Since 1999, the Swedish builder J Craft has been building classic ultra-luxury speedboats on an island near Gotland. Their 42-foot Torpedo is a hand-made collector’s item that evokes La Dolce Vita from the Riviera and the Gatsby Days on Long Island, New York. Torpedos have advanced, cored-fiberglass hulls and classic mahogany decks that are finished with 18 coats of hand-rubber lacquer and varnish. Her leather seats and bolsters are made from the finest leather and hand-stitched to perfection. At the end of a dock the boat shines like a precious jewel. But, with Swedish DNA –think sea-going Vikings—each Torpedo is…
The new Arksen 85 is billed by the company as the ultimate long-range explorer. It was conceived to satisfy the needs of modern adventurers, those mavericks with a twinkle in their eyes and the means to make big adventures come to fruition. The 85 is the company’s flagship. It is built of aluminum and engineered to be strong and safe enough to tackle the ice sheets of Greenland or the bergs of the Northwest Passage. According to the builder, the 85 is built with up to 70% recycled metal and, when its useful life is done, all that aluminum can…
That’s a mouthful of buzzwords – AI, augmented reality—but welcome to 2025 and the new age of smart machines that solve problems we didn’t even know we had. The new LOOKOUT camera is just such an invention. It looks ahead with a high powered camera’s eye and runs that data through a computer equipped with AI that also collects data from all of your nav instruments. The result is a screen filled with all the data your marine electrics can generate in a readable three-dimensional format. The software expands images of hazards, highlights buoys, tracks AIS signals from passing boats…
Now here’s something different, a fast cruising speed boat that tops out at 60-plus knots. It is not surprising, then, that this sleek, Italian speedster is the brainchild of the Lamborghini Motorcar Company. You hear the name Lambo and you immediately think of that magic combination of futuristic Italian styling blended with over the top performance and speed. You want a car that will go 200-miles-an hours? It’s a Lambo. Do you want a boat that will top 60 knots (72 miles-per-hour) then it’s a Lambo. The 63 is built by Tecnomar, which is a subsidiary of the Italian holding…
Maria Langer is a woman of many parts. She is a helicopter pilot, an adventure traveler, a professional yacht captain and a certified powerboat instructor. She is also a Great Looper who closed her circle on August 12 last summer in Chicago and is now writing a book about her Loop adventures. And, she’s a long-time blogger. Her Loop trip lasted 464 days and took her through 19 states and one Canadian Province. She covered 8,330 miles and burned 5,234 gallons of fuel. She spent 278 nights in marinas and the rest swinging on the anchor. All of this was…
The New Saxdor 40 GTC was introduced to the North American market last fall and is the Finnish builder’s flagship. A two-cabin, outboard express cruiser, the new boat packs a lot of amenities inside a relatively small envelope. The Saxdor company was founded by Sakari Matilla, a prolific boat-building entrepreneur, who also founded Axopar, Aquador, Paragon and XO Boats. While based in Finland, Saxdor builds most of their boats at their factory in Poland, a country that has become a boat building mecca. As of 2024, the company had grown to 600 employees. It has over 100 dealers in 50…
This year, Williams, the British builder of inflatable, jet-drive dinghies and sport boats, is celebrating 20 years in business. Over those two decades, Williams had become synonymous with high-tech, high-performance boats that are the class of the dinghy and tender market. The brand is so popular, builders of new boats often design dinghy garages and stern lifting planforms specifically for the Williams dinghy that will go with the new boats. To celebrate the anniversary, Wiliams is introducing three new models: the SportJet 460 and 520 and the DieselJet 625. The 460, at 15 feet is a suitable size tender for…
The Italian builder Persing, a member of the Ferretti Group, launched their new GTX 70 this week thereby adding a third member to the builder’s sport utility GTX line. The 70 joins the GTX 80 and 116. The GTX 70 is the creation of the Ferretti Group’s in-house design team in partnership with the Product Strategy Committee, led by Piero Ferrari, Enzo Ferrari’s son. So, it’s no wonder that the 70 exudes supercar styling and performance. The new desig emphasizes the huge beach front area aft. The after deck is large and the swim platform can be lifted hydraulically to…
