The 130-foot Mea Culpa, built in New Zealand by McMullen and Wing. Click on the image to see more photos.

That’s also true for the suppliers of the components that go into such a motoryacht.  In Fort Lauderdale, those suppliers filed, like ants still on the job, aboard the 138-foot motoryacht Mea Culpa.

Mea Culpa launched from McMullen and Wing in 2003, and she has since cruised nearly 70,000 miles around New Zealand, Australia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Western Samoa, greater French Polynesia, Hawaii, the U.S. West Coast from Panama to Alaska, and the U.S. East Coast as far north as Nova Scotia.  Much discussed and serviced, she had yet to make her formal, domestic debut.

Although Mea Culpa has cruised over 70,000 miles, meticulous maintenance has kept everything like new.

“This boat show is the first time many of our suppliers are actually seeing the boat they helped to build years ago,” Capt. Mike Hein told me as we sat in the sky lounge, which, like the rest of Mea Culpa, had been so well maintained that it looked practically brand-new. I specifically looked to the edges and corners of the rich woodwork and plush carpeting, scanning for the kinds of nicks and tears that seem to scar a yacht through the sheer force of ticking time. I found not a one.

Camper & Nicholsons International will manage Mea Culpa for charter, which means anyone willing to pay a weekly base rate of $120,000 for eight guests will have a chance to enjoy this beauty over the winter, in the Caribbean.

Come summertime, though, Mea Culpa will be on the move again. “We plan to go back to the places the owner liked the best,” Hein said. “We will keep traveling the world.”

No doubt Mea Culpa will take a good number of Fort Lauderdale hearts and souls along for the ride. 

Editor’s Note: Kim Kavin is an award-winning writer, editor and photographer who specializes in marine travel. She is the author of six books including Dream Cruises: The Insider’s Guide to Private Yacht Vacations, is editor of the online yacht vacation magazine www.CharterWave.com, and writes the blog at www.BrokerageBoss.com.

The MariStar 200: a tow boat for grownups.

The boats kept getting bigger and heavier and more outlandish. Lots of builders, including MasterCraft, still manufacture such wild offerings, but it also offers the 200V, what I like to call a tow boat for grown ups.

To begin, there are no wild graphics packages for the boat. What is available is a palette of hull and interior colors that are as suitable for a Sunseeker yacht as they are for the MariStar. In addition, the MasterCraft website lets users design their own boat, with the colors they want so they can see what it will look like long before they take delivery. The site also lets users choose the options and equipment they want, but it stops short of giving a price. For that, you’ll have to register and submit personal information.

Navy blue hull sides and interior accents look as good on the MariStar 200 as they do on a megayacht, but the Maristar 200 is more than just good looks.

The wide nonskid platform is a nice place to sit and dangle your feet in the water.

The forward-facing lounges in the bow are wide and spacious.

For example, the bow seating area is wide and spacious, with forward-facing lounges and a broad “love seat” up front for passengers to sit facing the stern and watching the action behind the boat. The bow also features handy grab rails and wide nonskid platform to help with boarding and debarking. It also makes a decent place to sit and dangle your feet in the water.

The cowl features a bifolding wind dam to block out onrushing wind. With the center windshield and wind dam closed, and the optional heater, owners could go boating so early in the season that they have to avoid floating ice chunks. Well, maybe not, but those features would allow you to go boating late enough in the fall to cruise your favorite lake while taking in the beauty of the leaves changing colors.

In the cockpit, MasterCraft does a, well, masterful job. The helm is a treat for the eyes, as neat-looking and rewarding for the driver as it is functional. Gauges sit in three brushed-metal “bullets” atop the dash. Buyers also can opt for MasterCraft’s BIG (boat instrument gauge), a 6-inch LCD that displays all of the boat’s vital signs, including the amount of water in the ballast system.

Lounges stretch from an observer’s seat large enough for two children aft to a rear bench with a little jump seat right behind the driver. Stowage compartments to either side of the engine box feature lids that are hinged on the sides so you can access them from the interior or the swim platform, which can be fiberglass or teak wood. The sunpad also has a recessed area for the removable ski pylon.

The Maristar 200V can be outfitted with all the same wake enhancing devices and systems the tournament boats have, to please even the most advanced wakeboarders.

MSRP for a 200V is $61,920, which does not include a trailer. The trailer has a swing-away tongue option, which means it measures just 20 feet 9 inches long when folded back. When winter comes, you can tuck this one away in your garage and save the storage fees.

According to MasterCraft literature, the MariStar 200V is built to be the optimal boat for the family that water-skis, wakeboards, wake surfs, pulls tubes and enjoys leisurely cruises. You can outfit it with all the same wake enhancing devices and systems the tournament boats have, so you can please even the most advanced wakeboarders.

In other words, you can have a boat that plays the part without having to look the part. It’s a boat that does everything a tow boat should in any easy-to-own package that should hold up and retain value over time. Boats are always a depreciating investment, but the MariStar is about as good as it gets. It’s all the boat you need.

Editor’s Note: Brett Becker is a freelance writer based in Ventura, CA. He covers the marine, automotive and racing industries for various print and web titles.

One of four new models based on the same hull and deck, the Yamaha 242 Limited S comes with deluxe upholstery, aluminum tow sports tower with sun top (not shown here) and other extras. Top speed is about 50 mph.

