Scout Boats is building what it says is the world’s largest outboard-powered cruising boat in its factory in Summerville, South Carolina. The new Scout 670 LXC is powered by five 600-hp Mercury V-12outboards, and it’s scheduled to be launched later this year. The Scout 670 has an LOA of 66’9”, which makes it 1’9” larger than the HCB Estrella 65, made in Knoxville, Tennessee, and powered by six 450-hp Mercury outboards. An earlier, and slightly smaller, HCB was featured in an episode of Billions, which never shied away from excess. The new 670 is the flagship of the Scout fleet,…
The Selene 72 Ocean Explorer ticks a lot of the boxes for safe and comfortable blue-water cruising. Designed by Guido de Groot in the Netherlands and Howard Chen and his Selene Design Studio in Taiwan, the big Selene has a modern-styled raised pilothouse, Portuguese bridge and high bulwarks for safety, wide side decks, large side windows to provide lots of interior light, and an upper flybridge. The aft deck and side decks are covered for weather protection. Doors on both sides of the pilothouse open to the side decks and the Portuguese bridge, which has a large settee set across…
Here are some great tips about how to keep your pets safe on board this summer from MarineMax: You pets can’t regulate their body temperature as wel as we can, so it’s important to make sure pets stay hydrated and don’t overheat. Keep fresh drinking water available and a shady spot for them to get out of the sun if they need to. Keep decks cool. A hot deck can damage your pet’s paw pads, so make sure there is a temperature-regulated surface available. Even just hosing down the deck can save sensitive paws. If it is too hot for…
Prestige, the upscale French builder, just announced that it’s making a new 57-foot F5 flybridge motoryacht, a larger version of the 50-foot F4 that it launched at the Cannes Yachting Festival last September. The new F5 has the same styling as the F4, but with even more glazing in the salon and in the hull sides for the lower accommodations deck. Indeed, the salon sides have almost full-height glass side windows, forward and aft; on the starboard side, they’re separated by a sliding glass door in the middle, designed to give the captain immediate access to the side deck. The…
A federal judge has sentenced the captain of the dive boat Conception that caught fire and sank off Southern California in 2019, killing all 33 passengers who were sleeping on a lower deck and one crewmember, to four years in prison. The captain, Jerry Nehl Boylan, 69, of Santa Barbara, was convicted by a federal court jury in November of “seaman’s manslaughter.” It said he was guilty of “misconduct, gross negligence and inattention to his duties.” The charge carried a sentence of up to ten years in federal prison. The 75-foot dive boat caught fire at 3 a.m. on Labor…
The iconic Shelter Island 38 Runabout, which got a lot of attention when Billy Joel launched hull number one in 1996, is now being built with outboards. The original boat had twin 415-hp MerCruisers with Bravo 3 drives and counter-rotating props, delivering the “Newport by lunch” speed that Joel wanted. More recent versions have been powered by 370-hp Yanmar diesel sterndrives, topping out at 45 knots. Now, with twin 300-hp Mercury Verados, the top speed is about the same, but the outboards are quiet, and they can be lifted up for running in shallow water. Almost 30 years ago, the…
The flagship of Beneteau’s Antares fleet, the new 42-foot Antares 12 is a versatile flybridge cruiser that’s easy to like and easy to use. The Antares 12 is a three-cabin, two-head family cruiser, powered by three 300-hp Mercury outboards, with a top speed of 36.8 knots. Two 400-hp Mercury outboards are options. A fingertip joystick control makes slow-speed maneuvering and docking easy. A door next to the helm opens to the starboard side deck, so the captain can move around the boat quickly. All the way aft, a fixed bench seat runs across the transom, and the swim platform is…
Rustler Yachts, a British semi-custom, blue-water sailboat builder with a well-earned reputation for craftsmanship and seamanship, just launched its first powerboat, the elegant Rustler 41. Adrian Jones, the director of Rustler Yachts, said, “We’ve been asked many times if we would build a motorboat by both existing Rustler customers, and those who simply understand our philosophy towards building boats.” The resulting 41, designed by fellow Brit Tony Castro, delivers “comfort, speed and pride of ownership,” according to the company. The 41 carries classic lines with a retro hint and looks that represent a European version of a lobster boat. For…
Lyman-Morse Technologies in Thomaston, Maine, is building the first hull of the new Revel 44S, an outboard-powered vessel that’s designed to combine the practicality of a center console with the amenities and comfort of a cruising yacht. Revel is a new company, founded just two years ago, in Charleston, South Carolina. The new Revel 44S is an international effort, with the hull designed by Bill Prince Yacht Design of Port Washington, Wisconsin, and the interior and exterior by Macra Naval Architecture of La Spezia, Italy. A lot of the engineering came from Revel founder and CEO Joshua St. Germain, who…