This week, Outer Reef Yachts circulated the first photos of their new 780 Adventure expedition yacht that is in the fitting-out stage at the Dutch shipyard where it is being built. Last September, when Outer Reef’s CEO and President Jeff Druek announced his company’s merger with the high respect Dutch builder Lynx Yachts, he noted, “Expanding our presence in the Netherlands and integrating the highly regarded Lynx Yachts management team into our operations marks a significant milestone for Outer Reef Yachts. This partnership aligns perfectly with our commitment to innovation and quality, enabling us to meet the growing demand for…
The new Prestige M7, whcih is to be intrpduced at the Cannes Festival of Yachting in September, joins the M48 and M8 in the now three-boat line of power cats. A flybridge liveaboard cruiser, the new design focuses on expansive outdoors spaces, fuel efficiency and a solar-powered silent mode. The designers have incorporated a wide platform aft between the catamaran’s sterns that becomes a kind of beach club with three levels and easy access to the water. Combine this with the outside lounge on the foredeck that has a sunken foot well and forward facing sofas and the almost 300…
In January, Aquador celebrated its 30th year in business and the completion of its 4,000th boat. But who is Aquador? Finland has become a prolific builder of sport boats and express cruisers. You may have heard of Saxdor and Axopar, which have made a splash in the US as well as around the world. But you may not have head of Aquador, even though it has been building Scandinavian-style sport boats and express cruisers for 30 years. To celebrate this milestone, the team at Aquador are launching an all-new 40-foot 400HT at BOOT Dusseldorf in January. The 400HT is the…
At last September’s Cannes Festival of Yachting in the South of France, I attended Beneteau’s annual press event and was introduced to the innovative electric Island Cruising Concept Yacht. Always an innovator, Beneteau had a vision of boating and chartering in the future. Now, Dream Yacht Charters is offering that future in the BVI. Their fleet of sail and power boats now includes the boxy-looking electric hybrid power boats that are like floating beach houses with accommodations for a normal chart6er party The Island Cruising Concept is all about indoor-outdoor living and practical sustainability. The idea is to be close…
In the last few years as I’ve been making offshore trips as crew for my friends, whether back and forth to the Caribbean from New England or across the Atlantic, it seems that a lot of the crew aboard show up with their own hand-held GPSs and an InReach or a satphone. This is a “just-in-case” level of preparation by sailors who have in fact been on boats that were hit by lightning or suffered a battery bank collapse that meant built-in marine electronics were no longer working or reliable. Garmin has long been a leader in hand-held GPSs and…
Volvo Penta has been working on electric propulsion and hybrid diesel-electric systems for a decades. The diesel-electric system coupkled to IPS drives is now available for commercial and recreational use and provides an elegant and proven technology that will allow boats to run silent and carbon free. The electric motor in the system fits between the main engine and the IPS pod and is engaged with a clutch. The motors run off a bank of lithium-ion batteries that can be sized for each boat’s specific tasks and requirements. “A hybrid provides a flexible solution, one that maintains the high efficiency…
Most of the modern fast cruisers that run at planing speeds have trim tabs that are adjusted manually to level the boat off and make it run more comfortably and efficiently. Adjusting trim tabs takes practice and skill and affects trim slowly, not dynamically. Swedish inventor Niclas Olofsson, who has a PhD in hydrodynamics had a better idea. In 1994, while on a business trip to Fremantle, Australia, the boat builder he was calling on had a problem. The Chinese company that had ordered several small fast ferry boats had rejected the products because the ferries could not reach the…
The British Virgin Islands are the world’s most popular charter destination. There are hundreds of boats to charter, both power and sail. There are dozens of anchorages, some with moorings and some without. And, there are a score of beach bars and restaurants that all have been rebuilt since Hurricane Ivan struck the islands in 2017. If you are in the BVIs on your own boat or aboard charter boat, there are some regular attractions that most people tick off. There’s the Bite an Norman’s. There’s the wreck of the Rhone to snorkel over. There are the famous Baths on…
