , and injection-molded plastics . Their makeup protects them from physical impact and includes UV stabilizers and coatings that shield them from the effects of exposure.

For corrosion and water ingress, marine-grade materials are essential in keeping rust from forming and breaching your fixture, enabling water intrusion. These include:

• Powder-coated aluminum - Aluminum is inherently resistant to rust due to a naturally occurring oxide layer that keeps water from the metal’s surface. A powder coating creates an additional barrier between water and your fixture, enhancing resistance to corrosion.
• Marine-grade stainless steel - This material is highly resistant to corrosion due to its unique composition that includes chromium, known to form a protective oxide layer on the surface when exposed to oxygen.

Apex Lighting features marine-grade materials in its entire collection of underwater fixtures, from premium models to entry-level solutions such as the Lumitec Zambezi Mini Surface Mount with its marine-grade stainless steel housing.

It’s part of the brand’s commitment to ensuring the highest quality standards in all products, including accessories.

Do I Need Additional Wiring for Underwater Lights?

Certainly, dedicated wiring for your underwater lights is necessary because it enhances safety , especially in the event of a malfunction.

The last thing you want is to be out at sea with a dead engine and one power connection for the entire vessel’s lighting system.

A separate wire layout for your underwater fixture prevents total power loss to your vessel and safeguards your chances of signaling other vessels if the connection to your onboard navigation lights fail.

This backup lighting capability not only increases your chance of rescue but also prevents possible collision with other boats, especially at night or in low-visibility conditions.

As such, it’s essential to have a professional install your additional wiring for underwater lights to guarantee reliable functionality and independent operation from your onboard fixtures.

This will entail critical aspects such as fuses and circuit breakers to isolate your underwater lights from any imbalances and failures of the onboard fixtures, which are specialized concepts that require training and experience to execute successfully.

Are Underwater Lights Waterproof?

Yes, underwater boat lights are waterproof . This is the only way they’re able to survive maritime environments without suffering short circuits and blown fuses from water intrusion.

Specifically, underwater boat fixtures have a water-tight seal and rust-proof construction that enable immersion in water at different depths by keeping the pressure, water, and salinity away from the delicate internal components.

Typically marine-grade metals such as powdered aluminum and stainless steel go into constructing their rustproof housing, while tempered glass and adhesives protect against water ingress.

This combination results in different ingress protection (IP) ratings that communicate the level of resistance each light has.

A fixture such as the Zambezi X2 Surface Mount Underwater Light , for instance, has an IP68 rating. This signals fully waterproof seals and an immersion capability of 8 feet, which is more than enough for deep illumination to aid nighttime fishing or oceanic viewing.

What Is the Difference Between LED and Halogen Underwater Lights?

The key difference between LEDs and halogen underwater fixtures is in how they generate visible light .

LED fixtures use diodes to convert electrical energy into light. The process generates minimal heat and consequently is very efficient and less straining to the internal electrical components. This explains the lengthy lifespans of over 25,000 hours that LED lights achieve.

Halogen bulbs, on the other hand, are a form of incandescent fixture, meaning they emit light from heat generation. Specifically, halogen fixtures produce light by passing a current through a tungsten filament in the presence of halogen gas.

The process generates heat and is, therefore, less efficient and stressful on the internal electrical components than an LED light. As a result, incandescent fixtures typically last 1,500 hours .

That said, when deciding between the two, consider that incandescent lights, such as halogen fixtures, are still currently cheaper to produce and widely available.

As such, they’re recommendable for basic lighting where investing in over 25,000 hours of service life isn’t necessary. But for more functionality and energy efficiency , LED lights are predominantly suitable.

What’s more, they’re becoming more and more affordable and are on track to becoming the standard underwater lighting solution for all your boating needs.

How Do I Choose the Best Underwater Lights for My Boat?

It’s true that not all underwater boat lights are made equal. Some fixtures deliver more value in terms of efficiency , durability , and aesthetics , which are excellent considerations for choosing your ideal underwater fixture.

Right off the bat, LED fixtures are the longest-serving underwater lights, clocking over 25,000 hours compared to the 1,500 and 15,000 hours of incandescent and fluorescent bulbs, respectively.

That said, incandescent and Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) are still popular alternatives, due to their wide availability and relatively cheap production costs.

Therefore, the following table highlights the maximum acceptable watt rating for each type of light per luminosity. Use it as your second selection point and choose the most efficient fixture for your preferred type of boat lights and optimal brightness.

Lastly, consider the aesthetics of the fixture design you settle for. Choose a boat light with a Color Rendering Index of over 70.

This is a measure of color resolution out of 100, and the higher the score, the more accurate your fixture is at recreating colors around your vessel for a more enchanting ambiance. 70 is an above-average rating and an excellent cut-off point for selecting your ideal fixture.

Can I Use Underwater Lights for Fishing?

Certainly, underwater boat lights attract marine life, making them effective tools for catching fish .

This application is known as bioluminescence and is especially effective during nocturnal fishing expeditions.

Green underwater fixtures, in particular, are quite penetrative through water surfaces due to their short wavelengths (shorter than blue or white) that generate more energy.

This makes them excellent at reaching and attracting smaller fish species, generating an illuminated feeding frenzy that invariably draws in larger predatory fish species. For the avid angler, this naturally-occurring spectacle potentially yields a bountiful catch.

However, it's imperative to note that the application of underwater lights for fishing purposes is governed by specific regulations and guidelines which vary across different regions.

For example, Minnesota prohibits the use of artificial lights to lure or see fish in the water while spearing, but not for bow fishing.

As responsible anglers, it's essential to be well-versed in and strictly adhere to such local fishing laws to avoid legal risks and ensure a sustainable balance of aquatic ecosystems.

What Is the Maintenance Required for Underwater Lights?

Maintaining the pristine condition and efficiency of your underwater boat lights is not as daunting as it may initially seem. All you need is a few simple routine tasks.

Firstly, a weekly cleaning regimen is essential to preserve the brightness and clarity of your lights. This inhibits the accumulation of dirt, grime, and sea growth across the surface of your fixture, gradually obscuring and dimming illumination.

The best approach to regular cleaning is to gently wipe the surface of your lights with a soft cloth after dampening lightly with a mild soap solution. Also, use light brushes to gently scrape away any barnacles stuck on the fixture.

Abrasive cleaning agents such as acetone are not recommended because they weaken parts of your fixture such as the lenses, creating potential intrusion spots for rain and seawater.

