I have a lot of favorites in this issue, including what I consider to be the best photograph. It’s the image on page 44: a massive, 91-year-old diesel installed in the restored ship David B of Bellingham, Washington. The coolest thing about this 100-hp engine? There’s nothing else quite like the 3-cylinder diesel built in 1929 by Washington Iron Works. It’s the oldest running model from that manufacturer in existence today.
Dieter Loibner took the photograph, capturing all of the engine’s key parts, which are uncovered. When Loibner delivered the photo, he also sent a short video of the diesel at work. The clip is short at just 14 seconds, but it offers a rare glimpse of a classic piece of engineering that sounds like a loud sewing machine as intake and exhaust valve springs compress and release.
Now, here’s the good news. You can watch that video, too. It’s easy, thanks to a unique feature we provide in Soundings.
Our AR Onboard service gives readers the opportunity to enjoy augmented reality in a print magazine. It’s an interactive experience of sorts. After you’ve had a good, long look at that excellent photo of the Washington Iron Works diesel, you can point your smartphone at the image and then watch the video that I described. AR Onboard is a really cool feature because it brings a static photo to life, so that you can be that much more engaged in the story.
AR Onboard is exclusive to Soundings. No other marine magazine offers anything like it. We first rolled it out in the October 2019 issue and the response from readers has been great. If you haven’t yet watched the videos that are paired to editorial in previous issues, I hope you’ll take the time to do so. It’s one thing to read a great story and admire the photos in an artful layout. It’s another to see a marine landscape come alive on a printed page. In my mind, it takes the experience of enjoying a magazine about boats to a whole new level. For information on how to use AR Onboard, see the directions in the box below. Give it a try, and let us know what you think.
Jeanne Craig
