Top 10 Most-Read List

A fascination with celebrity boaters and dramatic boat collisions combined with practical boating tips and the desire to learn from others’ mistakes were just some of the most-read topics to make the BoatU.S. Magazine Top 10 Stories of 2018.

Here are the top stories:
1. “Close Call: Boats Collide”: The skipper of a 35-foot sailboat is lucky to be alive after a 37-foot charter fishing boat struck his boat at speed.
2. “Extended Tax Provisions for Boaters”: Congress kept the tax deductions in 2018 for recreational vessels with a sleeping berth, cooking and toilet facilities.
3. “Mistakes Boat Owners Make That Can Cost Them”: We’ve seen it all, and we’ve seen the same mistakes again and again. Don’t let these happen to you.
4. “Top 5 Reasons Boats Get Towed”: BoatUS claims data can tell us why, but we don’t like to point out problems without solutions. A towing expert shares what you can do to avoid these situations altogether.
5. “Jimmy Buffett: a Pirate Looks at 71”: ‘Gulf-and-western’ musician, singer, songwriter, and author, Jimmy Buffet, has a new sailboat. Here’s a look inside the Ted Fontaine-designed Drifter.
6. “3 New Boats Under $30K”: Can you buy a new boat for less than most new cars? You bet you can!
7. “Improving Fishing Regulations for Recreational Anglers”: Legislation aimed at improving fishing regulations is working its way through the U.S. Congress, and BoatUS is on watch for you.
8. “How to Splice Double-Braid Line”: Mooring warps, halyards, sheets, and plenty of other lines aboard all use double-braid. Avoid weak knots by learning how to add an eye splice yourself.
9. “Boat Cleaning Tips”: Our BoatUS editors share their most difficult boat-cleaning dilemmas. Here are some slick solutions.
10. “Biobutanol: The Ethanol Alternative”: Biobutanol is an ideal substitute for the engine-damaging ethanol that boaters have been forced to use. What is it, and when will we see it in marinas?

To view these stories of 2018, click here.