Your second maintenance task is to periodically inspect your lights (before and after every cruise) for any signs of wear and tear.

Specifically, look out for cracks , scratches , and any signs of corrosion such as discoloration of metal, noting the extent of damage and how soon you’ll need to make a replacement.

Also, keep an eye out for burnt-out bulbs, for instance, the number of diodes in your LED lamp that don’t work.

Dimming of failing bulbs is a clear sign of failure and the perfect time to replace the internal components or the entire device if the malfunction couples with a damaged housing.

Lastly, check your connections and ensure they’re secure and free from any water ingress and corrosion. One particularly critical area is the terminal where your cable meets the light fixture.

This spot often includes screws and clamps that come loose over time due to the physical nature of a marine environment that includes waves and engine vibrations.

As such, you need to verify that all the screws and clamps are tightened and that the connections are well-insulated to prevent water ingress and damage to your fixture.

Can I Use Underwater Lights as a Navigation Tool?

No, underwater boat fixtures are not designed or intended to serve as navigational tools.

Their lights, though vibrant enough to illuminate the surrounding aquatic environment, don’t possess the necessary range of directionality to support safe and effective navigation in various conditions.

Take the instance of a pontoon vessel. An underwater fixture is typically mounted on the transom area and pointing downwards. This is a sensible position and aim, considering most of the boating activities, such as fishing and swimming, occur within that area.

However, from a navigational standpoint, the ideal location for a fixture would be higher on the vessel and forward-facing to enhance visibility and prevent collisions . This is why navigational lights , such as the LED Masthead Lamp from Apex Lighting, work better than underwater fixtures.

Navigational lights are built to not only shine forward to prevent collisions with other vessels, but to also indicate your direction of travel and boating activity via different color codes in all directions. These are simply impossible tasks for submerged fixtures pointing at the ocean.

Do I Need a Special Switch for Underwater Lights?

Indeed, your underwater boat lights need a special switch to cope with the rigors of a maritime environment and enable distinctive functions such as color changing and dimming.

The maritime risk of water and dust intrusion from harsh weather, splashes, and even fog, is such that your switch will require a more rugged type of insulation than, say, your indoor switches. These include marine-grade seals and an IP-rated case.

In comparison, your indoor switches face minimal exposure to these elements, with their primary stress point coming from frequent use, which wears them out.

On top of coping with maritime elements, your underwater boat light switch also faces vibrations from the engine and your boat’s constant rocking from the waves.

This necessitates an impact-resistant design, such as mounting dampeners , creating more distinction from typical indoor light switches and even dock light switches.

And then there’s the back-and-forth motion that all boats experience. Your fixture needs a special switch to enable easy operation even in these conditions, for example, when changing colors or accessing different brightness settings.

As such, a fixture such as the Lumitec SeaBlaze Quattro features a simple and effective Timed Toggle Protocol (TTP) switch that only requires a flick to toggle between the different color and light settings.

This unique design solves the otherwise sophisticated problem of selecting different light options in unfavorable conditions, such as a rocking boat, which is difficult with an ordinary switch.

Can I Control Underwater Lights With a Remote?

Certainly, remote control functionality is possible with today’s underwater boat lights .

These fixtures adopt the same communication protocols as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, such as Bluetooth and WiFi, for the convenience and ease of use they enable.

How this remote setup typically works is, your underwater lights draw power from your batteries through a communication module, such as the POCO Digital Lighting Control V3 from Apex Lighting.

This module, apart from sending power, also delivers lighting instructions such as on-off and color selections to your submerged fixture via an output channel. The user issues these commands via an input communication protocol, typically Bluetooth, and with a smart device.

The following diagram illustrates this operation.

So, essentially, any underwater boat light is capable of remote control if it’s compatible with such a communication module. This particular device works fully with Lumitec brands to enable on-off commands and color selection and partially with non-Lumitec brands for on-off functions.

Can I Install Underwater Lights on My Sailboat?

Yes, installing an underwater light on your sailboat is not only feasible but also greatly beneficial to your vessel.

The fixture provides a unique and magical atmosphere of vibrant colors around your boat that enhances your nighttime sailing experience.

It also provides functionality with gentle illumination to draw sea creatures for fishing or viewing, while improving visibility around your vessel for safe nighttime sailing.

Even so, there are crucial factors to consider before making the leap, for instance, the weight of your fixture relative to your sailboat size. This is particularly sensitive for small dinghies and daysailers, where significant weight additions impact balance and steering capabilities.

Some fixtures draw power from 24-volt lead-acid batteries, for instance, which generally weigh 39 pounds or more and add considerable weight to a small-sized sailboat.

Another important consideration is your local regulations around underwater fixtures and sailboats. A state such as Minnesota prohibits artificial light , including underwater boat lights, for fishing while spearing.

Such regulations set restrictions on how you’re able to use your boat light, if you decide to install it, and are worth considering to assess value.

Which Color Disappears First Underwater?

Within the visible light spectrum, red has the longest wavelength of 650 nanometers (nm) that generates less energy as it travels and is, therefore, the least penetrative through water surfaces.

As such, the color red disappears first underwater as it’s absorbed by water molecules, becoming completely undetectable at 40 meters of saltwater. This is why a red-pigmented fish appears black at 20 meters, making it the perfect camouflage color for marine life.

Therefore when selecting the best color for attracting marine life, red is the least suitable and is better for creating ambiance around your vessel and setting a vibrant mood for your guests.

Violet and green have shorter wavelengths that generate more energy as they travel. This makes them more penetrative through water and more effective at attracting marine life for fishing and viewing.

Do I Need a Transformer for Underwater Boat Lights?

Not for all underwater fixtures . Transformers are certainly critical for certain types of underwater lights, especially when dealing with voltage differences. A typical example is powering your 120-volt incandescent underwater fixture with a 24-volt or 12-volt battery.

A transformer helps you match your voltage supply (power source) with your fixture by amplifying the voltage or stepping it down through electromagnetic induction .

This principle involves current flow between two coils within the transformer, a primary coil that’s connected to a power source and a secondary coil that’s connected to a load or your underwater lights.

As current passes through the primary coil, it induces electron flow within the secondary coil via electromagnetism. Depending on the number of windings on the secondary coil, this action either amplifies voltage or steps it down.

So, for a step-up action, such as turning 24 volts into 120 volts, the secondary coil has more windings on the secondary coil. As induction creates electron flow within the secondary coil, the electrons experience more turns due to the extra windings.

