DDDD DDDDVOLUME 38 NUMBER 1 SEA RAYSEA RAY 260 SLX BOSTON BOSTON WHALERWHALER 280 DAUNTLESS 268-44 Crawford Cres., Campbellville, ON L0P 1B0 2nd Class Registration Number #43638025 $9.95 www.powerboating.com FINDING YOUR FINDING YOUR DREAM MARINADREAM MARINA Offshore Racing’s Cole Leibel Offshore Racing’s Cole Leibel BIG EASTBIG EAST CONSTRUCTION:CONSTRUCTION: FORMULAFORMULA BOATS’BOATS’ 387 CCF & 387 CCF & 387 CCS387 CCS NO W IN C ANADANO W IN C ANADA & Cover 38-1 - formula.indd 1Cover 38-1 - formula.indd 12023-01-19 6:25 PM2023-01-19 6:25 PMNew Formula DPS.indd 2New Formula DPS.indd 22022-12-20 12:18 PM2022-12-20 12:18 PM2200 West Monroe St. • PO Box 1003 Decatur, IN 46733 • 260-724-9111 w w w .f ormul aboats. c om The Formula 387 CCF & CCS — It’s What Moves You! FORMULA PRESENTS THE BEST MOVE in performance, styling and features for the ultimate center console experience! Announced at the 2022 Miami International Boat Show and introduced at the 2022 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, now is the time to plan for your Formula 387 Center Console Fish and Center Console Sport! The new 38'7" Formula with 12' beam is powered by triple Mercury Verados, triple Mercury Racing 450Rs or twin Mercury Verado 600 outboards. The Formula 387 Center Console series builds on Formula’s rich offshore heritage and gives you the flexibility from all-out Fish to all-out Sport and all points in between! New Formula DPS.indd 3New Formula DPS.indd 32022-12-20 12:48 PM2022-12-20 12:48 PM34 INTRODUCING THE ALL NEW For more information on the 34 GLS, please visit CRUISERSYACHTS.COM 338BR | 338OB | | 38GLS | 39EC 42GLS | 42C | 46C | 50C | 54C | 54F | 60C | 60F 34GLS Cruisers yachts.indd 4Cruisers yachts.indd 42023-01-16 1:08 PM2023-01-16 1:08 PM34 INTRODUCING THE ALL NEW For more information on the 34 GLS, please visit CRUISERSYACHTS.COM 338BR | 338OB | | 38GLS | 39EC 42GLS | 42C | 46C | 50C | 54C | 54F | 60C | 60F 34GLS Cruisers yachts.indd 5Cruisers yachts.indd 52023-01-16 1:09 PM2023-01-16 1:09 PM6 www.powerboating.com On The Cover: Formula Boats’ 387CCF DDDD DDDD VOLUME 38 NUMBER 1 SEA RAYSEA RAY 260 SLX BOSTON BOSTON WHALERWHALER 280 DAUNTLESS 268-44 Crawford Cres., Campbellville, ON L0P 1B0 2nd Class Registration Number #43638025 $9.95 www.powerboating.com FINDING YOUR FINDING YOUR DREAM MARINADREAM MARINA Offshore Racing’s Cole Liebel Offshore Racing’s Cole Liebel BIG EASTBIG EAST CONSTRUCTION:CONSTRUCTION: FORMULAFORMULA BOATS’BOATS’ 387 CCF & 387 CCF & 387 CCS387 CCS NO W IN C ANADANO W IN C ANADA & Cover 38-1 - formula.indd 1Cover 38-1 - formula.indd 12023-01-19 4:17 PM2023-01-19 4:17 PM features 12 HANDLE WITH CARE Backing Into A Slip. 18 GEAR GALLERY New Gear You’ll Find at the Boat Shows. 38 FISHING THE BAHAMAS A worry-free guide to fishing the Bahamas for the first time. 42 NEXT GENERATION Cole Leibel is continuing the famous last name in offshore racing. 48 CHASING THE WAKE OF THE CONQUISTADORS Following the historic footsteps down Florida’s east coast aboard Sea-Doo’s newest PWC. 54 FINDING YOUR MARINA What to consider when looking for the perfect marina slip down South. 60 MAJOR PROPS TO BAYVIEW Not only a life-long passion, but it’s also a commitment to excellence.. 222832 we test 22 CENTER OF ATTENTION Formula Boats’ 387 CCF and 387 CCS center consoles were worth the wait. contents48 Power Boating Canada | Volume 38 Number 1 28 BOSTON WHALER 280 DAUNTLESS Versatility at its best! 32 SEA RAY 260 SLX “A Style New Release Brought To You By Brunswick’s First All-Women Design Team!” Contents 38-1.indd 6Contents 38-1.indd 62023-01-19 4:18 PM2023-01-19 4:18 PMThe NEW 39 VRZ will make an appearance in MIAMI Brockville, ON • 613-295-2818 STAXPERFORMANCE.COM OFFICIAL CANADIAN DEALER FOR NEW 2023 MODELS 41‘ PEGASUS • 39’ VRZ • 34’ VRZ • 39’ F1 • 33’ F1 ANNOUNCING SEE US AT MIAMI BOAT SHOW ALSO A DONZI CLASSIC DEALER Stax3.indd 1Stax3.indd 12023-01-18 2:53 PM2023-01-18 2:53 PM8 Volume 38 Number 1 PUBLISHERS PAGE Bill Taylor PBC Publisher William E. Taylor bill@powerboating.com Group Publisher Melanie Taylor-Wallis melanie@powerboating.com Editorial Director Norm Rosen nrosen@taylorpublishinggroup.com Assistant Editor Jarrett Matthews media@taylorpublishinggroup.com Assistant to the Publisher Juliana Ujka Art/Production Manager Giselle Bansal gbansal@taylorpublishinggroup.com Design Tamara Taylor ads@powerboating.com Web Design Moe Basha mbasha@taylorpublishinggroup.com Contributing Writers Tim Banse Zenon Bilas / Boat Testers Mike Burns Tom Dillion Garth Cane Gordon Cruise John Gullick Kenny Hohwiesner Bill Jennings Walt Jennings Mark King Chris Kourtakis Gregg Mansfield Timmy McNamee Mark Rotharmel Todd Taylor ADVERTISING SALES Todd Taylor todd@powerboating.com Eric Spath spatheric@gmail.com Kevin Peterson klpetersonmarketing@gmail.com Subscription circulation@taylorpublishinggroup.com Lifestyle Coordinator Todd Taylor todd@powerboating.com Events Co-ordinator