Browsing: Volvo Penta

Cruising Life
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Volvo Unveils Most Powerful IPS Yet

Volvo Penta just announced that it’s testing a new, more powerful IPS (Inboard Propulsion System) for larger vessels from 82 to 180 feet with a top speed from 12 to 40 knots. Volvo calls the new system an IPS professional platform, or IPS 40, and it’s the most powerful IPS yet. The IPS 40 is designed to work with Volvo’s 800-hp D13 engines. The platform can be installed as twin, triple, or quad applications, meaning it can work on vessels with from four to eight engines. Volvo says the IPS 40 “is a true piece of state-of-the-art engineering.” It is…

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Prestige Unveils New 65-Foot Power Cat

Prestige, the upscale French builder, is doubling down on its power catamaran line. It launched its first power cat, the M48, last summer. Now, it says it’s making a new M8 that’s 65 feet long and has as much room as a five-bedroom house. The new M8 will have  the same semi-planing hull as the M48, with the same profile designed to look like a monohull. Its 19-foot beam is large enough to provide a lot of room inside and outside the boat, but it’s relatively narrow in terms of a 65-foot cat. The foredeck on the M8 is unusual;…

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Fjord Launches Owner-Friendly 53XL Flagship

Fjord just launched its new 53XL flagship, a 34-knot luxurious T-top cruiser designed for relaxing and entertaining on board. It also offers a high degree of customization, on both the main deck and the accommodations deck, for a production boat. Starting in the 1950s, Fjords were originally built in Norway, but Hanse Yachts bought the company in 2007, and they’re now built in Germany. But the basic looks remain the same, with a plumb bow, minimalist post-modern lines, and a low profile. The wide teak side decks are both safe and user-friendly. It’s easy to move from one end of…

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Volvo Developing Hybrid Boat for Arctic Tourism

Volvo Penta is working with Marrell Boats in Sweden to build a hybrid-powered boat for sustainable cruising in the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, about halfway between the northern tip of Norway and the North Pole. The boat, an M15, will be named Kvitbjorn, or Polar Bear in English, and it will have a top speed of 32 knots and a cruising speed of 25 knots. It also will have a range of 500 nm without affecting the delicate balance of marine life in the area. It’s designed to run for more than 1,000 hours in the season from…

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Volvo’s Assisted Docking Big Winner at METS

Volvo Penta’s Assisted Docking System (pictured above) was the big winner at the recent METS trade show in Amsterdam. It won the prestigious DAME award at the start of the show. Five more products were named Category Winners, and 15 more received Special Mentions. Here’s the news from METS: Volvo Penta Assisted Docking Company: AB Volvo Penta Category: Machinery, propulsion, mechanical and electrical systems and fittings Jury Comment: Volvo Penta has maximised the advantage it has of being able to independently vector thrust from its proven IPS (Inboard Performance System) drives. The Assisted Docking system digitally controls that ability using…

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New Monte Carlo 52: A Smart Luxury Cruiser

The all-new Beneteau Monte Carlo 52 is a luxury three-stateroom, two-head cruiser that’s made for easy living on board whether underway or on the hook. With a completely new design by Nuvolari & Lenard and Andreni Design, the yacht is filled with light, space and social areas all around. Power comes from twin 480-hp Volvo IPS650 pod drives. Top speed is 28 knots; at 8 knots, range is more than 500 nm. The Monte Carlo 52 is filled with nice touches: One is that there’s a third helm station on the starboard side of the cockpit, with controls for the…

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Sunseeker Manhattan 55 To Debut at FLIBS

The new, aggressively styled Sunseeker Manhattan 55 will make its U.S. debut at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, starting Oct. 27. The British builder also will show its new 65 Sport Yacht there. They will be presented by Sunseeker’s U.S. distributor, OneWater Yacht Group of Fort Lauderdale. A luxury performance cruiser, the Manhattan 55 is marked by windows in all sizes and shapes in the hull and salon, with stainless-steel details, adding to its dynamic look. It’s designed as a comfortable family cruiser, with three cabins and two heads below, a beach club aft, a large open-plan salon, and…

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Vripack Launches Luxury Version of California 52

Vripack, the Dutch yacht design studio that is working with Nordhavn for some of its larger yachts, just launched a semi-custom California 52 XT weekender in Ibiza. Built by Waterdream in the Netherlands, the California 52 XT is bound to turn heads anywhere in the world, and it has a two-tone paint job that matches the colors of a BMW M8. Waterdream, founded by Prince Bernhard van Oranje of the Netherlands, won the Best Innovation Award at the Cannes World Yacht Trophies with the California 52 last year. At that point, the Prince got the idea to make a special…

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New Pearl 62: Family Cruiser with IPS Power

The highly styled, contemporary Pearl 62 is a family-oriented, owner-operator cruiser with four staterooms and three heads. With optional 900-hp Volvo IPS1200 pod drives, it tops out at 33 knots; dialed back to 10 knots, it has a range of 600 nm. The 62 is the U.K. company’s entry-level yacht, joining the Pearl 80 and Pearl 95. With a luxury-level fit and finish, it was created by Bill Dixon, the British naval architect, and Kelly Hoppen, MBE, the interior designer. It is built by the Xiaman Hansheng yard in China The super-sized slanted windshield gives the Pearl 62 a sporty…

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The Williams, Veteran Cruisers, Buy a Grand Banks 60

Ken and Roberta Williams have a lot of blue-water miles under their hulls. Indeed, the Williams have crossed the Atlantic and the Pacific and cruised just about everywhere from Alaska to Turkey on their two Nordhavns, first a 62 and then a 68, both named Sans Souci. They sold the 68 a few years ago and spent last summer writing books. Ken’s was about Sierra On-Line, the computer-game company they started together and sold in 1996; Roberta’s was a historical novel about Ireland. But cruising beckoned. For their new boat, they downsized, to a Grand Banks 60 (pictured above), even…

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