Cruising Life

New, Light, Carbon-Fiber Latitude 86

By Peter Janssen on January 3, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The world of luxury power catamarans just keeps getting bigger and better. But now it’s also getting lighter and faster, as well. Indeed, the new long, low and lean 86-foot catamaran named Laniakea from Latitude Yachts is designed to be the lightest in the world for its size. Now being built at the Latitude factory in Riga, Latvia, on the Baltic, it is made of carbon fiber composite and will weigh in at 49.5 tons, or 30 or 40 tons less than other power cats the same size that are made of traditional fiberglass or aluminum. The light weight, of…

MJM Launches New 4 with Volvo Diesels

By Peter Janssen on January 3, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

MJM has launched its first MJM 4 open-bow performance yacht with twin Volvo diesel engines. In tests off its factory in Washington, North Carolina, the 46’ 8” boat topped out at just over 45 mph. And it was quiet. At an easy cruising speed of 29 knots, it registered just 71.3 dB(A) at the helm. I drove the original MJM 4 off Newport, Rhode Island, with Peter Johnstone, the president of the company, when it was launched in September, 2022. Then it was powered by two 600-hp Mercury V12 outboards. It was fun and fast, with a top speed of…

Sunreef Unveils New, Slender 66 Ultima

By Peter Janssen on January 2, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Sunreef, the major Polish builder, just unveiled plans for a new 66 Ultima catamaran that the company says combines the best of both multihull and monohull luxury cruisers. Sunreef’s Ultima line, with four other cats from 44 to 88 feet, is thinner and sleeker, with a more modern look, than the company’s other yachts. Its reduced width (with a beam of just 23’ 9” on a 72’ 2”LOA) and high decks create a horizontal surface between the two hulls, resulting in an unusually spacious full-beam master stateroom. The 66 Ultima also has high bows inverted above a chine that runs…

Cockwells Launches Hardy 50 Explorer

By Peter Janssen on January 2, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Cockwells has just launched its new Hardy 50DS blue-water cruiser, designed to take on the waters of the world. Powered by twin 725-hp Volvo diesels with straight shafts, the Hardy 50 can hit a top speed of 29 knots, but if you dial back to 8 knots the range is more than 1,500 nm. Cockwells, in Falmouth, England, bought the Hardy line in 2020 and launched a 65 two years ago as its motoryacht flagship. The new 50DS is designed as the little sister of the 65, with all the robust oceangoing capabilities, but in a smaller package, making it…

New High-Tech Toro 40 Cat

By Peter Janssen on January 1, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Here’s a new brand of power catamaran, the Foilborne 40 from Toro Yachts, a Holland, Michigan, builder that uses the talents and techniques of America’s Cup sailors and designers. Powered by twin 450-hp Mercury outboards (set wide apart on the cat’s 13-foot transom), Toro’s Foilborne 40 tops out at 57 knots, and has a range of a full 530 nm at 35 knots. Upgrading to twin 600-Mercury outboards adds another ten knots or so to the top speed. Toro Yachts was founded by Brian MacInnes and his wife, Danelle. A professional sailor, MacInnes has four America’s Cup campaigns with Oracle…

Candela Launches New Polestar Foiler

By Peter Janssen on January 1, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Candela, the Swedish electric boat builder, just teamed up with Polestar, the Swedish electric car builder, to create a new Candela Polestar Edition foiling sportboat using Polestar’s hefty electric powerpack. The 28’ 3” Candela C-8 Polestar Edition uses the same 69 kWh battery pack that’s in the Polestar 2 electric performance fastback car, which offers DC charging, so the foiling boat now has additional range and a fast charging time. The boat’s range is 57 nm at a cruising speed of 22 knots, and the ride is comfortable, since the boat flies above the waves on its foils, cruising without…

7-Point Diesel Engine Checklist

By co_admin on January 1, 2024 Cruising Life, Engine Room

Here’s some basic, but important, advice from Skipper Tips about how to make sure that all is well once you start your boat’s diesel engine(s): You turn the key, push the diesel engine starter button and your engine starts just like you expect it to. But did you realize that you have seven quick checks to make that could spell the difference between a trouble-free day or a long, slow tow back to the marina dock? Follow these seven tips from marine diesel guru Peter Compton: 1. Watch for Exhaust Water. Look over the side. Make sure you have water…

XO Boats Unveils EXPLR 44

By Peter Janssen on December 13, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

XO Boats in Finland just announced that they will unveil their EXPLR 44, their first yacht, at the big Düsseldorf show starting Jan. 20. In the past, XO has made smaller all-aluminum adventure boats, but the EXPLR 44 is designed as a true family cruiser with forward and aft cabins, two heads, and room for two more people sleeping in the pilothouse. But it will still have XO’s durable aluminum build, with 8 mm aluminum stringers and 5 mm in the deep-V hull so it can go anywhere. Indeed, the company says it’s “the ultimate exploration yacht.” The new 44,…

Warmest Summer Ever in Arctic: NOAA

By Peter Janssen on December 13, 2023 Cruising Life

The past summer was the warmest ever in the Arctic, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s annual Arctic Report Card. In fact, the Arctic is now warming almost four times faster than the global average as a result of climate change primarily caused by humans burning fossil fuels. The warmer summer contributed to disasters in wide areas, NOAA, said, including flooding in Juneau, Alaska, and a record wildfire season in Canada. The work of 83 authors from 13 countries, the Report Card said that changes in the Arctic can predict what the rest of the world can expect…

Fossil Found of 40-Foot-Long Sea Monster

By co_admin on December 12, 2023 Cruising Life

If you’re worried about today’s great white shark, consider the pliosaur, a 40-foot long sea monster with 130 teeth that roamed the oceans of the world some 150 million years ago. British scientists just unearthed a fossil of its skull, which was 6’ 5” long. Here’s the story from the BBC: The skull of a colossal sea monster has been extracted from the cliffs of Dorset’s Jurassic Coast. It belongs to a pliosaur, a ferocious marine reptile that terrorised the oceans about 150 million years ago. The 2m (6ft 5in)-long fossil is one of the most complete specimens of its…

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