This model headlines a series of four new 23-foot, six-inch Yamaha boats that share a hull, deck and twin 1.8-liter engines. Prices range from $41,799 for the SX240 to $47,599 for the fully deluxe 242 Limited S. This new 240 series replaces the 230 series models that have been award-winning best-sellers for several seasons. The new boats are about six inches longer and perhaps three inches deeper than the 230 series. Yamaha has wisely retained, and even enhanced, its signature bi-level transom design on these new boats. Thicker padded bottoms and new curved backrests on the upper section make it an area for comfortable socializing. The lower section is covered in knee-friendly Hydro-Turf material and now is just seven inches above the water surface, which eases re-boarding. Since Yamaha debuted this transom concept in 2004, other builders have tried to match it and mostly failed. It’s the low profile of the Yamaha jet drive system that makes this design possible, and impossible to execute on a sterndrive-powered boat because the engine is so much taller.

Various cushions make a variety of bow seating configurations possible. The hatch in the bow peak covers a boarding ladder and anchor stowage.

The Yamaha cockpit is conventional for this type of boat, with wrap-around bench seating aft and a bucket seat at the helm. The seat at the port console can be configured to face forward or aft in an observer position, handy as this model comes with a tow-sports tower which incorporates a sun top, three LED lamps, and a pair of small speakers. There’s a privacy compartment within the port console that has 46 inches of headroom but lacks a drain in its molded fiberglass sole. According to Yamaha, customer focus groups influenced the redesigned bow area, which is larger and comes with filler cushions that can be positioned in a variety of ways, including as a backrest across the walk-through to enable three-across lounging. There’s dedicated stowage below the starboard aft seat for a 38-quart wheeled cooler. Because it’s carpet-lined, however, the under-seat stowage may be hard to keep fresh.

The 242 has dual drive-by-wire throttles that enable two rpm-based speed-control systems. Cruise Assist can be engaged at any planing speed, while the No Wake Mode holds boat speed at about five mph. Cruise Assist lets the captain toggle up and down in eight increments to fine-tune the speed, which is great for watersports, as you can dial in a perfect speed for a wakeboarder or tuber, and then concentrate on the water ahead rather than the speedometer. This system does not, however, sync the engines, so setting the Cruise Assist with throttles synchronized is a bit tricky. The instrument display uses a built-in GPS receiver to report very accurate speed as well as position, compass heading, and real-time fuel consumption. The six-speaker Aquatic AV stereo has a docking port for an iPod. One design flaw is the location of the twin ignition keys, which are aligned directly with my left kneecap.

Add your own portable head to this large compartment in the port console, or just use it for gear stowage.

Underway at the wheel of this new Yamaha, I experienced all of the attributes, and foibles, of a jet-propelled runabout. This boat leaps out of the hole, zooming from zero to 30 mph in about seven seconds. Top speed was just over 50 mph, about the same as I measured on the 232 Limited last year. The new 1.8-liter four-cylinder engines are marine-specific. Each makes about 180 hp (Yamaha does not publish an official rating) and operate at a much lower speed than the previous 160-hp 1.0-liter engines, which were derived from a motorcycle design – WOT is 7500 rpm rather than 10,000 – so the tone from the engine bay is less frantic than on previous Yamaha boats. Of course, 7500 rpm is still about 50 percent higher engine speed than you’ll experience in a sterndrive, and produces a high-pitch tone at all speeds that I think is more tiring over the long haul. The pre-production boat I tested also produced excessive vibration and harmonic noise from the drive train, not uncommon with jets because the entire drive system is located within the boat hull, but also not typical of previous Yamaha boats. Yamaha acknowledged the issue, and told me it intends to adjust the density of the adhesives used to bond the hull, stringer and deck components, and thus better isolate the powertrain, before full production of the 240 series begins.

This bi-level transom design, a signature Yamaha feature, makes the stern area of the 242 Limited a comfortable lounge area. Lower section is close to the water for easy reboarding, and on this model covered in soft HydroTurf material.

That noise and vibration issue can be one of the disadvantages of jet-drive power compared to a sterndrive. Others include the lack of trim, which limits top speed and economy, and the lack of rudder effect at low speeds, which demands experienced boaters re-learn basic docking maneuvers. That said, the jet-drive system in the 242 Limited S offers significant advantages over a sterndrive, including a self-draining cooling system that’s easy to maintain and winterize, less mechanical complexity and less weight, very shallow draft, and the lack of propellers. No props mean there’s nothing to ding on the bottom, of course, but they also imply safety, especially to families with small children. Yamaha dealers have told me that this appearance of safety is a major selling point at boat shows, and if you are planning to do a lot of swimming off the transom, I can see where no props is a good thing.

If you like the jet concept, the 2010 Sea-Doo 230 Challenger SE comes with twin 215-hp engines and a tower for $48,899. A stern-drive runabout offering comparable style, performance, size and quality to match the new Yamaha 240 series can cost $20,000 more, and unlike the Yamaha, probably does not come with a trailer. It’s going to be tough to find another boat that matches the design and value of these new Yamaha runabouts.

Editor’s Note: Charles Plueddeman, our Outboard, Trailer, and PWC Expert, is a former editor at Boating Magazine and contributor to many national publications since 1986.

