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Ultra-Performance MJM 53z Outboard Day-Yacht
– The MJM 53z is a high-performance luxury outboard day-yacht, ideal for entertaining large groups, weekend cruising or live-aboard journeys. The exploring and fun of small boating meets the comfort and capability of large boat yachting as her shoal draft enables the fun of shallow water exploring up creeks, hide-a-ways, and hard to reach anchorages. Her versatility is evident in the seven accommodation options you can chose from to suit you yachting lifestyle. Come aboard a sea trial of this impressive beauty…
Hinckley is building a 35-foot outboard boat that looks pretty much like its iconic Picnic Boat, except for the twin Verados hanging off the stern. Indeed, says Scott Bryant, the company’s VP of sales and marketing, the new 35 “has the Hinckley curves, but with outboard propulsion.” The new 35, already under construction at Hinckley’s yard in Trenton, Maine, on the mainland just across from Mt. Desert Island, is not Hinckley’s first outboard boat. The traditional Down East builder introduced a Sport Boat series two years ago with outboards, first a 40c and then last year a 40x, with more…
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Virtually Preview Outer Reef Yachts Prior To The 2020 Fort Lauderdale Boat Show
No two Outer Reef Classic Series Yachts are alike, customized for each individual owner’s cruising and lifestyle needs.
The latest technologies, design innovations, and spacious layouts enhance the exclusivity and versatility each unique Outer Reef Yacht offers.
Cruise in comfort within all types of sea conditions and experience her un-matched sea-keeping abilities. There are no limitations to her proven agility during long range journeys or leisurely weekend cruises. Each Outer Reef Yacht creates an unforgettable cruising chapter for her owner – one that needs to be seen to be believed.
In the comfort of your home, office or yacht, Outer Reef welcomes you to virtually experience the various models within the collection.
Also, join Outer Reef for safe, thorough, in-person walk-throughs and discussions at the upcoming 2020 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, October 28th – November 1st:
Pregnant Wife Saves Husband from Shark in the Keys
A pregnant wife dove into the water to save her husband from a shark attack in the Florida Keys. She was not injured, but rescue personnel, who flew him to a trauma center in Miami, said his injuries were “severe.” The shark attacked Andrew Eddy, 30, almost immediately after he slid off the back of a 20-foot motorboat on Sombrero Reef in the Middle Keys to go snorkeling about 10:30 in the morning. Eddy, from Atlanta, was there with his wife, Margot Dukes-Eddy, her parents, her sister, and her sister’s boyfriend. Several other people were snorkeling nearby at the time;…
Ray Dalio Launches OceanXplorer To Study World’s Oceans
When Ray Dalio was growing up on Long Island, he used to love watching TV documentaries by Jacques Cousteau, the French oceanographer. Now Dalio, 71, and the founder of one of the largest hedge funds in the U.S., is launching OceanXplorer, his own 286-foot research vessel, with three miniature submarines and two underwater robots, to explore the oceans of the world himself. He also will make some documentaries of his own, starting with a six-part series for National Geographic, produced by the BBC with James Cameron, the director of The Titanic, as executive producer. Dalio is best known as the…
Kris Carroll Named to NMMA Hall of Fame
Many years ago, Eddie Smith, the owner and CEO of Grady-White Boats, told me why he kept promoting Kris Carroll, the company’s president who is going to be inducted into the NMMA’s Hall of Fame on Sept. 29. “She was so good at every job she did that she just kept moving up,” he said. The NMMA (National Marine Manufacturers’ Association) will present Carroll with the 2020 NMMA Hall of Fame Award at the opening of the IBEX show online. She is the first woman to get the award. Among the previous 47 recipients are Ray Hunt, Olin Stephens, Nathanael…
NTSB: “Limited Safety Practices” in Fatal Alabama Marina Fire
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (AP) — A fire that killed eight people and did more than $500,000 damage at an Alabama marina started accidentally but was worsened by the marina’s “limited fire safety practices,” according to a federal report. The National Transportation Safety Board, in a report released this month, said the Jan. 27 fire started near the electrical panel of a houseboat named Dixie Delight at the Jackson County Park Marina in Scottsboro. The fire spread quickly because of the abundance of combustible lawn furniture and propane cylinders for barbecue grills on the dock and boat decks. The report found…
New Mayflower Plans To Cross Atlantic With No Humans On Board
The Mayflower Autonomous Ship, a joint project by IBM and Promare, was just launched in England, with the goal of becoming the largest totally autonomous ship ever to cross the Atlantic. After six months of testing, it is scheduled to leave Plymouth, UK, next April, and land in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The $1.3 million trimaran will not have any humans on board, or offering any kind of help once it’s underway. IBM’s advanced AI computing systems, helped by 30 sensors and 6 AI cameras, will make all decisions at sea on their own, with no human intervention. The solar-driven ship is…
Brooklin Launches New Version of Hemingway’s Pilar
The new Wheeler 38, a recreation of Ernest Hemingway’s famous Pilar, was just launched at the Brooklin Boat Yard in Maine, and now is cruising down to Key West with a top speed of 34 knots. The new boat is named Legend, and it was reverse engineered from the original Pilar by Bill Prince Yacht Design. It was built for the Wheeler Yacht Company at Brooklin with modern technology and creature comforts, including a Seakeeper gyro stabilizer. The original Pilar was built by the Wheeler Shipyard in Coney Island, New York, in 1933. Hemingway paid $7,495 for the boat and had…
Coppercoat, the 10+ Year Anti-Fouling; Really Lasts Longer Than That!
