Author Peter Janssen

Cruising Life
By

Illegal Charter Skipper Fined $98,364

In case you’ve ever thought about making some money on the side by chartering out your boat, here’s a cautionary tale from the Coast Guard. It helps to follow the rules: NEW ORLEANS — The Coast Guard imposed a civil penalty, Feb. 6, 2023, to a mariner found operating a charter vessel in violation of federal laws near Destin, Florida. Coast Guard Station Destin boarding team members, Sector Mobile Marine Investigators and Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office officers conducted multiple boardings of the involved pontoon vessel over the past year after receiving tips from concerned members of the public. Following an extensive investigation led by Coast Guard Sector…

Boat Reviews
By

New All-Electric 20-Knot Quadrofoil

Here’s a fun, new, all-electric foiling craft that looks something like a cross between a jet ski and a waterborne sports car. Indeed, the Quadrofoil Q2S from Slovenia can foil, or “fly,” at about 6 knots, and it can cruise for about two hours at its top speed of 20 knots. You drive it with a steering wheel that feels like an Audi, and the cockpit features high-end ergonomics inspired by the European auto industry. The Quadrofoil Q2S is driven by a 5.5kW electric motor that’s powered by two 5.2kWh lithium-ion batteries. You can charge it from a standard 110V…

Boat Reviews
By

New Azimut 50: Entry-Level Flybridge

The new Azimut 50 Fly, the entry-level yacht in the Italian builder’s flybridge series, is a family-friendly cruiser with lots of light, style and social areas inside and out. The 50 is designed for an owner-operator, with three cabins and two heads below, plus (primarily for the European market) a crew cabin with its own head under the large sun pad on the aft deck. Most U.S. buyers (the boat is sold by MarineMax here) will probably opt to use this space as a very large lazarette. Power comes from twin 670-hp Volvo diesels, with a top speed of 32…

Boat Reviews
By

Scout Unveils 3,000-hp 67 LX

Scout Boats just unveiled its new 67 LX, a long, lean, $5 million, 3,000-hp speed machine. There’s a model of the boat at Scout’s display at the Miami show; the real thing won’t be launched until the spring of 2024. The Scout 67 LX is large enough so you won’t have to leave any friends behind, and its five 600-hp Mercury V12 Verado outboards mean you’ll be able to give them an adrenaline rush underway. Top speed is projected at 52 knots, with a range of about 435 nm at 35 knots. The new Scout flagship (its largest so far…

Boat Reviews
By

Nordhavn Launches First New 625

Hull number one of the new Nordhavn 625 series was launched and successfully sea-trialed near the South Coast yard in Taiwan in December. It’s now on its way to the Nordhavn headquarters in Dana Point, California, where it will be commissioned soon and delivered to its owners, a couple from Nevada. The new 625 fits right in with the Nordhavn fleet of long-range cruisers that has only been growing in number and reputation since the company’s 40-footer cruised around the world in 2001 and 2002. Its hull is based on the Nordhavn 60, with a nod to the 55 and…

Electronics
By

Raymarine Launches New MFDs, Sonar, Camera

Raymarine just rolled out a new series of faster and more use-friendly chartplotters and sonars plus a new marine camera. The five new launches include Raymarine’s Axiom 2 Pro and Axiom 2 XL family of multifunction chart plotter displays. The Axiom 2 Pro MFD is Raymarine’s most  powerful yet, with a six-core processor and Raymarine’s LightHouse 4 operating system. It’s available in 9-, 12- and 16-inch screens in two variations and it includes embedded High CHIRP sonar for cruising boats. The new Axiom 2 Pro RVM includes standard, brand-new, RealVision MAX 3D built-in sonar. It has CHIRP DownVision, SideVision, and…

Charter
By

Le Boat Opens New Base in Ottawa

Le Boat is opening a new base this May in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, to make it easier to cruise along the Rideau Canal, one of the most historic and picturesque boating areas in North America. Le Boat also is adding two new cruisers to its fleet of houseboat rental boats on the Rideau, bringing the total to 32. Boating season starts there on May 19 (the Victoria Day long weekend in Canada). A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Rideau Canal opened in 1832, making it the longest continuously operated canal system in North America. It has a system…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
By

Iridium’s New Portable Device with Global Coverage

Iridium just launched its new go-anywhere portable wireless device, Iridium GO! exec, that provides global, off-the-grid connections for smartphones, laptops and tablets. The new GO! exec is a significant upgrade from Iridium’s GO! and is 40 times faster. It enables users to make calls, get email and messaging, share pictures, post to social media, collect weather information, and even send an SOS from a dedicated button. It also serves as a WiFi hotspot for multiple devices. For boat owners, it has an external antenna and fixed installation kit. The new device is powered by the Iridium Certus 100 service that…

Cruising Life
By

Leen 72 Crosses Atlantic: Owner’s Report

Ellee, hull number one of the new LEEN 72 trimaran series built in La Rochelle, France, just crossed the Atlantic, cruising from Portimao, Portugal, to Bermuda, via Ponta Delgada in the Azores. Here’s the owner’s report: “Our crossing took place in January, 2023, from Portimao in Portugal, where we prepared the boat, to Bermuda, before reaching soon the East Coast of the United States. “January is not the best time to sail in these latitudes. So we had to extend our route to get around some of the low pressure systems that circulate in these latitudes during this period. “We…

Cruising Life
By

All-Electric Voltari 260 Cruises to Bimini

A 26-foot, carbon-fiber, all-electric boat just set a record of sorts by cruising 91 miles from Key Largo in Florida to Bimini in the Bahamas on one charge. Although the Voltari 260 is a high-performance vessel with a top speed of 60 mph, it crept along at less than 5 mph on the Bimini trip so it would not run out of juice. The trip took about 20 hours. Built in Canada, the Voltari 260 is made with aerospace-grade carbon fiber for maximum strength and efficiency. It weighs just 7,000 pounds and is powered by a 142kWh Lithium-ion battery pack…

1 … 54 55 56 57 58 … 390