Designed for on lakes and rivers, the Eliminator 28 Daytona is the epitome of a West Coast custom catamaran.

Oddly enough, when I tell people about this experience they don’t question the speed or even that, if they know me, I prayed. Instead, they question the vessel. They’ve never heard of a high-performance “power” catamaran. That’s because to the average guy or gal in the street thinks a catamaran is sailboat. But there’s an entire obscure world out there of go-fast cats.

Or make that two worlds. There are West Coast cats and East Coast cats and though they share roughly the “same” basic, efficient and speed-producing bottom design—two sponsons flanking an air-entrapment tunnel—that’s where the similarities end.

Let’s start with function. Take, for example, a 36-foot-long Skater cat from Douglas Marine in Douglas, Mich. (for some reason, don’t ask me why, Douglas is considered an “East Coast” builder). Thanks to tall sponsons, a deep tunnel and rock-solid construction, a Skater 36 can make short work of rough offshore water. And yet rough offshore water would make short work of, let’s say, a 36-foot Daytona cat from Eliminator in Perris Valley, Calif. That isn’t a knock on the Daytona—the cat is simply designed and built to handle river and lake conditions.

Sticking with the Skater and Eliminator comparison for a moment, it’s fair to say that Douglas Marine builds a stronger cat—as it should, based on intended use and builder output. In a big year, the company produces 30-plus Skater cats. In that same big year—and rest assured this isn’t the year—Eliminator might build almost 300 cats. As you’d expect, Douglas Skater cat prices are a tad higher than—think double—Eliminator Daytona cat prices.

These cats are representative market leaders in their regions, although there’s plenty of variation among builders in both areas. The most graphic differences—and I do mean graphic—between East and West coast cats are, well, graphics.

East Coast cats are painted. West Coast cat graphics are created in colored gelcoat, which is the first ingredient (and serves as a release agent from the molds) in the lamination recipe of most boats. To create gelcoat graphics, gelcoat is applied in reverse so that when the hull and deck are pulled from the inside of their female molds the graphics will be “right side out,” so to speak. No doubt, there’s an art to it.

Dressed for offshore racing, this "East Coast" 36-foot Skater is among the best of the catamaran breed when it comes to handling rough water.

If you’re confused, don’t worry about it. The real differences are in the motifs—the East and West Coast genres if you will—because gorgeous graphics can be created with either paint or gelcoat.

Here’s the deal: West Coast graphics tend to be about vibrant colors, which is one of gelcoat’s strongest qualities. I’m not talking about subtle hues. I’m talking about color combos on the order of,  “The guys at Ringling Brothers called. They want their catamaran back.”

The 44 MTi "Speed Racer" catamaran, owned by Bob Christie, is a perfect example of what can be done with paint rather than gelcoat.

East Coast cat graphics tend to be all about images, presentational or representational, mural-style if you will. That’s because paint allows for greater detail than gelcoat. That’s why some East Coast cat paint jobs cost more than $60,000 and blow minds with their intricacy. That’s also why it’s far more likely you’ll find a naked lady painted on the deck of an East Coast catamaran than on the deck of a West Coast catamaran.

Now, I’m not judging, though I have always wanted to ask those clowns (OK, I’m judging) who have naked lady images on anything they own, “Does that really work for you?” I’m just explaining differences in aesthetic sensibilities. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. One man’s Monet is another man’s Kincaid. Or something like that.

There is no “best” here. There is only what’s best for your needs, taste and budget. Make of that what you will.

But do not mistake an East Coast cat for a West Coast cat. For they are, after all, completely different breeds.

Editor’s Note: Boats.com bi-weekly columnist Matt Trulio is the editor at large for Powerboat magazine. He has written for the magazine since 1994.

Reflecting on the statistical likelihood of a family businesses failing when passed to the next generation, Mike Eiffert said that the Galatis had beaten the odds because their parents instilled in them how to work together as a team. For the kids, however, there was little doubt. “How could we not be successful?” Fran said to me. ” To us, it’s normal that we’d be working together.”

Today, the five siblings run the business, along with Darren Plymale. And not by trying to preserve the past: Just as their father did, the Galati siblings have often changed gears in managing their business. They’ve bought and sold yards, spread themselves out geographically, taken on new product lines, and relentlessly identified weaknesses, then come up with solutions. In the process, they’ve grown the business tenfold. “Our father taught us business, not the marine business,” Joe said.

Although they aren’t big on titles, Joe, the oldest, is the president and business leader. The others have each found a niche in which they operate effectively, putting their talents to good use.

Joe is soft spoken, a good listener, and was head of sales for a long time. He now covers Marquis, Tiara and Cruisers lines. Joe opened an office in Destin in 1999 to expand the business up Florida’s west coast.

The Galati board room. Left to right: Mike Eiffert, Fran Galati, Darren Plymale, Carmine, Mike, and Joe Galati

Carmine’s trademark greeting — “Hey Buddy” — is known throughout the marine industry. He was the service manager for “17 years, 3 months, 2 days,” then passed the job to Mike. Now he’s head of sales for Viking, Viking Sport Cruisers, and brokerage.

Fran worked with her husband in fitness centers and other businesses, then rejoined her brothers in 1996. Now she’s in charge of HR, payroll, personnel, and benefits, and told me, “Our employees are my customers; happy, healthy workers reflect on our customers and other team members.”