The new 55-foot Mirrari, designed by Timur Bozca, is pushing the envelope a bit. Mirrari is a new brand, and its first boat is now under construction at the Enata Group yard outside Dubai. The new Mirrari, among other things, is marked by a high-tech glass dome over the salon that was inspired by the bone structure of birds. The Enata Group is an international composites manufacturer focusing on sustainable solutions for the aerospace and yachting industries. It made a splash in the international yachting community when it launched the revolutionary 32-foot Foiler Vaduz last year. With four retractable hydrofoils,…
The Great Loop anyone? The new Holterman Commander 54 is currently in its yard in The Netherlands, but Holterman is opening an office in the U.S. soon. And the Commander 54, with two cabins, two heads, a low bridge clearance and a range of 500 nm at 8.5 knots would certainly seem to be good candidate for cruising the Loop, the ICW, or many other spots in the United States. For his part, Julian van Santen, Holterman’s sales director, said the new Commander 54 “is perfectly suited to the U.S. market and U.S. boating preferences.” The Holterman Shipyard was founded…
Furuno has unveiled a new series of MFDs that feature AI-assisted routing to take you on the best, safest and most direct path to your destination. And if an obstacle appears along the way, Furuno’s AI Routing will create a new route around it in real time. The new AI feature is part of Furuno’s new NavNet TZtouchXL series of multi-function devices designed for the helm of cruising powerboats. The AI routing uses Furuno’s new TZ maps to create routes along channels and to inlets and marina entrances using the draft of your boat, chart data and other safety parameters.…
There’s no doubt that an EPIRB could save your life if you have a problem while cruising offshore. But new ones are expensive. BoatUS now offers an affordable program where you can rent one for $65 a week, plus $25 for shipping. Read about it here: SPRINGFIELD, Va., March 25, 2024 – The majority of the nation’s nearly 12 million recreational boaters don’t often travel far offshore, beyond cellular or VHF range. But for those who only do on a rare occasion, having an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) is important, allowing you to summon rescuers if there’s a…
C-MAP just announced that it has updated its charts for North American with enhanced images and more detailed information. Founded in 1985, C-MAP has become a leader in digital marine cartography and cloud-based mapping. Its C-MAP App makes planning and navigating simple and easy. It’s made for your smart phone, tablet or personal computer, and you can personalize a chart with the layers you want and view it any time you want in the palm of your hand. You also can check the weather, create your own route, or rely on C-MAP’s Autorouting to do it for you. Now, the…
Quick, the Italian marine component company, just introduced its new Intercepta series of stabilizers at the Düsseldorf show. Designed for yachts from 50 to 130 feet, the new Intercepta X Series of stabilizers can be fully customized to fit any model and hull shape. They are part of Quick’s MC² brand that includes Viator fin stabilizers and Quick gyro stabilizers. Quick already offers a plug-and-play series of Intercepta stabilizers for boats as small as 20 feet. The new stabilizers come in four standard units, the X50, X65, X80 and X100, and the width can be customized to the centimeter. The…
There’s good news for anyone cruising in the Midwest or on the Great Loop. A new five-star transient marina is scheduled to open early in the summer of 2025 on Chicago’s iconic Navy Pier. The new Navy Pier Marina will be the only all-transient marina in Chicago, and it will have 6,400 liner feet of side-to docking for boats up to 130 feet. There’s no minimum boat size, and you can stay for hourly, daily or weekly docking on a mix of floating and fixed piers. The marina will have three gangways leading to Navy Pier itself, and it’s within…
Here’s some good news for fans of the British Virgin Islands (and I think that’s just about all of us). The new and improved Peter Island Resort is scheduled to reopen officially on October 3, and will be up and running for the rest of the year and the holiday season. The original Peter Island Resort was destroyed by the hurricanes in 2017. The six-year rebuilding has resulted in a major transformation and upgrading of the resort and its facilities. Not that there was anything wrong with Peter Island to begin with. I first sailed there many, many years ago…
If you’re going to Palm Beach for the show on your boat later this month, or simply cruising in south Florida at any other time, take a look at the freshly renovated Town of Palm Beach Marina. You’ll be impressed. Most important is its location. It’s on the Intracoastal Waterway, just across Lake Worth Lagoon from the mainland and the show venue. In the other direction, it’s within walking distance of all the boutiques, galleries, restaurants and watering holes of Worth Avenue. The iconic Breakers hotel and resort is only eight-tenths of a mile away. It’s also just north of…
