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Show New Ideasfor the Family Boat Morespace, more safety, more fun—this year, boat manufacturers have made those changes you've been waiting for By JAMES JOSEPH “CYOMETHING WONDERFUL has hap- pened to boats!” my wife Margie exclaimed. And she was right. When we went boat-browsing, we found they'd been made morefit and more fun for the family. Here's how: DesignOpen Bow—30 Percent More ers haveliterally peeled off the small boat's front deck, opening this once unused area for anything from fishing to sunning. Girded with safety rails and reached through windshields that open like Some boatmen still aren't enamored of the cathedral’s looks, but they've got to admit it can sleep comfortably bedded down in sleeping bags or on fold-down boat seats that make up works excellently, especially when the going’s fast and choppy. into beds. Typically, a convertible “cabin” for Dorsett’s 17-foot El Tigre outboard runabout costs about $176 installed. Cook Overboard You no longer have to give Nearly two dozen boatbuilders have joined the cathedralfold. All of Thunderbird. Products’ line of family boats, from the 15-foot Ute to the 22foot Iroquois cabin cruiser (sleeps two), rides on cathedralhulls. Bow-to-Stern Carpeting Big boats and small are going glamorous with all-weather outdoor carpeting. What you get for your money ($5 to $12 a square yard) is a colorful, weatherproof (yes, even a salt-water proof), nonskid surface. For older boats, a bright new underfooting conceals old mars, gouges, and scratches. Best of all, carpeting makes even the slickest of wood or fiber-glass decking safe for the kids. And carpeted, there’s no need to repaint the cabin or deck floor. With scissors, a sharp knife, and patience, any boatman can become an on-board carpet layer. All-weather marine carpeting is merely stuck firm with double-faced tape or a waterproof adhesive. When you wantto take it up for cleaning or deck-swabbing, you can. Canvas Cabin for Your Boat In the jargon of up space for an onboard galley. A new and com- pact removable barbecuegrill fits most boats and hangs safely over the water. You now can quickcook hamburgers, steaks, and, if you're lucky enough to hook one, even a lobster. Cooking overside also makes safety sense. Once the meal’s over, you can douse the coals and stow the barbecue outfit which, not so incidentally, comes equipped with a built-in windscreen. The overboard grill costs about $17.95 (from Beachcomber Side-Kick Accessories) and the special fittings to attach it to your boat another $6. Houseboating—1967 Style Explains John S., an Indiana houseboat enthusiast: “The cabin we wanted to build and the land to put it on would have cost $20,000. Our houseboat cost $8,870." John’s 38-foot cottage afloat is a Cargile Play- small boatmen, they’re “complete curtains,” a sporty canvas top and matching canvas sidewalls doors, the new foredeck gives you up to 30 percent more in-boat space. With this open foredeck, a modestly priced 17- which convert the average open runabout into a snug cabin cruiser in minutes. The big advantage is that you no longer need fully a third of a small boat’s space for a perma- foot runabout nicely accommodates a family of six and has as much room as a more expensive, conventional 20-footer. Someof the new open-bow crafts such as Glastron’s 17-foot Swinger are fitted with built-in bow seats, bonus storag®,’ and are self-bailing. Music on-the Main A numberof boatbuilders . now ‘offer stereo along with such options as bilge pumps and anchors. Ideal for boating, stereo cartridges protect the tape from moisture, although they should shun the sun. A typical buy: Muntz boat stereos (6- to 12volts and with four to eight tracks) are priced from $39.95 to $119.95; the cartridged tapes from 99¢ to $5.98. Cathedral Hull—The New Shape Marine ex- perts call it a “marriage of convenience”—the mating of the superfast deep-V and superstable twin-keeled catamaran hulls. The marriage has produced the cathedral or trihedral hull, really three hulls (and keels) in one. It gives the family boat both speed and stability. ‘ Family Weekly, July 2, 1967 nent cabin. When notin use, this new convertible “cabin” is simply tucked away. Snug inside the canvas ‘cabin, a family of four liner 220. Sleeping eight, it sports an umbrellashaded sundeck, a bathroom with shower, a lavish galley, sliding glass doors that make the living room and bow porch a single big indoor-outdoor play srea, wall-to-wall carpeting, and has its own electrical and fresh-water systems. You can even convert your house trailer to a houseboat by equipping it with Trail-or-Floats Co.'s fold-down pontoons. The hydraulically operated pontoons, fitted to a 15-foot trailer, converts your road home into a 22-foot homeafloat in less than 10 minutes, |