Mike and Fran Galati

Mike, the service manager, is tall, expressive, well-organized, and focused on time management. Mike arrives before 6 a.m. to manage 70-plus service people up and down the coast and to anticipate what customers will want next: “My goal is to contact the customer with an update on his work before he calls me.”

Chris Galati

Chris Galati applies a laid-back demeanor and people skills to running the marina and working with customers to find compatible captains. He’s a leader in customer relations, attending two fish tournaments a month, April to August, and also takes customers on the company boat to teach boathandling, fishing, and whatever else they need to learn to gain confidence.

What were once board meetings around the dining room table with their father doing most of the talking have moved to an office and became progressively more structured, with Mike Eiffert providing detailed financial updates. According to Joe, decision-making is by consensus, and meetings can be long. You also have to ” be thick-skinned and not expect much patting on the back. We focus on what to do next to improve, always with a sense of urgency.” The creativity comes in whenever a weakness is identified, such the sales chart mentioned earlier, which was developed by Carmine.

As sales expanded, they also realized the need to centralize their consumer financing operation, and they hired Darren to fill the gap and make this another positive part of the customer experience.

For a while, it was hard to get all the boats commissioned on time, so Joe set up a team in one location for what he dubbed “Single Point Make-Ready.” This crew brought a consistent set of skills to bear on boat preparation, minimizing problems customers might have when they took delivery.

When service teams were losing valuable time on the road, Mike equipped the trucks with cameras and mobile e-mail. He also developed databases of photos and sea-trial data, which come in handy months and even years later when a customer calls in with a problem.

As the company has expanded, screening new hires has become an ever-larger challenge. Fran introduced the use of background checks and personality/behavioral testing for new hires to help put the right type of people into the right type of jobs.

Even before the current economic slowdown, Galati Yacht Sales had begun a concerted effort to grow its brokerage business, investing in Certified Professional Yacht Broker training for all brokers. According to Carmine, although Florida brokerage sales have been well off in the last year, Galatis’ sales have been flat—a big gain in market share.

Many decisions can be difficult—like any time you decide to floor plan a $1.5 million boat. Despite that, Carmine said, “I don’t ever remember an argument among us. The No. 1 lesson we learned is about respect; everything comes from that. Each of us has thought things through before we take each other’s time with a discussion.

“When Dad died, we made a pact. If I’m sure of what I want, I can say, ‘It’s important to me.’ Use of those words makes a difference.”

The management team that won Boating Industry's Top Dealer award two years in a row.

The success of the Galati siblings has been “more than a Mom’s dream come true,” Anna Maria said. “When they won the Boating Industry award, Joe dedicated it to me. I cried for two weeks every time I thought about it.”

Holding back a tear as she did, Anna Maria told me one more story: She was in line at the grocery store one day, overhearing a woman talking about buying a boat and saying how great the Galati family was. “What could be better for a mother to hear than that?” she asked me. I couldn’t think of anything.

Editor’s Note: John Burnham is the editorial director of Boats.com and YachtWorld.com.  Photos courtesy of Eric Stammer. For more about Galati Yacht Sales, visit their website.  This story, in combination with Part 1, first appeared in the November issue of YachtWorld Magazine.

Anna Maria offers a protected anchorage with quick access to the Gulf of Mexico.

“Shiny boats on trailers, flags flying, more boats at adjacent docks, clean yard.

“First staff member, a young man waxing a hull, politely inquired how I was doing, directed me to the office.

“Second, a young woman in sales, asked if I were “John,” offered me something to drink while waiting for my appointment.

“Third, minutes later, a more senior salesman, asked if I had been helped.

“Waiting area clean, quiet music playing. Pictures of company principals and copies of awards hung on walls. Staff dressed casually, but in shirts with Galati logos or brands the company sells, such as Tiara and Cruisers.”

Even before I met the Tampa office’s general manager Darren Plymale (the only senior manager who isn’t one of the Galati siblings), I had picked up a good sense of a friendly, purposeful, and consistent company. And I could start to imagine how this and either other Gulf Coast locations like it might position Galati Yacht Sales to earn first rank among Boating Industry’s Top 100 Dealer.

The Galati management team, with Anna Maria Galati in front.

Not that the spread of its offices from Naples, Florida, to Houston, Texas are what make this company unique. “They are maniacally focused on making sure the customer always has a good experience,” said financial consultant Mike Eiffert, who I met the next day. As the financial guy, Mike regularly sees the price tag on some of the “investments” required to back up this approach. But in the recent economic downturn, he has also seen the value bred from customer loyalty and the company’s strong reputation.

How does a tagline like “Always Exceed Customer Expectations” get converted into business practice? Darren showed me one example aimed at improving the Galatis’ sales training—not a simple task when you’re selling Tiara, Cruisers, Marquis, Viking, and Viking Sport Cruisers, plus assorted brokerage boats. The company tracks the experience levels of their 44 broker/salespeople by product, for which each is designated a Primary, Secondary, or NA. If a salesperson hasn’t earned a Viking Masters certificate, for example, he’s not allowed to sell that brand. Once he has the certificate, he’s still a Secondary until he has more experience. New salespeople (NA) can partner with Primaries in any sale, and Secondaries can take the lead in some sales; but to ensure a positive customer experience, Galati policy says that a Primary will always manage customer interactions.