This generates a greater voltage output compared to the original voltage supply to the primary coil, hence the title “transformer.” Therefore, you need a transformer for underwater lights if your voltage supply (power source) isn’t compatible with your type of fixture.

Can I Use Underwater Lights in Rough Seas?

Yes, underwater lights certainly possess the capability to operate in turbulent water conditions.

They’re built to withstand maritime stress with protective elements such as a stainless steel casing, IP-rated insulation, immersion resistance, and polycarbonate lenses. This material is 250 times stronger than glass and excellent against extreme weather and flying debris.

Even so, you must exercise caution when in rough conditions. In spite of their robustness, underwater boat fixtures work optimally in more serene and peaceful waters.

These conditions avoid pushing your lights to the edge of their limits and help you maximize their expected lifespan and your return on investment. But it’s not just about the fixtures. It’s also about your safety as a boating enthusiast.

Rough seas carry greater risks than a damaged underwater fixture, so it’s better to enjoy your boating adventure in favorable conditions.

Safety Warning: Operating your boat in rough seas poses risks to both you and the equipment. Be sure to follow maritime safety guidelines and consult local weather and sea conditions before setting out.

What Types of Underwater Boat Lights Does Apex Lighting Offer?

Apex Lighting is a one-stop shop that caters to all your underwater boat lighting needs with an extensive range of high-quality fixtures including:

• Thru-Hull Lights - Apex Lighting carries only the most innovative models featuring unique qualities such as the SeaBlaze Typhoon Thru-Hull Underwater with its mounting flange nut. This mount distributes the pressure applied to the nut over a larger surface area to create a firm and secure fitting that stands up to engine vibrations and the constant rocking motion of your vessel.
• Surface Mount Lights - The Apex Lighting collection features sturdy properties to withstand harsh maritime elements such as saltwater and its corrosiveness. One example is the SeaBlaze Quattro , which features a marine-grade bronze body.
• Color Changing Lights - Whether you own a large commercial yacht or a recreational boat, Apex Lighting offers bright and colorful fixtures to create ambiance around your vessel. You’ll find the full-color Lumitec Javelin 600X that’s ideal for medium to large vessels. You’ll also find the more nimble Zambezi Mini Surface Mount that’s perfect for pontoons and small boats.

The table below shows selected examples of each of the different types of underwater boat lights available at Apex Lighting.

“Nice lights, easy to install, pretty bright!” — Ian L., Verified Buyer

What Brands of Underwater Boat Lights Does Apex Lighting Carry?

Apex Lighting deals exclusively with top-notch brands . These names have left significant imprints in the industry and become synonymous with exceptional quality, durability, and cutting-edge design.

First among these brands is Bluefin LED , which offers a wide variety of exceptional underwater lights, including the Manta Ray MR20 Thru-Hull Underwater Light , for its impressive luminescence of 15,000 lumens and full color changing.

Another remarkable brand is Lumitec that’s well-known for its durability. Lumitec manufactures its products to withstand harsh maritime conditions and includes sturdy features such as the plated naval bronze housing of the Javelin 600X LED Underwater Light .

Plating improves corrosion resistance by creating a barrier between salt water and the fixture. At the same time, naval bronze is an alloy of excellent strength and resistance to corrosion.

The list extends to include Aqualuma , which is a long-established brand revered for top-quality fixtures that perfectly blend functionality and aesthetics.

The Aqualuma 18 Series LED Underwater Light , for instance, features a gorgeous transparent case that shows off its inner working and delivers a powerful blue or white illumination of 2,150 lumens.

But the list doesn't end there. Apex Lighting is continually updating its portfolio with more and more brands that meet the high standards clients have come to expect.

So, by choosing Apex Lighting, you can trust that you're investing in the products available in the market from the leading brands in the industry.

Can I Use Apex Lighting’s Boat Lights for Different Types of Boats?

Absolutely, Apex Lighting's vast selection of marine lights caters to a diverse range of aquatic vehicles , whether you own a cozy sailboat, a robust fishing vessel, a luxurious yacht, or any other type of marine craft.

Their underwater light, such as the Lumitec SeaBlaze X2 LED Underwater Light , is 3.94 inches wide and features an easy-screw surface mount style. This makes the fixture minimally intrusive in terms of space and mounting, and a comfortable fit for any vessel regardless of size.

“I purchased 4 of these as a gift for my husband for our 38' SeaRay. We have only been out at night once since we installed them, but they do look great.” — Tiffany K., Verified Buyer

For smaller boats like pontoons and skiffs, Apex Lighting offers the Lumitec Zambezi Mini Surface Mount . It’s an excellent choice for powerful lighting without adding excessive weight that impacts navigation performance and range.

Meanwhile, high-end options such as the Lumitec Typhoon Thru-Hull Underwater light provide advanced features such as a 10,000-lumen illumination and modular quick-change design for color. This makes an excellent choice for larger vessels like yachts.

What Is the Pricing Range for Boat Lights at Apex Lighting?

The pricing of boat lights at Apex Lighting spans a broad spectrum to accommodate all budgets, from premium offers of over $1,000 to economical prices of under $300. Mid rangers cost below $1,000 and above $400.

That said, the individual price of each model depends on factors such as the brand and distinctive features of the light. As such, the 15,000-lumen Bluefin LED Great White GW20 costs upwards of $1,000, while the 6,000-lumen Lumitec Javelin 600X LED costs just under $700.

Therefore to get the ideal value for money, first determine the features that are most critical to your specific application. For instance, where will you place the fixture and how bright should it be? Will you need to safeguard the light from corrosive saltwater?

These considerations help you pinpoint your ideal boat light and keep you from investing in unnecessary features that increase the purchase price.

Does Apex Lighting Offer LED Boat Lights?

Absolutely, Apex Lighting not only offers LED boat lights but also provides an extensive LED collection that caters to a variety of marine lighting needs. These include dock spaces, boat interiors and exteriors, and even underwater illumination.

Why? LED lights are a significant upgrade over traditional bulbs , providing three main advantages.

Firstly, LED boat lights are known for their longevity , with fixtures such as the Bluefin LED Great White GW20 clocking over 50,000 hours of service.

This lifespan far surpasses that of traditional incandescent bulbs, which manage 1,500 hours, and translates into less frequent replacements.

Secondly, LED boat lights are much more energy-efficient compared to their traditional incandescent counterparts. They consume 80% less power , which is a crucial consideration for boat owners as energy resources on a boat are often limited.

