Author Peter Janssen

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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New Zeelander 5 To Debut at Palm Beach

The new Zeelander 5, with all the builder’s trademark curves and elegant lines, will make its world debut at the Palm Beach show, starting March 23. The 48-foot Zeelander 5 is the latest masterpiece from the Dutch builder, an updated version of the Zeelander 44, except that it’s larger, faster and quieter. It has Zeelander’s unmistakable profile, with its low profile and generous tumblehome leading to a large sun lounge and swim platform that folds out from the transom. The new Zeelander 5 is a two-stateroom, two-head, luxury cruiser that tops out at 40 knots and delivers a soft and…

Cruising Life
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New Motorola Link Connects Anywhere in World

Motorola is unveiling its new Defy Satellite Link that enables two-way satellite messaging anywhere in the world on a smartphone at the Mobile World Congress this week in Barcelona. The Defy Satellite Link means you can add satellite communications to any iPhone (iOS14 or higher) and any Android phone (10 or later) using a dongle. The Link is not integrated into the hardware of the phone; it connects to the phone via Bluetooth, and it comes with a device so you can clip it to your jacket or gear. The Link has a 600mAh battery that’s supposed to support a…

Boat Reviews
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Techohull Building 48-Foot, 86-Knot RIB

Technohull, the Greek builder of high-performance RIBs, is building a new 48-foot luxury craft with a top speed of 86 knots. Technohull’s new Omega 48 will be powered by five 450-hp outboards. If you want  a tamer version, you also can get it with twin 600-hp outboards. Either way, you’ll be comfortable, at least judging by Technohull’s claims for the new Omega. It says the Omega 48 has more luxury touches than previous versions, and it even has a large cabin below with an oversized double bed and separate head and shower. You reach those accommodations via a pantograph door…

Cruising Life
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New Sharrow Props Win More Recognition

The revolutionary no-blade Sharrow propellers, introduced just two years ago, are gaining in popularity and notoriety. Sharrow, which represents the first major design change in fixed props in a century, won an Innovation Award at the 2020 Miami show. And it just won another award, for Marine Power Innovation, at the latest one. Sharrow, developed by Greg Sharrow, a graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, basically solved the problem of cavitation in traditional props. His props use loops to produce thrust, not blades. The loops eliminate cavitation and vortices that form around traditional props, reducing their efficiency,…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Is This the Future of Boating?

Bluegame Yachts in Viareggio, Italy, is making a 35-foot foiling, hydrogen-powered America’s Cup chase boat that may help shape the future of boating. The boat is called American Magic, and Bluegame is building it for the New York Yacht Club, one of the challengers for the 37th Cup races next year in Barcelona. It’s powered by two electric motors driving props on the forward foil; they are run by two 70kW EODev hydrogen fuel cells (one in each hull). American Magic is scheduled to be launched this summer. It foils once it reaches 24 knots, and it’s projected to have…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Up Next: Palm Beach Show, March 23-26

The popular and increasingly important Palm Beach International Boat Show starts next month, on Thursday, March 23, and runs through Sunday, March 26. It will have a lot of cruising boats on display, including many that were not at the Miami show last week. Over the past few years, the Palm Beach show has earned a reputation as a serious buyers’ show, for a lot of reasons. It’s a manageable show, where it’s easy to see the boats. They’re all in one location (as opposed to Miami), and the show is easy to get to, with parking and restaurants nearby.…

Charter
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Ellis 36 Charter at Claremont Hotel in SW Harbor

If you’re thinking of heading to Maine this summer, you might want to treat yourself to a charter on a classic Ellis 36 express cruiser, appropriately named Downeaster, from the docks at the elegant Claremont Hotel in Southwest Harbor. Once you’re on board, you can cruise around Southwest Harbor, home to Ellis, Hinckley and other Downeast builders, across the way to even smaller and quieter Northeast Harbor, or head up Somes Sound, the four-mile-long fjord-like protected cruising ground that basically cuts Mt. Desert Island in half. To purists, Somes Sound is technically not a fjord, although it comes close. It…

Boat Reviews
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Vicem Unveils 65 Classic Flybridge

Vicem Yachts, the highly acclaimed Turkish builder, just unveiled its new Vicem 65 Classic Flybridge, a yacht that’s notable not only for its Downeast looks but also because Vicem is offering it in both fiberglass and cold-molded mahogany with West System epoxy construction. Either way, the 65 Classic Flybridge carries Vicem’s timeless design, with clean lines, a long sheer, and even a hint of tumblehome. Here’s a look that will never go out of style, and would be equally at home in Maine or Nantucket as it would be in the Med. The new Vicem also has the builder’s trademark…

Cruising Life
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Ilmor Unveils 8-hp Electric Outboard

Ilmor just introduced its revolutionary – and colorful – new ION all-electric outboard motor for small boats and tenders to the U.S. at the big Miami show. It had introduced it to the European market, where it would be popular on lakes and canals that have regulations governing gas engines, earlier at the METS trade show in Amsterdam. The ION’s drive runs on a 48V circuit, and it  has an output of 6kW, or around 8-hp. Ilmor says that’s enough to power a 24-foot pontoon boat or tender up to 6 knots. There’s also a “boost mode” that adds another…

Cruising Life
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Fatal Collision: Coast Guard Relieves Captain

The Coast Guard just announced that the commander of a 154-foot cutter that collided with a small fishing boat off San Juan, Puerto Rico, last summer, killing one of the two brothers on board, has been relieved of his command. Rear Adm. Brendan C. McPherson, commandant of the Seventh Coast Guard District, relieved Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin Williamsz of his duties, citing a loss of confidence in his ability to effectively command the cutter. He had been reassigned to shore duty in San Juan immediately after the collision last August 8. The Winslow Griesser (pictured) is a Sentinel Class fast response cutter…

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