As I drove south across Tampa Bay’s Sunshine Skyway, I reflected on how Darren had also applied his background in marine finance to making finance and insurance a simpler part the buyer’s experience. Clearly, in the process of growing the company’s revenues tenfold in the last decade, somebody in this family had realized talents such as Darren’s would be needed.

Then I drove west across the bridge from Bradenton to the barrier island of Anna Maria, and turned back the clock in my head 40 years to when Mike and Anna Maria Galati, transplanted from Brooklyn, made the same trip to buy a tornado-devastated marina. In the process, they not only moved to an island that shared Anna Maria’s name, but also found an ideal spot for a service and sales marina. It might seem to be a remote outpost at first, but, as Chris Galati explained to me the next morning, it’s about as close to the Gulf of Mexico’s rich fishing and cruising grounds as you could get.

Mike and Anna Maria raised Joe, Carmine, Fran, Mike, and Chris in a house that held the marina office as well. Dad serviced and sold boats while rebuilding the place. Mom ran the marina store and pumped gas with babies on her hip. As soon as they could, the kids got involved.

“When Chris was three or four,” Anna Maria told me, “if people came by to look at boats on the weekends, he’d take a pad and pencil and say, ‘Do you like this boat? Put your name here, and I’ll have my Dad call you.’”

Chris told me his own story of being 14 and managing the dry-stack facility alone on weekends, putting people’s boats in and out of the water for them. “The dry-stack was four stories high, and people were a little surprised to find me running the forklift by myself,” he said. “We were treated like adults at a young age.”

The Galatis headquarters on Anna Maria, on the West Coast of Florida south of Tampa Bay.

“We all worked through service, parts, and sales,” said Joe, the oldest son and now company president. “And if one of our parents was sick, one of us would stay home from school. There was a solid curtain between our home and the office, and we could listen in on the sales process. Business and family life were very intertwined.”

In separate interviews with each sibling, they uniformly told me how much they appreciated what their parents had taught them in those years, echoing consistent themes of showing respect, working hard, and working together.

“We cleaned boats from when we were 8,” said Carmine. “There were no slackers; everybody worked hard. Dad was tough, stern, hard. Mom was the perfect balance: incredibly hardworking and super intelligent. If we hadn’t gotten along, that would have been disrespectful to her. You found a way to get along.” Added Chris, “My father would say, ‘If you have the energy to fight, you should get back to work.’”

“He was hard on them and made them work,” admitted Anna Maria. “They got to play very little sports outside of high-school football. But if I told him ‘It’s important to me,’ he would let them off to play.

Mike had an expectation that his kids would take over the business. Anna Maria said, “He told them, ‘You need to be able to step into every position and handle it.’ And if you work together, you’ll be successful.’” It turned out that they got the opportunity to test the theory sooner than any had anticipated because of an accident that proved to be a pivotal moment in all of their lives.

“I broke my neck, diving at the beach,” Chris told me, sitting in his wheelchair behind the desk at the marina office. “It was August 5, 1985. I became a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the chest down.”

Mike Galati

Anna Maria and Mike took Chris to a hospital in Orlando and didn’t look back. According to Anna Maria, Mike said, “I’d rather lose my business” than leave his son and wife.

During Chris’s convalescence, Mike refused to believe the doctors’ prognosis and insisted that Chris would not only soon learn to drive a van, he was going to tow a boat with it. “He provided the inspiration for Chris,” Anna Maria said. “And then when Chris was first learning to drive again, his brothers would go with him and help to push the pedals.”

Today, despite limited use of his hands, Chris manages the marina, recruits captains for customers, outfits and runs the company’s demo fishing boat, and plays a lead role at customer events. He also drives his own van, with or without a boat trailing behind.

Needless to say, the Galati yard stayed open, too. “We had a dry run of managing the business ourselves,” said Joe, who was 25 at the time. Except for a year of part-time work while attending a community college, he had already been on the job full-time since high school, as had Carmine, who is 18 months younger.

Once Chris had recovered sufficiently that the family was reunited, the dynamic had changed. “After we returned,” said Anna Maria, “Mike would put them in situations and then let them work it out. He’d stay at home and pace.”

The training was timely, because seven years later, Anna Maria’s husband was diagnosed with cancer and died three months later. That was a difficult year: Anna Maria lost her husband and both of her parents. In reflecting on 1992, she said, “God closes a lot of doors but always opens others.”

Coming Soon, Exceeding Expectations, Part 2: Get to know the Galati siblings and more about Galati Yacht Sales. (A version of this story first appeared in the November issue of YachtWorld.com magazine.)

Editor’s Note: John Burnham is the editorial director of Boats.com and YachtWorld.com.  Photos courtesy of Eric Stammer. For more about Galati Yacht Sales, visit their website.

How interesting, then, that neither of these characteristics define my favorite island in the chain at all.

Anegada has white sand, lapping surf, and few distractions: a Caribbean paradise.

Anegada is the northernmost island in BVI, some 15 miles north of Virgin Gorda. It hangs off the top of the chart like a wayward chad, invisible and irrelevant to anyone who doesn’t think to look for it. Many people cruise in the Virgins their entire lives without seeing Anegada even once. The crossing from Virgin Gorda, through open water, is a mental barrier too vast for many boaters to breach, especially with the “safe harbor” on the other end being the Caribbean’s largest coral barrier reef—a graveyard for hundreds of sunken boats.