Lastly, despite their lower energy consumption, LED boat lights produce intense illumination . The Bluefin LED Great White fixture, for instance, produces 12,000 lumens, which is sufficient for enhancing visibility and safety in any marine setting, particularly during nighttime navigation.

Related Reading: Types of Boat Lights & What You Need to Know Before Buying

Can Underwater Boat Lights Increase the Value of My Vessel?

Absolutely, underwater lights from Apex Lighting have high Color Rendering Index (CRI) ratings that help you enhance the aesthetic beauty of your vessel and, consequently, its value.

After the basics, such as your boat size and sea mileage, it’s the elegance of your vessel that enhances its appeal and perceived value.

This element taps into our subjective perception of value that we rely on to evaluate products after the factual numbers. As such, the Javelin 600X LED Underwater with its high CRI of over 70 and full color changing is excellent at sprucing up your vessel and boosting its overall value.

Likewise, the fixture’s high-polish finish and distinctive rectangular design add to the elegance and personality of your vessel that collectively serve to enhance its value.

How Can I Find the Best Light for My Boat?

Determining the optimal lighting for your boat involves a combination of utilizing digital tools and seeking professional advice .

The Apex Lighting website features a powerful filter feature that allows you to navigate through an array of boat lights with ease.

This filtering tool efficiently sorts lights based on categories such as type, brand, and price, which are excellent considerations to help you pinpoint the best choice for your specific set of requirements.

But what’s more effective is the one-on-one advice from the dedicated staff at Apex Lighting. Nothing beats this personalized touch and wealth of experience in helping you figure out the best light for your boat size, aesthetic style, geographical location, and even environment.

For instance, saltwater versus freshwater. You’ll definitely need more protective features for your boat lights to operate in a saltwater environment than you would in a freshwater setting, which requires more financial investment.

Moreover, the knowledgeable staff at Apex Lighting will help you understand the different lighting technologies available for your boat, such as LED and compact fluorescent bulbs, and their respective benefits in terms of affordability and longevity.

How Do I Install the Boat Lights I Purchased From Apex Lighting?

Apex Lighting products are pretty user-friendly. They enable a plug-and-play setup that makes their installation incredibly straightforward.

But the best part is that you don’t have to figure it out yourself. Each lighting product comes with its own detailed set of instructions to guide you through the entire installation process, from preparing your boat for installation to securing the light in the right place.

What’s more, the Apex Lighting website features explainer videos on each product page with breakdowns of their unique functionalities to further inform your installation.

So, all you have to do for a successful installation is follow the step-by-step manuals and refer to the product videos .

That said, not everyone is comfortable with DIY installations, and the process might seem complex, especially if it's your first time dealing with boat lights.

In this instance, seek assistance from a professional experienced in boat light setups. This not only ensures correct installation but also guarantees optimal operation, which is crucial for their performance and longevity.

“Very easy to install and fit perfectly. Replaced the cheap lights that caused my stereo to “scramble”. All works great now. Another great purchase from Apex Lighting.” — Bill H., Verified Buyer

Does Apex Lighting Offer a Warranty on Their Boat Lights?

Indeed, Apex Lighting provides reasonable 2–3-year warranties on their boat light fixtures to ensure your investment and peace of mind are well-protected.

This information features on each product page under “Warranty Information” and right before customer reviews to help your purchase decision and prove the reliability of each light design.

Additionally, the motivated staff at Apex Light are always reachable via phone at (954) 421-3267 and ready to respond to all your queries, including warranty information.

This provides an excellent avenue for you to discover more about the individual product coverages and the specific terms and conditions of making a claim, for instance, for self-installed light fixtures.

Does Apex Lighting Ship Internationally?

Thinking of gifting a friend overseas? Wondering if they’ll be able to receive it?

Yes, they will. Apex Lighting ships internationally via UPS and USPS .

Both carriers provide services to more than 220 and 180 territories , respectively, extending accessibility to high-quality marine lights beyond the United States. This includes Great Britain, Canada, Japan, Mexico, and Australia, which are excellent locations for boating enthusiasts.

That said, the nature of international logistics is complex, with evolving import-export policies and regulations that change over time.

As such, it’s critical to check the latest shipping policies on the Apex Lighting website regularly, especially for non-immediate destinations.

This will provide the most current and accurate information on international shipping capabilities, rates, and other related details.

Alternatively, reach out to Apex Lighting directly and find out whether your desired location is within their shipping list.

“Easy to install and look great at night. Installed for night fishing and diving.” — Warren J., Verified Buyer

All sailboats have an underwater fin

Hanging underneath the back end of most sailboats (except sailboards) is a rotating fin called a rudder. The rudder does just what you think it does — it steers the boat. Underneath the middle of most sailboats is a second, larger, fin called a keel or centerboard.

Comparing keelboats and dinghies

The primary purpose of both keels and centerboards is to keep the boat from skidding sideways from the force of the wind and to provide lift so your boat can sail closer to the wind. (When sailing, your sails and the underwater fins act like wings. If your physics teacher explained wings when you weren't paying attention, see Appendix C for a quick review.) Although a few exceptions exist, if the fin is fixed (not movable) and made of a heavy material like lead, it's usually a keel. And if the fin is lightweight and retractable, it's usually a centerboard.

II Keelboats: Keelboats have a keel, a fixed, heavy lead fin for ballast hanging under their hull, as Figure 1-2 shows, providing stability against the wind's force. The smallest keelboats are model (sometimes radio-controlled) sailboats, but keelboats that carry human passengers are usually more than 20 feet (6 meters) in length.

Figure 1-2:

Keels and rudders come in different shapes and configurations. The photo at left is common, while the right photo has twin rudders and a canting ballast fin and bulb.

^ Dinghies: Dinghies are nimble, small sailboats that are typically more responsive than their ballasted cousins sporting keels. But watch out — dinghies can capsize, or tip over. Instead of that ballast weight in the keel, they have a lighter fin called a centerboard that's retractable. The centerboard may also be called a daggerboard if it retracts vertically (see Figure 1-3), depending on its position and movement (or a leeboard if it's mounted on the side of the boat). Most dinghies range in length from 8 to 20 feet (2.5 to 6 meters).

Figure 1-3:

Two dinghies: (left) with a centerboard and (right) with a dagger-board.

