Powerboatmag.com offers new interactive content for power boating enthusiasts and downloadable boat tests from 1990
Looking toward the future with interactive ways to communicate with its readers, Powerboat magazine is also making the most of its 42-year heritage — all part of a new Web site from the “World’s Leading Performance Boating Magazine.”
Loaded with resourceful and entertaining features, Powerboatmag.com is now the ultimate complement to the print publication that has informed readers since 1968. From videos to blogs and breaking news, the site provides enthusiasts with their daily performance-boating fix.
In addition to a variety of stories and advice columns to read, users can check out more than 40 years of Powerboat covers, watch user-generated videos in the “Your View” video section and enjoy pictures from past and recent events in the Photo Gallery.
Perhaps the most resourceful tool on the new site for someone looking to purchase a boat (or for those interested in reading about past models), is the downloadable boat tests component. Visitors can search through more than 1,300 reviews from Powerboat’s Test Team from 1990-present.
Various industry leaders will regularly provide blogs looking at the changing industry. Along with the Powerboat editors, contributors include Steve David, driver of the world champion Oh Boy! Oberto hydroplane; Marc Granet, driver of the world champion Miss GEICO catamaran; Scott Shogren, owner of Shogren Performance Marine in Illinois; and John Tomlinson, Powerboat Test Team driver and TNT Custom Marine owner.
“Not only does the new site showcase the history of the sport, it gives our site visitors a look at the future of boating,” said Jason Johnson, Powerboat’s managing editor. “It’s a perfect companion to the print product.”
Powerboatmag.com will offer more exciting components in the near future, such as classic race photos provided by the Historic Offshore Race Boat Association, tips on what to look for when obtaining boat insurance and much more.
Down the freeway we learned just how skilled a crop dusting pilot must be. We first saw a small, single engine plane flying very close to the horizon. About a mile later the plane was just over the freeway, facing oncoming traffic. The plane then quickly pulled up and sharply cut back down to the left hand side of the road; making a pass across the length of the soybean field at speeds well over ours and at heights that wouldn’t allow a large truck to pass under.
Finally, the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout 2009 weekend has officially started. Half of the Biokleen Team needs to head out early for the mandatory driver’s meeting at Franky and Louie’s at 9:30am. The Shootout Pokerrun is scheduled to start at 10:30am. It’s a cloudy, somewhat dreary morning and it has been unseasonably cool for late August at Lake of the Ozarks. The 2008 Shootout temperatures were in the mid to upper 90s, with the heat index roasting above that. This year we’re having temperatures in the mid 70s and 80s; which is great for standing by the water at a tradeshow booth all day, but not the ideal conditions for party cove, if you know what I mean.
It did clear up a little for the day, but there was also a batch or two of slight sprinkles. The pokerrun had six stops: 1.Big Dicks, 2.The Fish & Co., 3.Dog Days, 4.Captain’s Galley, 5.Captain Ron’s and last and final stop 6.Franky & Louie’s where they would announce the winners. Each team received a card to be punched at each stop. Once everybody is back at Franky & Louie’s, contestants will draw seven cards, playing the best five card hand. Pokerrun committee chair Don Sylva said last years pokerrun attracted 105 boats. Sylva and co-chair Connie Weyer, who along with her husband Dave owns Advantage Marine in Sunrise Beach, hope to have 150-175 boats at the 2009 Shootout Pokerrun.
Biokleen had the honor of a special passenger for the Poker Run, Tamara, Miss Missouri. She was also kind enough to visit us back at the booth and give a helping hand. Be sure to vote for Tamara for Miss America.
Joy Schou and the crew from the 
In 1750 Dr. Thomas Walker was the first frontiersman to stand on the high bluffs of the Appalachians overlooking a river flowing through the mountains. He named it in honor of the Duke of Cumberland, son of George the ΙІ of England. Two hundred years later, Wolf Creek Dam was constructed on the Cumberland River Forming the lake which has 1,255 miles of shoreline and an average depth of 90 feet. On January 1, 1951 the Secretary of the Army granted 2,791 acres of land to be developed as a State Park. There was a great demand for dock facilities and the State Docks were completed in 1952. There have been many additions over the years making the park a family destination; including: Pumpkin Lodge, Lure Lodge, cottages, riding stables, a pool, the country store, a golf course, houseboat rentals and a new marina and docks. Recently the Lake had to be lowered 43 feet due to some issues with the dam. It gives Lake Cumberland a whole new look, including islands and rock formations that didn’t exist before. I call it Stonehedge.
Unfortunately it was the poker run that never transpired. Ten of the boats that signed up for the fastest grouping left the milling area outside the State Docks and headed to pick up the first card. The rest of the groups waited only to discover that there had been a serious accident with the “Pammy” boat, a 36 foot Skater. We listened to the ship to shore radio in the bay as the rescue boats roared by to the Jamestown Marina. We found out shortly that the owner of the boat, Kevin Sellers, was killed and his passenger was in critical condition. The Poker Run was canceled and all the poker runners straggled back to the docks.