Jeanneau Launches New Family-Friendly 40-Foot Leader
Jeanneau just launched its all-new Leader 12.5, a 40-foot, two-cabin, multi-purpose boat that the company says is designed for family fun, simplicity and efficiency. With three 300-hp Yamaha outboards and a deep-V hull designed by Michael Peters, the Leader 12.5 tops out at 50 mph and cruises in the 35-mph range. The company’s flagship, the Leader 12.5 is built with social spaces all around, inside and out, with lots of flexible seating and sleeping space. You can climb aboard via an entry door on the starboard side. Push a button and the port bulwark in the cockpit folds out to…
Fall Boat Show Special: New Boats 35 Feet and Under
Here’s a look at just some of the new cruising boats, 35 feet and under, that, in normal times, you’d probably see at the fall boat shows this year: RANGER TUGS R-27 It would be hard to find a more user-friendly pocket cruiser than the Ranger Tugs R-27. Its two-cabin, one-head layout is made for cruising with a small family or a few friends; its light-filled salon makes living enjoyable, and its 300-hp Yamaha outboard delivers a 42-mph top speed that gets you where you want to go in a hurry. Ranger Tugs are made by Fluid Motion, in Kent,…
Fall Boat Show Special: Boats 36 to 50 Feet
Here’s a look at just some of the new cruising boats, 36 to 50 feet, that, in normal times, you’d probably see at the fall boat shows this year: BRABUS AXOPAR 37 If you thought the original Axopar 37 was cool, take a look at the new version, the BRABUS Shadow 900, and it’s a collaboration between BRABUS, a German company that transforms luxury cars (think Mercedes-AMG) into even higher-end luxury performance vehicles, and Axopar, the innovative builder from Finland. For the Shadow 900, BRABUS starts with the platform for the Axopar 37 and then customizes it. “BRABUS Marine products…
Fall Boat Show Special: Boats 51 Feet and Up
Here’s a look at just some of the new cruising boats, 51 feet and up, that, in normal times, you’d probably see at the fall boat shows this year: KROGEN EXPRESS 52 Even with a flying bridge and raised pilothouse, the Krogen Express 52 manages to carry a classic low profile, enhanced by a long, flowing sheer line that emphasizes the boat’s distinctive profile. And the “Express” part of its name is not a misnomer: With twin 480-hp Yanmars the Krogen Express tops out at about 22 knots. Dial back to 8 knots and the boat has a range of…
Garmin Launches Powerful New Open-Array Radar Series
Garmin just launched its new GMR Fantom 254/256 open-array radar series, and the company says it’s the highest-powered solid-state marine radar on the market. The new Fantom radars have 250W of pulse compression power, and they can detect targets from just 20 feet away to 96 nm away, providing the best short- and long-range target detection and consistency. They more than double the power of Garmin’s existing series, and they maximize energy and range resolution for cruising boat owners. The Fantom 254/256 use Garmin’s MotionScope technology with an adjustable speed threshold to detect and highlight moving targets, in different colors,…
ACR Launches New Self-Testing for EPIRBs and PLBs
We all know that it’s a very good idea to have a working EPIRB or a PLB on a cruising boat, but how do we know that they’ll work in an emergency when we actually need them? Now, ACR Electronics, the safety and survival device company in Fort Lauderdale, has an answer for that – a new 406Link that lets you test your device in advance. The 406Link is meant to give you peace of mind, and to reassure you that search and rescue services can find you when you need them most. It gives 406 MHz beacon owners, people…
New 56-Knot Taiga Orca All-Electric Jet Ski
Here’s a new toy for the rest of the summer – and for a lot of summers to come: The Taiga Orca electric jet ski, and it gives a whole new meaning to plug and play. The Orca, made by Taiga Motors in Montreal, is powered by a 180-hp electric motor and a battery with a 20kWh capacity. It has a top speed of 56 knots and a range of 130 nm. After that, you just plug it in and it will charge back to 80 percent capacity in 20 minutes. Then it’s time to go out and play again.…