Melanie Taylor-Wallis mtaylor@taylorpublishinggroup.com ADMINISTRATION President /CEO William E. Taylor Group Publisher Melanie Taylor-Wallis VP/Special Projects Norm Rosen Accounting Nancy Mueller nmueller@taylorpublishinggroup.com EXECUTIVE AND EDITORIAL OFFICES Toronto: 268-44 Crawford Crescent, Campbellville, ON L0P 1B0 Tel: 905-844-8218 Fax: 905-844-5032 Montreal: Tel: 514-856-0788 Fax: 514-856-0790 Vancouver: Carole Taylor, 1745 Rufus Drive North Vancouver, BC V7J 3L8 New York: 777 East Park Drive, Tonawanda, NY 14150 Florida: PO Box 530584, Debary, FL 32753 Subscription Inquiries Call: 1-800-354-9145 Power Boating Canada is published seven times a year by Power Boating Canada, Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, May/Jun, Jul/Aug, Sep/Oct, Nov/Dec, including Annual New Boat Buyers Guide with a subscription price of $35.00 + HST included for one year and $50.00 + HST including for two years. US $45.00 + HST for one year. Other $75.00 + HST . Material in this magazine may not be reproduced in any form without permission. Editorial contributions must be accompanied by return postage and will be handled with reasonable care. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return or safety of artwork, photographs, or manuscripts. Power Boating Canada reserves the right to refuse any and all advertising and disclaims all responsibilities for claims or statement of facts made by its advertisers or independent columnists. PRINTED IN CANADA CANADA POST PUBLICATIONS MAIL SALES PRODUCT AGREEMENT NUMBER 43638025 MONTREAL, QUEBEC © 2023 POWER BOATING CANADA Attention Post Office: Return all undeliverables to Toronto office only ® RVDealer NEWS CANADA’S INDUSTRY MAGAZINERVDealer NEWS CANADA’S INDUSTRY MAGAZINE ® ® ® RVDealer NEWS CANADA’S INDUSTRY MAGAZINE BOATCANADA Pontoon & Deck William E. Taylor Publisher bill@powerboating.com Follow us on Facebook! @PowerBoatingCanada Follow us on Instagram! @powerboatingcanada Let’s Go Boating! ere it is, fresh off the press, the February 2023 edition of Power Boating Canada Magazine. Not only is this our 38th year of producing PBC magazine, but it’s our 52nd year of publishing our ros- ter of 35 Canadian outdoor enthusiast magazines, from motorcycles to ATVs, PWCs and Jet Skis to motorhomes and travel trailers, fishing and hunting, snowmobiles, and our family of plea- sure boating and performance boating magazines, including our latest title Center Console Life magazine, cover- ing the fastest growing segment of the boating lifestyle. It was just 38 years ago, when Mercury Marine and Outboard Marine Corporation got together, inviting Yamaha and Volvo Penta to join them in an executive meet- ing, where they asked me to produce a boating publication called Power Boating Ontario. After just one year of spectacular growth, we expanded the scope of the magazine to a national level and created Power Boating Canada Magazine. The only stipulation that our engine manufacturers advisory board request- ed was that the content of the magazine be 100% power and motorized boating related, with no mix in editorial features focused on the sailing component of the Canadian boating community, as they felt that there were two distinct groups of boaters, and the sailors and power boat- ing enthusiasts have very different needs as far as expert content is concerned. The front cover of our first issue fea- tured our famous “Miami Vice Boat” – a twin to the 38’ Scarab Kevlar hull offshore boat used in the TV series “Miami Vice”. We took the boat across Canada, from boat show to boat show, (across Rogers Pass in a blizzard), and at each show, we staged a Don Johnson look-alike contest with the first prize an all-expense week- end on the boat. It was an absolute success, one of the best promotional campaigns we have ever conceived. The magazine became an overnight sensation, and soon spawned a series of in-water performance boat- ing events known as Poker Runs, allow- ing boaters to fulfill their “need for speed” following a safe and highly coordinated route through some of North America’s finest waterways. These Poker Runs were so popular that we launched another boating magazine, Poker Runs America, to fuel the sport across North America. We created operational guidelines that we shared with other event organizers through the APRA – the American Poker Run Association. At its peak, there were more than 200 performance boating Poker Runs across North America, all trac- ing their heritage to our original events. Check out the history of how we developed the sport of performance boating Poker Runs at our website www.pokerrunsamerica.com . Visit our Power Boating Canada web- site at www.powerboating.com, where you can access our archive of DIGITAL edi- tions – just click on the magazine at the top right of the web page. Enjoy the magazine! H Pub Page 38-1_converted.indd 8Pub Page 38-1_converted.indd 82023-01-19 4:21 PM2023-01-19 4:21 PMNext >