I’ve been fortunate to step ashore at Anegada three times, once while on charter and twice as a guest of the Bitter End Yacht Club, which runs a weekly ferry there for guests. All three times, I’ve heard about how it’s the favorite island of singer Jimmy Buffett, who apparently frequents Anegada for fishing trips away from the crowds (and regularly performs impromptu acoustic sets). If in fact that’s true, then I can tell you Mr. Cheeseburger in Paradise has great taste in more than just dinner. When I want to see nothing but white sand, when I want to hear nothing but lapping surf, and when I don’t want to be bothered by anything but the smell of conch fritters and broiled lobster, I choose Anegada every time.

A town dock makes access to the island easy.

If you want to be among the lucky few of us who have discovered this hidden Virgin Island, then I highly recommend checking out Mangum Walker’s website in addition to using your own charts, GPS, and aids to navigation. You obviously can’t trust everything you find online, but Walker’s site offers some of the most detailed, thoughtful information about getting to Anegada that I’ve seen anywhere.

Anegada offers a protected harbor to cruisers.

Just don’t share the link with too many people. Having read this column, you’re now one of precious few people who even know Anegada exists. Let’s keep it that way, my fellow yacht insider.

Editor’s Note: Kim Kavin is an award-winning writer, editor and photographer who specializes in marine travel. She is the author of six books including Dream Cruises: The Insider’s Guide to Private Yacht Vacations, is editor of the online yacht vacation magazine www.CharterWave.com, and writes the blog at www.BrokerageBoss.com.

Even in bumpy conditions, the Glastron GT 225's ride is downright pleasant. Even in the bow seats.

Summer is short in Minnesota, so the locals converge on boating season with a fervor that is alien to someone like me, who has hung Christmas lights on palm trees for most of my life. Boats are everywhere, including ski boats, dinner cruisers, go-fast boats, personal watercraft, sailboats and even yachts. You name it, it’s out there, and the water can get pretty darn rough for an inland lake.

It looks a lot like the yacht club scene from the movie “Caddyshack.”

In such conditions, you’d be right to expect a sound pummeling in a 22-foot runabout, but not in a Glastron. The boat features 21 degrees of deadrise, which smooths out the bumps. Even in such nasty lake conditions, the ride is downright pleasant, even in the bow seats. As we would crest big cruiser wakes and the bow would drop into a trough, I kept waiting for the spine-crushing hits. But they never came.

The straightforward dash provides all the information needed.

What’s interesting is that, typically, boats with a steep deadrise—and 21 degrees is pretty steep for a runabout—often labor to come on plane, but the SSV hull design climbs on top of the water with just a little throttle input. It makes driving the boat a lot easier.

Ride and handling are key to your enjoyment of any boat, but it takes a well-rounded package to make it downright livable, and the GT 225 delivers. For example, the base engine is a 220-hp V-8, with options for up to 320 horsepower. The better news is that the engine range is all small blocks, which saves weight and precious under-hatch stowage, which improves weight distribution and allows for more nimble handling.

“It is the largest model in our GT series,” said Leone Chirhart, marketing manager Glastron Boats. “We call it the flagship of the line because of all the features, the huge bow area and the cockpit seating. It’s perfect for families and lots of friends.”

Inside, the GT 225 will never be confused for a Cobalt or even a Sea Ray, but it does have everything a family needs The easy-to-maintain all-fiberglass liner can be had with snap-in carpeting, but a bow filler cushion is standard, as is a removable Igloo cooler and a really nice extended swim platform with a three-step telescoping swim ladder.

The wide sun pad features a flip-up cushion over the center walk-through.

Just forward of the swim platform, the sun pad, which is wide enough for two people, features a flip-up cushion over the center walk-through. That way, when boarding from the dock, your passengers won’t soil your upholstery. Once inside, you can see that Glastron designers kept things decidedly simple.

Stowage beneath the rear bench is exposed and the rear bench supports are simple stainless legs, which might seem a bit Spartan, but it allows owners to hose out the interior without having to worry about water standing inside compartments. Pretty smart, actually.

Some worthwhile options include flip-up bucket seats, a wakeboard tower, a bimini top and bow and cockpit covers. Those undoubtedly raise the base price, but they help make the boat more enjoyable and help protect it from the elements, money always well spent.

The Glastron GT 225 is as straightforward as runabouts get. It’s built well and has what you need. It’s just right for families who might not have the buying power to shop the upper reaches of the runabout market, but don’t want to settle for something used. And it’s nice to know that when your local lake gets choppy, an affordable family runabout still gets the job done.

The GT 225 delivers family fun at an affordable price.

Retail prices start at $32,683, which includes an EZ Loader trailer and a 5.0-liter GL Volvo Penta.

Editor’s Note: Brett Becker is a freelance writer based in Ventura, CA. He covers the marine, automotive and racing industries for various print and Web titles.  For more information on the GT 225, visit the Glastron website.

Ian, John, Dan and Sam head out on their J/80 for the start of the Round the Island race.

