Browsing: Doug Zurn

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New, Improved, Shelter Island 38FS

When Coecles Harbor launched their first Shelter Island 38 in 1996, it was an instant hit, drawing praise from across the boating world, everyone from Bob Johnstone to Billy Joel. Johnstone later told me that it was one of the half a dozen boats that inspired the lines for his MJM boats, named after his wife Mary (Mary Johnstone’s Motorboat). He also hired Doug Zurn, the designer of  the Shelter Island 38, to design the MJMs. Joel, who wrote Uptown Girl after his then wife Christie Brinkley, told me that the Shelter Island 38 was one of the most beautiful…

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Barton & Gray Launches First Daychaser

Barton & Gray Mariners Club just launched their first Daychaser, an elegant 48-foot luxury day boat, designed specifically for club members by Doug Zurn. Until now, the club’s fleet has included almost 70 Hinckleys, spread among 30 ports around the country. The club, founded in Nantucket in 2006, has been growing rapidly. It now forecasts a record number of 12,000 outings this year. Members, who pay a base fee of $39,500, usually use the boats for one- to four-hour cruises; the boats come with a captain and concierge service. A few years ago the club realized that it needed a…

Cruising Life
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Zurn Designs Electric Launch

Doug Zurn usually draws the lines of larger, and faster, boats. Known for his Down East designs with slim, slippery lines, Zurn, the head of Zurn Yacht Design in Marblehead, Massachusetts, has designed boats for MJM, Bruckmann, Marlow, Hylas, plus the Shelter Island Runabout and Billy Joel’s 57-foot commuter Vendetta, among many others. Zurn just announced that he’s working on a new project with Boston BoatWorks – a 30-foot electric launch called the AMC 30 for the Appalachian Mountain Club. It’s in memory of Mark Lindsay, the founder of Boston BoatWorks, who passed away in 2019 at the age of…

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New Daychaser 48 To Be Launched Soon

The Doug Zurn-designed Daychaser 48 Down East day boat will be launched this spring by Boston BoatWorks. The Daychaser is being built exclusively for members of the Barton & Gray Mariners Club. The boat is made for a perfect day on the water. It was designed by Zurn Yacht Design in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and built by Boston BoatWorks, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. “We think the high level of detail and foresight that went into the design will satisfy Barton & Gray’s ever-expanding membership,” Zurn said. The new Daychaser is basically an entertainment platform, built for picnics, cocktail outings, and day cruises.…

Cruising Life
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Barton & Gray Building New 48 Daychaser

Barton & Gray just announced that they’re building a new Daychaser 48, designed by Doug Zurn of Marblehead, Massachusetts, for their members. The first Daychaser, to be built at Boston Boatworks, will be launched early next year. Barton & Gray was started in 2006 in Nantucket. It now operates the Barton & Gray Members Club fleet with more than 50 yachts (mostly Hinckleys) with captains in almost 30 harbors. It says it developed the Daychaser 48 as a result of a demand for an open, flexible boat. The Daychaser, powered by two 550-hp Cummins diesels, will have a top speed…

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After Refit, Billy Joel’s Vendetta Is Up for Sale

Billy Joel’s classic 57-foot commuter yacht Vendetta, launched in 2005, has had a two-plus year refit in Newport Beach, California, and now is up for sale. I have to admit that I have a soft spot in my heart for this boat. I was the editorial director of Yachting at the time, and I went to its launch party on a hot July afternoon at the Derecktors’ Yard in Mamaroneck, New York, and then tested it the next morning with Doug Zurn, the designer, and Gene Pelland, Joel’s full-time captain, taking it out to Joel’s waterfront estate on Centre Island…

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MJM Launches New Zurn-Designed 38-foot Day Boat

MJM just announced that it’s entering the growing day boat market with a new 38-foot Dual Console 3z. It has the same Doug Zurn design that the company has used on all its Down East cruisers since it was started in 2002. In a webinar introducing the new boat, Peter Johnstone, the MJM chairman, said the new day boat is designed “to address the way people boat around the country. Our outboard boats enabled more people to enjoy our brand. This is the way people are boating today. We’ll always have our express cruisers as the core of our brand,…

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MCM To Manage Build of New 70-Foot Zurn Cruiser

An experienced owner has just hired MCM yacht management in Newport, Rhode Island, to oversee the construction of his new Doug Zurn-designed 70-foot Down East express cruiser at Delta Marine in Seattle. The new boat is a clean, classic Zurn design, with a low profile, long sheerline, and state-of-the-art lightweight construction. Powered by twin 1,000-hp Volvo IPS pod drives, it is expected to deliver a top speed of 38 knots. Peter Wilson, the co-founder of MCM, said the owner had several production boats in the past, and currently has a Down East boat with IPS power. But, Wilson said, “he…

Cruising Life
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7 Great New Power Cruising Boats at the Newport Show

About 340 boats will be on display at the Newport International Boat Show, which runs from Thursday, Sept. 12, through Sunday, Sept. 15. But only a handful will be new cruising powerboats that are being shown in the U.S. for the first time. Here’s a look at some of them: Bruckmann Abaco 47 (pictured above):  Built on the success of the popular Bruckmann Abaco 40, the new 47, designed by Mark Ellis, is a classic Down East cruiser with a long sheer, low profile, sharp entry and raked windshield. Built for extended cruising, the innovative hull is designed to plane…

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We Test the New MJM 53z: Fast, Fun and Elegant

It’s one thing to read about a new boat. It’s quite another to actually drive it. I certainly had expected to enjoy the new long, low, elegant MJM 53z, with its four 400-hp Mercury Verado outboards. After all, I’d already driven its predecessor, the MJM 50z, with three 435-hp Volvo IPS600 pod drives, as well as every other MJM model. But once I got behind the wheel of the 53z I realized it was even better – and a lot more fun – than I had anticipated. One of the main reasons outboards have become so popular lately, even on…

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