Comparing tillers and wheels

So how do you drive (or steer, in sailor speak)? Well, those rudders shown in Figures 1-2 and 1-3 are connected to either a tiller, a long lever arm that allows you to turn the rudder, or a wheel, which is attached to cables that turn the rudder. Generally, smaller boats have tillers, and bigger boats have wheels, because bigger boats have greater force on the rudder and would require an enormous lever arm.

A boat with a wheel steers just like your car — turn left to go left, right to go right. But you push a tiller to the right to turn left and to the left to go to the right. (Check out Chapter 4 for more on steering.) Steering sounds trickier than it really is — a tiller is quite responsive, and you quickly develop a "feel" for the correct way to turn.

Continue reading here: All sailboats have lots of rope

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Related Posts

• Keel Appeal - Science of Sailing
• Using the rudder - Sailing Techniques
• Appendages - Catamarans Guide
• Centerboard version of the Seafarer K
• A choice between water ballast fin and wing keel

Readers' Questions

Can sailboats go underwater?

No, sailboats cannot go underwater. They are designed to sail on the surface of the water using the force of the wind to move them. If a sailboat were to go underwater, it would usually be a result of a sinking or capsizing accident, which is not how they are meant to be operated.

What steers a sailboat?

A helmsman steers a sailboat. They use a tiller or a wheel to control the rudder which directs the boat.

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Hull cleaning $70.00 minimum on all hull cleaning.

*Prices are for vessels on a recommended minimum monthly or bi-weekly cleaning schedule. First-time cleanings are a minimum of an additional $1.00/ft or $130/hr Boats with bad paint, or no paint are an additional $2/ft or $130/hr minimum Boats with excessive growth are an additional $2/ft or $130/hr minimum Bi-Monthly cleanings will be billed at twice the monthly rate

Vessels located at private residences will be billed an additional flat rate of $25

• One-Time Cleaning $5/ft or $130/hr
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We do not provide service to outdrives. It is highly recommended that boats with outdrives be stored in dry storage, or kept on a trailer.

We do not provide service to vessels with foul release coatings such as Hull Maxx or Hull Pro.

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A $75.00 Minimum Dive Fee Will Be Applied For Any Zincs Changed Without Hull Cleaning Service

Labor is $10 per anode or $20 per hull plate.

The cost of the anodes themselves may fluctuate slightly. 

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Cruising 600, accessories, racing carbon, hydrogenerators cruising.

A good management of the energy on board is the key point to sail in total serenity, regardless the consumption of the on-board electronics or other electrical appliances. Watt&Sea’s hydrogenerators propose an energy self-sufficiency solution on board of cruise or race boats, in the respect of the environment.

Stemmed from ocean racing research, the first Watt&Sea hydrogenerator gets started in 2008 with the objective of an optimal output associated to a negligible drag, letting the boat sail with a positive energy while loading the batteries. Our hydrogenerator has since then being improved taking into account users’ comments, so that we are proposing today an even more reliable and efficient product.

Validated on all seas around the globe, they are the most powerful, reliable and lightest available on the market.

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Lifting bracket with cam cleat. Easy immersion and lifting

12/24V converter included. MPPT and Boost technology

Fastening on the transom…

Watt&Sea’s hydrogenerators are usually fastened on the transom of the boats thanks to the fastening kit supplied (adapted to straight and vertical transom). The lifting up and down are similar to a rudder blade’s handling. The charge power being so important, it allows to lift the hydrogenerator up when batteries are fully loaded. Handling makes it easier thanks to high quality steering : an Antal low friction ring to divide the effort plus a Harken cam cleat to maintain the unit in its position.

… or straight under the hull !

New model POD 600 to be fastened straight under the hull !

Tested since 2014 by a few privileged sailors, this version has been able to demonstrate those useful advantages :

• no complicated handling up and down
• easy start-up
• electrical output is the same compared to classic models

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Watt&Sea racing hydrogenerators   have radically modify the energy management on board and have become essential pieces of equipment in mythical offshore races like the Vendée Globe or the Route du Rhum. The VOLVO OCEAN RACE has chosen to place its confidence in   Watt&Sea , by equipping the Volvo Ocean 65 fleet present on the start line on the 22nd October 2017 !

Racing hydrogenerators are equipped with a controlled pitch propeller, functionning electronically with an independent system. The drag is minimal and the energy output is optimal on a speed range from 5 to 30 knots.

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Convertisseur / Régulateur 12/24 V inclus. technologie MPPT et Boost

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Racing hydrogenerators are equipped with a controlled pitch propeller, such as an “aeroplane propeller”. High speed launch is possible, putting the blades in the feathered position.

Fastening on the stern…

Watt&Sea racing hydrogenerators tend to be fixed directly on the boats transom, thanks to the fixation kit included in the pack. The lifting and immersion is done like with a dinghy rudder. The effective charge power permits to lift the hydrogenerator up when the batteries are full. Operations are facilitated by premium quality equipment purchased : a low friction ring multiply the effort, and Harken clam-cleat maintains the hydro in the good position.

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Underwater Lighting

Next level marine led lighting.

Lumishore builds the brightest, most reliable, high-performance underwater LED lighting solutions for boats of all sizes, using state of the art technology and the highest quality materials.

Due to their unrivalled brightness, Lumishore underwater lights have the farthest reach together with the widest beam angles, allowing the light to penetrate deep into the water, to create a beautiful, uninterrupted halo of light around your vessel.

BRIGHTER. GREENER. BETTER.

Our underwater lights offer superior brightness without compromising sustainability. Experience efficiency and unbeatable value in a new era of illumination!

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EOS - Full Color Control And RGBW

The only fully controllable color change underwater lights available on the market, delivering the greatest range of colors, scenes and zones. Due to Lumishore’s intelligent, dynamic channel management, EOS underwater lights are brighter in every color and mixed colors.

Unique light discovery and light "auto-install" function simplifies the system setup and reduces installation time.

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SUPRA - Dual Color Change

‘2-lights-in-1’ in a single high-powered fixture. White and blue each run at full power without sacrificing brightness. Synchronized fade and strobe modes, plus unique plug-and-play connectivity to MFDs.

Browse Dual Color Underwater Lights

Like what you see?

Contact your local dealer to discover the full Lumishore collection.

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ORA - Single Color

The brightest single-colored lights in the most compact fittings!