The island lies along the south coast of England, has a shape somewhat like a diamond, and requires close to sixty miles of sailing to go all the way around. On its northern tip sits the well-known port of Cowes, and the race starts in front of one of the oldest yacht clubs in the world, the Royal Yacht Squadron.

For me, the race really began about 4:30 a.m. when my alarm rang and I forced myself to get moving towards the docks on the Hamble River where I would meet my boat, one of hundreds if not thousands of sailboats parked along that tidal river just north of Portsmouth. I was joining the crew of a J/80, skippered by the boss at YachtWorld.com and Boats.com, Ian Atkins, a top racer, who had just finished third in the class’s 2009 UK Nationals. His right-hand man and sail trimmer, European Boats.com sales manager Dan Brown, was chief trimmer. Ian’s son, Sam, was the third experienced member of the crew, and I was the guest strati-guesser, visiting from the States. As I met the others in the parking lot at 5:30 am, Ian issued me a set of foul weather gear, and it started to rain.

The first start lines up. The Boats.com team started third.

Within half an hour, we were on our way down the Hamble amidst a growing fleet of sailboats and picked up a pre-arranged tow to ensure that we were on the starting line some five miles to the south in plenty of time. A very light northwesterly wind stirred our mainsail, and the rain let up; with luck, the gathered clouds would be pushed off to the east and a better breeze would fill. Otherwise, we faced a very long drift around the racecourse.

Our start, at 7:50 am, required some careful planning. The line extends on a transit from the Yacht Squadron for about 1.5 miles to an outer limit buoy. Which end would prove favoured? The current was due to turn fair first at the south end, under the ramparts of the castle-like Squadron; but the fickle northerly breeze would more likely be stronger at the northern end. We had to make our choice at least twenty minutes in advance of the start so we could get into position – and right or wrong, our selection would have a dramatic effect on the rest of our day.

We chose the south end, jostled for advantage amongst 20 or 30 other boats and popped to the front as the starting gun sounded. Our auspicious beginning soon took an unfavourable turn, however, as we were passed by competitors when we sailed too close to the shore, and then more competitors when we tacked too far away from it. And gradually, as the morning progressed, we began to see that the boats a mile or more to the north of us were carrying more breeze than us and appeared to be half a mile or more ahead. Then, off Yarmouth, a healthy sea breeze began to fill in, and it seemed that we were the last to get it. By the time we set our spinnaker at the Needles, on the western point of the island, the gloom aboard was palpable.

But a J/80 has a great turn of speed with the wind aft, and our asymmetric spinnaker began to jet us along under the cliffs in fine style. We spent the rest of the morning jibing inshore to stay out of the adverse current and gradually gaining on a couple of other J/80s close ahead of us.

We might’ve pressed for advantage a little too far at one point. We jibed inshore, watching the depth gauge, then jibed back and proceeded to run into a thin spot of water over Athol Ledge. We were gaining nicely on two nearby boats when suddenly we had two jarring collisions in quick succession with submerged objects. Fortunately, we didn’t get hung up nor spring a leak, but neither did our skipper choose to sail a safer distance from the beach as we began to approach St Catherine’s the southern tip of the island.

That’s because we were gaining: With the wind directly behind us, we were continually jibing in toward the shore to avoid the worst of the west-flowing current, then back out to clear the next set of rocks. On the sheets, Dan and Sam were working hard to trim in the big spinnaker on each turn, and Ian did a good job steering; the result was we usually accelerated out of each jibe, which helped us continue to pass other J/80s. I have to admit, at one point we allowed an Irish maxiboat to help us out by creating a pick which allowed us to sail by two more competitors, but that was an extremely minor incident compared with what was to come.

On the third leg of the course, we flew the spinnaker on a reach across Sandown Bay in a gradually dying wind. Ahead of us, what seemed to be a few hundred bigger boats had run out of wind entirely, and we soon realised that we would be parked with the rest of them in short order. Which way should we try to get around them? It all depended on where we thought we might find a little patch of wind.

Concentrating downwind, after the Needles

We were close ahead of two other J/80s and didn’t realise it at the time, but we’d moved into the lead within our class. If we’d known, it would’ve been much harder to make the decision we did, which was to ignore the hard-and-fast rule of staying between your competitor and the next mark, and jibe away from the shore in what seemed to be fresher breeze. Having encouraged the idea and only having joined the team at Boats.com and YachtWorld.com a few months earlier, I admit to harbouring some concern for my future employment over the next fifteen minutes, but the breeze held for us and, miraculously, we sailed right around what may have been as many as 100 bigger boats. We then jibed and took aim at the Bembridge Ledge buoy, Ian squeezed between a couple of boats when it didn’t seem possible, kept us moving at all times, and found an opening to fit around the mark, passing another thirty or more boats in the blink of an eye. Looking ahead and behind, as we worked our way north again into the Solent, we couldn’t see any other J/80s, and we kept our fingers crossed.

A crowded starting pin in light air didn't look so different from the Bembridge Ledge rounding several hours later, albeit not nearly as crowded.

Tacking the final miles toward the finish line, back at Royal Yacht Squadron, everyone on the boat became a little bit grumpy. First, the afternoon was getting on, and by the time we finished we’d have been afloat for more than ten hours. But equally, we kept getting passed by bigger boats. We avoided running aground again, even as we tacked close along the mudbanks off Ryde and, as we approached the finish, we double-checked the finish procedures, which with 1,779 boats racing, are complex. There are two finish lines, and if you go over the wrong one, you might as well have not been racing. You also have to clearly display a number pennant and send the race committee a text message by mobile phone recording your finish time and the numbers of the boats just in front and behind you. All of this we did and were delighted to hear the sharp report of a cannon shot as we crossed the line. Unless some mistake had been made, we had won our class!