The Great Loop circles the eastern half of the United states and is comprised of 6,000 miles of connected rivers, waterways, canals and lakes. It can take nine months or more to complete a full circuit of the loop and along the way you’ll explore the whole east coast, the Great Lakes, the mighty rivers running south to the Gulf of Mexico and both coasts of Florida. Such a journey has long been on the bucket lists of many a cruiser, yet it is a big bite of the adventure apple to undertake with many challenges to impede your progress.…
Ed and Elaine describe their cruising adventures aboard their Ranger Tug R-27 as they explored the Intracoastal Waterway from Maryland to Florida. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH-E3tTQhZo&t=2s
Now here is something different for adventurous travelers, a boutique-style charter on mini-cruise vessels in Indonesia. The outfit is called Rascal Voyages and they have two vessels Rascal and Rebel, each with five cabins, that will take you to the most pristine islands, reefs and beaches on the planet. Indonesia is a vast country made up of thousands of islands. It is also one of the world’s most populous countries but most of the people live on Java and very few live on the outer islands where there is no infrastructure, no airports and no bridges. The only way to…
Of all the natural phenomena that we run into out on the water, lightning may be the most worrisome. A direct strike can blow a thru-hull right off the boat creating a gaping hole, it can fry your electrical panel and battery bank and it can start a fire. Even near misses can create a mess inside marine electronics and the autopilot, or in the alternator and starter motor on your engine, or it can blow up an inverter-charger. Lightning works in mysterious ways so you can never predict where it will go and what damage it can do. That…
Since its founding in 2019, Skyhawk has become a leader in wireless, battery-operated, cellular-connected monitoring devices. Last year, the company came out with its Oversea models designed for boats and they earned both an Innovation Award at the 2024 Miami Boat Show and a place on the NNMA’s Top 100 New Products list for 2024. Oversea monitors keep an eye on all the important aspects of a boat that has been left untended for a length of time. Monitors have specific responsibilities, so you can mix and match them as you deem necessary. You can have monitors for your battery…
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…
This week, MarineMax Vacations announced its recognition as a recipient of the 2024 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Award. This coveted honor celebrates businesses that consistently deliver exceptional experiences, placing MarineMax Vacations among the top hospitality companies worldwide. This achievement reflects the dedication and passion of the MarineMax Vacations team, whose mission is to provide unforgettable charter experiences in some of the most beautiful destinations on earth. From the British Virgin Islands to other idyllic locations, MarineMax Vacations has become synonymous with luxury, adventure, and seamless customer service. “We are incredibly honored to receive the 2024 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Award,” said Raul Bermudez, Vice President of MarineMax Vacations. “This…
Now, here’s something new from the market disrupters at Uber. Uber Europe, which pioneered facilitating Uber users to book yachts for day trips or more, announced this month that the service would be expanded to deluxe resort areas in Ibiza, Venice, Paris and Greece. A typical Uber Yacht experience in Ibiza would get you and up to seven friends aboard a private Sunseeker for eight hours of touring the island as well as swimming and other water sports. It would cost $1,600 for the day and comes with a complimentary bottle of champagne. Uber also noted that the ride sharing…
The Moorings, the worldwide charter giant, is adding a new location in La Paz, on the tip of the Baja peninsula in Mexico. The Moorings new base there, with sail and power charter boats, will open in time for the 2025 season. La Paz is at the entrance to the Sea of Cortez, which Jacques Cousteau called “the world’s aquarium” – for good reason. Also known as the Gulf of California, it’s one of the most biodiverse ecological regions in the world, and its warm waters and low surfaces protect coral reefs, plankton and algae. The area was declared a…
Beneteau just announced that it’s signed a 100 million Euros contract with Le Boat to supply it with a fleet of 400 new Delphia boats for its international boat rental fleet over the next ten years. Both companies said they wanted to expand their business in North America; Le Boat, which claims to be the largest boat rental company in Europe, already has an active boat rental and ownership program in Canada. Delphia is a Beneteau Group brand in Poland that makes river-cruising boats. The announcement said that Delphia will deliver 100 new boats to Le Boat in the next…