The State Department has issued travel advisories for the Bahamas and Jamaica, warning about crime and water safety in the islands. The advisory for the Bahamas was Level 2, meaning “exercise Increased caution.” The advisory for Jamaica ratcheted up to Level 3, meaning “reconsider travel.” The top level is 4, which basically means don‘t go there. The Bahamas advisory mentioned gang-on-gang violence, but said that “violent crime, such as burglaries, armed robberies and sexual assaults occurs in both tourist and non-tourist areas.” It said travelers should “be vigilant when staying at short-term vacation rental properties where private security companies do…
Simrad just introduced its new NSX ULTRAWIDE MFD that it says is the world’s first ultramarine display with all the features. Simrad says the new display has all the benefits of dual screens in one place, and is 63 percent wider than previous models. The NSX ULTRAWIDE results in an elevated-dash look that offers easier, faster and more efficient installation for OEM or existing boat owners with fewer cables and less set up. It is available in 12-inch and 15-inch screen sizes. The ULTRAWIDE will make its first appearance at the Düsseldorf show, starting Jan. 20, and in the U.S.…
The National Marine Electronics Association just named this year’s award winners at its annual conference in Orlando. The awards were chosen by NMEA members who voted online in 17 categories for Product of Excellence Awards, while a panel of judges named winners of the NMEA Technology Award and Best New Product Award. The Best New Product Award celebrates a new product that was introduced at the conference and that the judges thought was best in innovation, benefit to boaters, practicality and value. The winner: Furuno’s FCV800 fishfinder, which the judges said was “a real powerhouse of a standalone fishfinder.” The…
The new Revolve emergency VHF antenna, a major safety device for serious cruising people, just won an Honorable Mention award at the Newport show. It previously had been nominated for a DAME design award at the big METSTRADE show in Amsterdam. The Revolve antenna is designed to provide you with the ability to communicate on VHF Channel 16 even if your regular antenna is down, or inoperable for any reason. The Revolve also comes with AIS compatibility, so that other boats with AIS (an ever-growing number) can find you quickly. It operates on 156-162MGz, is lightweight, and maintenance free. Based…
Garmin just introduced its new flagship GPSMAP 9000 chartplotter series, with 4K resolution, edge-to-edge clarity and a processor that’s seven times faster than previous versions. The new touchscreen chartplotters come in 19-, 22-, 24-, and 27-inch displays, representing the largest size in recreational boating. Prices start at $9,999. They will be available next month. The new GPSMAP 9000 MFDs work with Garmin’s BlueNet gigabit network to provide comprehensive connectivity throughout the boat, connecting multiple chartplotters, radars, cameras and sonars. They also provide multimedia streaming and video, so users can play and hear the same video and audio over multiple screens…
MarineMax Vacations just announced that it’s formed a partnership with Cruise Abaco, a long-time charter operator, to provide its power catamarans for chartering there. The MarineMax Vacations charters, on board its Aquila cats, will start this summer. Chad Mcghee, president of Cruise Abaco, said he welcomed MarineMax Vacations “to the beautiful Abacos with our first-class charter experiences aboard the award-winning Aquila power catamarans.” For his part, Raul Bermudez, VP of charter sales for MarineMax Vacations, said, “The reliability of a long-time charter operator as our partner makes this relationship a win-win for all parties, but most importantly for our customers.”…
If you want to visit the Galápagos in style, take a look at the just-launched 157-foot-long Hermes luxury catamaran. It holds a maximum of 20 guests per cruise there, and its five-star service includes a personal butler on call 24/7. The crew-to-guest ratio is about one-to-one. Hermes (no relation to the French luxury brand Hermès) has a beam of more than 45 feet. It has six double and two single cabins on the main deck, and six double cabins on the upper deck. Each cabin has floor-to-ceiling windows, a walk-in closet, minibar, head, and private balcony a Jacuzzi. The accommodations…
If you’re tired of just one more charter vacation, or if you just want to let someone else do the driving while you relax in lap of luxury at some of the most glamorous ports in the world, consider a cruise on the new Four Seasons 679-foot yacht. Four Seasons just announced the itineraries for its luxurious vessel, and they include more than ten destinations in the Med and the Caribbean in its first season in 2026. The ship is now under construction at the Fincantieri yard in Italy. The maiden voyage, from January to March 2026, will cover Croatia,…
Arksen, the British adventure company, just announced a new 50-percent co-ownership program for its Project Ocean long-range explorer yachts starting this summer. Jasper Smith, the Arksen founder, says he hopes the co-ownership and charter opportunities spark a spirit of adventure, while offering members a practical second home that’s capable of cruising the world. The program enables members to have ownership of exceptional vessels and access to cruising itineraries with syndicates in Europe, Asia, the U.S. and elsewhere. Arksen the says the co-ownership program offers: Significantly lower costs, compared to sole ownership. Financial flexibility. You can trade in and out of…