The final results show that we finished half an hour in front of the next boat in our class. That’s a margin of victory that only a racecourse with great wind and tide fluctuations such as the Round Isle of Wight could provide, and any of our competitors could’ve done the same. But this long June day in 2009 was ours: We worked hard, we had a good break or two, and most important of all, we didn’t give up when we fell behind in the first half of the race. Maybe it’s just as well that we didn’t start at the north end of the line after all.

Editor’s Note: John Burnham is the editorial director of Boats.com and YachtWorld.com.

A close shot of the hose and muff device over the water intakes. Unlike a flush fitting, the muff directs water into the water pump, protecting the impeller from damage.

Whether you’re dealing with the latest four-stroke powerhouse or Grandpa’s ancient Sea Horse kicker, the basic steps include treating the fuel system to a good dose of stabilized gas, changing the gearcase lube, fogging the powerhead and general lubrication of moving parts with grease or oil. But even if you follow the owner’s manual to the letter, there are ways to screw up, mistakes that could cost you big-time come spring. So DON’T do any of the following:

Don’t Store the Motor Tilted Up

When you park the boat for the winter keep the motor trimmed or tilted down, especially if it’s outdoors. This will allow all of the water to drain out of the motor’s cooling system. If it’s tilted up, some water may remain in the motor, where it can freeze and cause a cracked block or a ruined water pump housing. Even if you think the motor is fully drained, if you store it outdoors and tilted up, rain or snow could enter the exhaust passages through the prop hub, freeze there, and crack something.

You should change the gear case lube once a year, and fall is the best time if you live where it might freeze. If the lube comes out nice and oily, your gearcase is in good shape. If it’s cloudy or grey, water has gotten into the case and it needs to be fixed.

Don’t Store the Motor Wrapped Up

I see this all the time up here: a boat stored outside for the winter, carefully covered, with its motor wrapped in plastic. The owner figures he’s going to keep rain and snow off his outboard, but he’s set himself up for under-cowl corrosion problems. The cowl is vented and designed to breath as the temperature warms and cools. This keeps moisture from collecting on the powerhead. If you seal the motor in a home-made prophylactic made from a garbage bag and duct tape, instead of circulation you’ll get condensation, especially in the cool, damp months of winter. This can lead to corrosion in the charging system, on wiring connectors, and on the throttle and shift linkages. So don’t cover the motor. If you have your boat shrink-wrapped, ask them to either work around the motor, or leave gaps around the transom so some air can get to the motor.

Don’t Start the Motor Out of the Water

Winterizing action at Spellman’s Marina in Oshkosh, WI, where more than 50 boats were waiting to be laid up. The tech injects fogging oil into a Johnson V-4 two-stroke powerhead while it’s running. Note the “muffs” over the water inlets.

All outboards have a self-draining cooling system. There is no reason to start the motor with the notion that you are going to purge the last drops from the water pump housing. Maybe the sound of an unmuffled two-stroke is irresistible, but don’t do it. Starting the motor “dry,” even for just a moment, can dramatically shorten the life of the water pump impeller, or even destroy it. It needs water for lubrication. Of course, you won’t know that you’ve messed up the impeller until the motor overheats on the opening day of fishing season next spring. If you need to start the motor on dry land (to get treated fuel into the engine, for example), use a hose and the “earmuff” device that clamps over the water intake. Do not start the motor with a hose connected to the fresh-water flush port. This may circulate water through the powerhead, but not to the pump.

Don’t Ignore Gearcase Service

A few years ago my brother-in-law, who lives in Alaska, was shopping for a new gearcase for his Evinrude 115 after neglecting to check the gearcase lube. It was full of water, which froze, which cracked the case. You need to change this lube once a year because it does “wear out,” and changing it is also the best way to see if any water is getting into the gearcase. If the lube comes out grey or cloudy, you’ve got water and a problem. It’s probably a bad propshaft seal (see our previous story about fishing line fouled on the propshaft). But if there’s been water in the case for awhile, there could also be gear or bearing damage. This needs to be fixed. Might as well do it now and be ready to go in the spring. Note to Evinrude E-TEC owners: I know your manual says the gearcase lube is good for three years. But every tech I’ve talked to says to change it anyway. It’s cheap insurance.

Don’t Leave the Battery in the Boat

It’s not part of the motor, but this is such a common mistake I’ve got to mention it. A battery won’t freeze if the electrolyte has a good charge. But if it goes low and loses that charge, it will freeze and then be ruined. (And maybe crack and leak in your bilge.) Ideally, you want to take the batteries out of the boat, give each a full charge, and then store them in a cool (about 40 degrees) but not cold place. Even better is to store them hooked up to a maintenance-type battery charger like the Battery Tender Plus. Then come spring, they will be fully charged and ready for action.

Editor’s Note: Charles Plueddeman, our Outboard, Trailer, and PWC Expert, is a former editor atBoating Magazine and contributor to many national publications since 1986.