• Blue : most versatile for changing water conditions
• White : best in clear, shallow, sandy waters
• Green : best for murky, green or brown waters

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Surface Mounts (SMX)

• Compact yet extremely powerful with up to 7,000 Fixture Lumens
• Wide 90º beam angle creates a beautiful lighting effect
• Internal/ built-in driver for ease of installation
• Install to hull surface with 3 screws and small piercing for the cable
• Marine Bronze body with BK7 borosilicate glass lens, to withstand the marine environment
• Transom and side mounting

Browse SMX Models

Thru-Hull (THX)

• Most secure mounting type, suitable for transom, side and bottom
• External driver for ease of light unit installation in constrained spaces
• Most powerful Thru-Hull units available - up to 20,000 Fixture Lumens
• Ultra-wide 110º beam angle means the light saturates deep into the water and allows optimum light spacing

Browse THX Models

Interchangeable Thru-Hull (TIX)

• Most secure mounting type, with the added benefit of an internal LED array and integrated driver for the ability to service from inside the hull and easy installation
• Extremely bright, yet compact design is suitable for uniquely minimal hull cut-outs (as small as 1”/27mm)
• Up to 20,000 Fixture Lumens

Browse TIX Models

Configure your lights

Check out our Online Configurator to see how your boat looks with a variety of underwater lights. Simply choose your boat to test drive all the mounting locations, light models, quantities and color options before you buy.

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Boat Underwater Light, Marine Waterproof LED, Stainless Steel Light in Water, 27 LEDs DC 10-36Volts,Blue and White Boats Lights, IP68, Surface Mount Designed Cruise Ships, Yachts, Sailboat, Pontoon

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About this item.

• [Dual Color underwater lights] - 27 LED White lights provide the bright which is enough for pontoon marine boat fishing vessel underwater lighting or navigation stern light. Plenty of light while under way and when docked it gives a nice glow around the edges for night fishing.
• [120° LED Beam Angle] -The angle of light is widely, which can attract fish in a wide range and also create a comfortable atmosphere.
• [ IP68 Waterproof LED lights ] - THALASS Marine boat underwater light has longer lasting life with low power consumption, Stainless steel housing is more durable.
• [Blue and White Underwater Light] - 320 Lumen of 2.3W Power compared to standard bulb of 50W. Also with 65Lumen(Blue) of 2.3W Power. Enough use for yacht, launch, pleasure-boat, yachting, barge.
• [Surface mount] - Easy installation surface mount with a small hole for wiring. Suggested for above waterline.

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Product information

Technical details, additional information, warranty & support, product details.

• Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.13 x 3.58 x 2.48 inches; 4.97 ounces
• Item model number ‏ : ‎ L0760WB-1pk
• Date First Available ‏ : ‎ August 17, 2020
• Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ THALASSA
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0952NJFVR

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underwater light 12V

Genuine Marine Systems

Product Description

Two-color Boat Marine Underwater Light

Material：Housing: Made of SUS316

Housing Colour：Polished S.S

LED Colour： Daylight White and blue，LED：27 PCS

Working Voltage： DC10-30V， Wattage：2.3W

LED Beam Angle：120°

Effective Lumen：320Lumen(White) /65Lumen(Blue)/50W

Features： Surface Mount Underwater Light

Size: 3.76'' x 1.63"Measurement Error Range (0.1-0.3inch)

Marine SUS 316 Boat Underwater Light (White and Blue)

Waterproof Level: IP68

LED Lamp Beads : 2835 LEDs

Housing: Made of SUS316

Accessories: Stainless Steel Screws and Instructions

Wiring Instructions:

It can be installed horizontally or vertically. "+" connects to the positive pole, and "-" connects to the negative pole.

Long Press the Switch, Touch Slowly To Dim the Effection

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The US military's massive unmanned 'Manta Ray' submarine cleared its first sea test

• The US military is developing a huge underwater drone called the "Manta Ray."
• The unmanned system passed its first major test at sea earlier this year.
• Drones like the Manta Ray can function like a torpedo, mine, or small submarine.

A US military submarine that looks like a giant metal manta ray and is currently under development passed its first major test at sea.

The unmanned prototype aptly named "Manta Ray" completed "full-scale, in-water testing" off the coast of Southern California in February and March, the Pentagon's research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Manta Ray, built by defense contractor Northrop Grumman, is an uncrewed underwater vehicle , a type of drone that can essentially function like a torpedo or small submarine but can also double as a mine.

According to DARPA, the five-year-old Manta Ray program looks to build a "new class of long-duration, long-range, payload-capable UUVs" that can operate in various maritime environments around the world. It didn't really elaborate further on the function.

Testing earlier this year evaluated the Manta Ray's different modes of propulsion and steering — its buoyancy, propellers, and control surfaces — while submerged at sea.

"Our successful, full-scale Manta Ray testing validates the vehicle's readiness to advance toward real-world operations after being rapidly assembled in the field from modular subsections," Kyle Woerner, the DARPA program manager for the Manta Ray, said in the statement.

"The combination of cross-country modular transportation, in-field assembly, and subsequent deployment demonstrates a first-of-kind capability for an extra-large UUV," he added.

Related stories

One photograph of the Manta Ray shows it sitting adjacent to a support boat, and another shows it with people standing on top of it. These underscore just how large this drone actually is. Despite its large size, the underwater system can be easily shipped and assembled, DARPA said, which allows for the vehicle to be quickly deployed anywhere without crowding up the piers at US naval facilities.

Also, "shipping the vehicle directly to its intended area of operation conserves energy that the vehicle would otherwise expend during transit," Woerner said.

"Once deployed, the vehicle uses efficient, buoyancy-driven gliding to move through the water," he continued. "The craft is designed with several payload bays of multiple sizes and types to enable a wide variety of naval mission sets."

DARPA noted that it is working with the US Navy on next steps for testing the Manta Ray.

The Navy already operates various types of UUVs — alongside unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) — for reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions.

In the Middle East, for example, a first-of-its-kind Navy initiative known as Task Force 59 is working to merge unmanned systems and artificial intelligence with maritime operations in the region. This program is intended to give the US more surveillance and deterrence options and is becoming an increasingly important job as wars become more dependent on autonomous platforms.

The US, however, is not the only one to operate maritime drones; it has seen friends and foes alike use USVs and UUVs to conduct operations amid conflicts in the Red Sea and Black Sea.

In recent months, Iran-backed Houthi rebels have attempted to use USVs and UUVs to hit ships off the coast of Yemen. These threats, however, are either destroyed by US and coalition forces in the water , or in preemptive strikes on land before the weapons can even be launched.

