The 42-foot Excess 13 slices through the water with asymmetrical hulls and a responsive, lightweight structure designed for bluewater cruising. Courtesy Excess Boat-show season is back with a boom.

My first boat was an Owens cabin cruiser, built in the early 1960s, about 30 feet long and powered by a single ­gasoline engine. Back then I thought it was the end all, be all — at least until I tried ...

According to the National Marine Manufacturers Assn. (NMMA), approximately 300,000 small powerboats were produced in the U.S. in 2003, with a total value of about $9 billion (USD). The vast majority ...