Ukraine, meanwhile, has relied heavily on USVs to target Russian warships in the Black Sea. Kyiv has been quite successful with this asymmetric style of warfare , which Moscow has been unable to consistently defend against.

Watch: How the Iranian-backed Houthi militia compares to the US-led task force in the Red Sea

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Florida man survives shark attack after 'apex predator' pulls him underwater, narrowly misses femoral artery

A Florida deckhand attacked by a pair of reef sharks after slipping off a fishing dock in the Bahamas recounted the terrifying encounter Wednesday.

Marlin Wakeman, 24, was working on a charter boat when he misjudged a jump on the dock, falling into the water. Fishermen at the Flying Fish Marina on Long Island regularly throw their scraps into the surrounding waters, effectively keeping a cadre of sharks there as "pets."

At least 20 sharks raced up to the 24-year-old when he fell off the dock on April 26 and "ended up in a shark den," Wakeman told Fox News Digital. 

"Everybody keeps asking 'are you traumatized?'" Wakeman, who has spent much of his life beside or in the ocean while diving or on boats, said on Tuesday. "It's definitely a big scary thing that happened to me, and I'm definitely shaken up from it, but I knew what would happen as soon as I fell in." 

MAN, 65, BITTEN BY SHARK OFF SOUTH CAROLINA COAST WHILE SPEARFISHING, COAST GUARD SAYS

Wakeman credited his years of experience for his quick reaction that likely saved his life.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"I wasn't really scared at the moment," he said. "I just knew I had to get out as quickly as possible. Thankfully, I'm here to tell the story."

The sport fishing mate and his friends at the Bahamas dock had often discussed what might happen to them if they fell in the water – fishermen would regularly fillet their catches and throw the refuse into the water there, maintaining a mass of sharks that were"so dialed into the sound of something hitting the water that they look at any sound and they think ‘food.’"

"What we've created is if something hits the water they're going to bite it, whether it's a stick, a human, a shore power cord that falls in the water," Wakeman said. "I realized quickly that this is the last place you want to fall in the water."

The 24-year-old said he was only in the water for "five to seven seconds" after he miscalculated a jump onto a boat while ferrying fishing gear to and from the vessel. He managed to catch himself on the boat, but a shark grabbed his leg and pulled him under the water. 

"I knew a shark bit me, there wasn't a second of doubt in my mind," Wakeman said. 

Another shark nipped his shoulder with its teeth before the deckhand managed to pull himself back onto the boat. 

He called for the captain of the boat and elevated his leg. Wakeman said a nearby sailboat guide began to panic, yelling "He's bleeding out!" "I was like, hey, can we get this guy away from me? This is freaking me out a little bit." 

"I was like, hey man, I don't really wanna die right now. This ain't it," he told reporters while smiling at a press conference last week.

The boat's captain tied a tourniquet to Wakeman's leg and pushed him into a van with a wheelbarrow. There, someone shoved gauze into his leg wound, and Wakeman passed out from the pain. 

FEMALE GREAT WHITE SHARK SPOTTED TWICE OFF ALABAMA COAST IN PAST MONTH

The man was taken to the nearest medical center, then flown to Florida from the Bahamas for surgery. 

Wakeman's surgeon, Dr. Robert Borrego, said that the shark's bite narrowly missed a femoral artery. If the shark had bitten in a slightly different spot, Wakeman would have bled out on the dock in minutes, the doctor said last week.

"The fact that there’s 20 sharks in there, and you were able to get out of there and still have a leg? It’s amazing. And I think it also goes to say how quickly he reacted and that he didn’t panic," Borrego said.

BRITISH TOURIST HAS HAND, THIGH SEVERED AFTER BEING MAULED BY BULL SHARK IN CARIBBEAN: 'LUCKY TO BE ALIVE'

Borrego told reporters that he estimated that the shark that bit Wakeman's leg was seven feet long. Wakeman believes it was a Caribbean shark. 

The deckhand, who had just returned from a physical therapy appointment Wednesday, told Fox News Digital that he is expected to make a full recovery. Currently, he is unable to move his knee properly. 

He credits Borrego, who has done extensive research on which types of bacteria come from which types of sharks, with his quick recovery. 

"I came into the hospital, I told them I got bitten by a reef shark, and he knew what type of antibiotics to give me," Wakeman said. "He's done this research to find out what research you need to do with which sharks, so you're not guessing - that can save you from a really bad infection or losing a limb." 

Last month's shark encounter wasn't Wakeman's first brush with the "apex predators." He has come face-to-face with them multiple times on diving excursions. Despite his harrowing experience, he insists that his own human error and the behavior of humans at the dock caused the accident, and urged those afraid of sharks to reconsider. 

"You hear of these terrifying incidents in Australia and South Africa and Hawaii and the Bahamas. It's scary stuff, but sharks aren't how they're made out to be, he said. "But there's a fine line to where fear and respect join in together. I don't think everyone should be as terrified as they are of sharks. they're scary as s***, but it's not like they're going to eat you because you're swimming in the water." 

"I would tell the public, don't be scared to go to the beach, don't be scared to go diving in a cool spot," he said. "If you're on a cruise and there's a snorkel thing and you're scared to do it because you're scared of sharks, I would try to persuade people to do it. It's so rare to be bitten by a shark it's insane."

However, he noted that the treatment of sharks at the dock where he was bitten is the norm in the Bahamas, and said that accidents like his could be prevented with a few simple countermeasures. 

In his career, he said he has fallen off docks three times, but the situation wasn't so dire in the previous two instances because the sharks weren't used to being fed.

"Maybe put the fillet table in a different corner than all the boats are, maybe put the fish carcasses in a wheelbarrow and put them in a different spot," he suggested. "But that's up to the Bahamas – if they want to keep their marinas like that, that's their business."

"I'm not going to beg them to change it because I made a mistake," he said. "It is a problem, though. I don't think there should be that many sharks in a marina like that. Let's say it was an older person or a younger kid. I had to do a full muscle up - if it was a kid they wouldn't have been able to reach the boat, and if it was an older person they wouldn't have the strength to pull themselves up."

Wakeman said he's had "one nightmare" since his brush with the sharks – but insisted that he would continue to dive, swim and work in the ocean. 

Original article source: Florida man survives shark attack after 'apex predator' pulls him underwater, narrowly misses femoral artery

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‘The future is bright:’ Lake Apopka rebounding from decades of pollution

Lakefront communities like montverde see ecotourism boost as water quality improves.

Mike DeForest , Investigative Reporter

MONTVERDE, Fla. – While a pontoon boat was cruising along the southwest shore of Lake Apopka earlier this month, an alligator swimming alongside it suddenly dove underwater and took off at a high rate of speed, creating a large wake on the surface as it streaked in front of the bow.

“I have never seen one move that fast!” exclaimed Joe Dunn, the executive director of Friends of Lake Apopka .

“That was wild,” said Wes Parrish, a member of the citizen advocacy group’s board. “I’ve never seen that behavior.”

Dunn and Parrish invited News 6 on a boat tour of Lake Apopka, which butts up to Montverde and other communities in Lake and Orange counties, to show how the body of water is rebounding from decades of contamination caused primarily by farms that once lined the lake’s northern shore.

[RELATED: WKMG HITS THE ROAD! FIND OUT WHAT NEIGHBORHOODS WE ARE VISITING ]

“Every time we go out and talk to people, it always surprises them that the lake is what it is today,” said Parrish. “They still have this stigma in their mind that it is this a terribly polluted, dead lake.”

Instead, colorful birds build nests and hunt for food in the native vegetation that’s being restored along the shoreline while Lake Apopka’s once-famous largemouth bass population continues to make a comeback.

“During the 20′s, 30′s, and 40′s this was the best bass fishing lake in the eastern United States,” said Dunn. “People from all over came here to fish in the clear waters of Lake Apopka with a sandy bottom (including) Clark Gable and Al Capone.”

Problems on the lake first began in the 1890s, according to Dunn, long before the dozens of fish camps that once lined the shores of Lake Apopka began shuttering due to declining bass numbers.

That’s when a seven-mile canal was excavated to connect Lake Apopka to the Harris Chain of Lakes, causing the water level to drop.

“They dug the Apopka-Beauclair Canal to get citrus from here up to the Ocklawaha River, the St. Johns River, Jacksonville and then up the east coast,” said Dunn. “The entire 50,000-acre lake went down three feet.”

Newly-exposed land on the lake’s north shore was put to use during World War II to grow vegetables.

Dunn said pesticides and fertilizers containing phosphates originating from those cabbage and corn farms spilled into Lake Apopka, triggering sunlight-blocking algae blooms that killed aquatic plants needed by most game fish to survive.

The problem was exacerbated by effluent from nearby citrus processing plants and municipal wastewater facilities being disposed of in Lake Apopka.

“They thought, ‘It’s a big ole lake. It’ll dissipate and won’t hurt anybody,’” said Dunn.

But by the mid-1980s, the last of Lake Apopka’s fish camps closed as the once crystal-clear water had turned pea green and the sandy lake bottom was covered in a thick “muck” of dead vegetation.

Central Florida biologist Jim Thomas established Friends of Lake Apopka in 1991, in part to encourage farmers to voluntarily limit the amount of fertilizer and pesticides flowing into the lake.

When those efforts failed, Dunn said the organization successfully pressured state leaders to buy up farmland on Lake Apopka’s north shore and invest in a major clean-up operation.

In 1998, the state completed the $100 million purchase of 15,000 acres of agricultural land and began flooding the former marshes.

Since then, multiple government agencies have taken measures to improve Lake Apopka’s water quality while restoring native vegetation that had been killed off over the past century.

Among the most significant actions has been the construction of the Lake Apopka Marsh Flow-Way , a series of ponds and marshes that naturally filter phosphorous and other contaminants out of the water as it flows through native vegetation. The clean water is then routed back to Lake Apopka using electric pumps.

“They call it an ‘artificial kidney’ because it takes the toxins out,” said Dunn. “Every 18 months the entire 54 billion gallons of this lake goes through that process. It’s all-natural. No chemicals. It’s just water slowly filtering the phosphorous out.”

Additional phosphorus is removed from the lake through the regular harvesting of gizzard shad, a native fish that feeds on algae and keeps the water green by churning up muck on the lake bottom.

As a result of those clean-up efforts, phosphorus concentrations in Lake Apopka have declined 69% since the late 1980s while water clarity has increased 93%, according to the St. Johns Water Management District .

Friends of Lake Apopka has been raising community awareness about the lake’s problems and potential solutions, but Dunn credits state leaders for taking action to reverse the damage.

“We’re just the cheerleaders,” said Dunn. “The St. Johns Water Management District does the heavy lifting. (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) does really good work. Our legislative delegation supports them and gets the funding. So the way people can help is by supporting those organizations.”

Although Lake Apopka has significantly improved over the past three decades, Dunn said the lake continually faces threats.

Most recently, the invasive aquatic plant hydrilla threatened to cover much of the lake’s surface, blocking out sunlight needed by native plant and animal species.

Hydrilla typically covers about 500 acres of Lake Apopka, said Dunn. Due to what he described as inadequate state funding to control the invasive plant, hydrilla had taken over about 18,000 acres of the lake by 2019.

“We were screaming at the top of our lungs saying this is crazy,” Dunn told News 6. “There was an existential threat to Lake Apopka.”

State legislators eventually approved $7 million to attack the hydrilla with an herbicide that was applied by helicopter this past winter and spring, said Dunn, successfully bringing the invasive plant back under control.

“We keep saying, ‘You don’t declare victory and go home and just pop the champagne’,” Dunn said. “You knocked it back to 500 aces. But if next fall it grows to 1,000 acres, you’ve got to fix it. And it will only cost $100,000. Not $7 million. That’s the math Tallahassee understood.”

Assuming Lake Apopka’s water quality continues to improve, Dunn believes efforts will eventually be made to dredge the thick muck covering the bottom and expose the original sand that helped make the lake sparkle nearly a century ago.

But Dunn predicts such a project will be dauntingly expensive.

“You probably can’t get that kind of money at a state level. It’s probably going to be at a federal level. And how do you get the federal level excited about Florida’s fourth-largest lake?” asked Dunn. “You’ve got to have patience and tenacity. You just keep pushing and pushing. And if people bond together and raise their voices and say, ‘This is important to us’.”

As Parrish steered the boat back to the dock, he expressed optimism that Lake Apopka would someday return to its former glory.

“I think the future is bright,” he said. “I’m 70 years old, so I’m not going to see that beautiful clear glass [water]. But my granddaughter might.”

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About the Author

Mike deforest.

Emmy Award-winning investigative reporter Mike DeForest has been covering Central Florida news for more than two decades.

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