New FCC Decision Could Hurt GPS Accuracy
Despite initial opposition from the Coast Guard, the Pentagon, the Departments of Homeland Security, Transportation, Commerce and Interior, plus NASA and the FAA, the Federal Communications Commission has given a private equity firm permission to run a 5G wireless network that could harm the reliability of GPS signals. BoatUS, part of a new group called the Keep GPS Working Coalition, also opposes the ruling. “With this decision, the FCC is permitting one private company to upend the entire reliability of GPS,” said David Kennedy, the BoatUS manager of government affairs. “It’s unfathomable that the lone federal caretaker of our national…
Cruising the Inside Passage on a Fleming 53
Here’s a great story, with lots of pictures, from Fleming Yachts, about how Anne and Bill Knorr bought a used Fleming 53 and lived their dream by cruising for 12 weeks and 3,200 nm from Anacortes, Washington, to Glacier Bay, Alaska, and back. Read Anne’s account here: For several years, two long, narrow maps have hung side-by-side in our garage, a colorful illustration of the waterways from Puget Sound to Southeast Alaska depicting the route along the Inside Passage. It has been a long-time dream of my husband and me to motor the entire passage from Anacortes, Washington, to Glacier…
Boat Harbour Marina in the Abacos Now Open Again
Here’s good news for those of us who love cruising in the Bahamas (and I think that’s just about all of us): Abaco Beach Resort and Boat Harbour Marina in Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island are open again, offering some of the best cruising, fishing, and just plain boating fun you can imagine anywhere. Over the years, I’ve been to the Abaco Beach Resort many times, and each one was memorable, but in particular I remember a cruise with Scott Porter, the president of Formula, on one of his new boats, and fishing with Eddie Smith, the founder of…
The Moorings Opens Charter Fleet in St. Pete, Florida
What better way to get away from the trials of the pandemic, than to charter a boat and then take a week’s vacation with your family, spending time relaxing together, cruising over calm waters and swimming off some of the longest and most beautiful beaches in the world? Well, The Moorings, the charter powerhouse, has just opened up sail and power charters out of St. Petersburg, Florida, to help you do all that. St. Pete is a great destination in its own right, easily accessible from the Tampa international airport, and home to some great museums, art galleries, cafes, restaurants…
Locks Repaired, Lake Champlain Opens to Cruising Boats
The Champlain Locks are finally open, after a long, coronavirus-delayed repair, and the 125-mile long Lake Champlain, one of the most beautiful spots in the U.S., is now accessible for anyone cruising up from New York or coming east along the Erie Canal. Whitehall, the last lock leading to the lake from the Hudson River, just above Albany, opened a few days ago; the repairs originally had been scheduled to be finished by the start of summer, but they were delayed by shutdowns caused by the coronavirus. The good news is that late summer and fall are spectacular times to…
Raymarine Launches New Line of Faster, Smarter, Axiom+ MFDs
Raymarine just unveiled its new Axiom+ multifunction navigation displays plus new, updated Lighthouse electronic charts. Axiom+ is the successor to Raymarine’s award-winning Axiom line of MFDs. Raymarine says the new Axiom+ displays are smarter, brighter and tougher than ever before. The new displays come in 7-, 9-, and 12-inch sizes, and they have a quad-core processor for fast chart redraws, multi-channel sonar views, and augmented reality navigation. Storage is increased to 16 MB. (The 12-inch display is shown above.) Axiom+ displays are up to 25 percent brighter than previous models. And they are more user-friendly, with HydroTouch impact-resistant glass that…
New Furuno MFDs: More Power, More Depth, More Safety
Furuno just introduced three new multifunction displays, with more power, faster responses and larger sizes. They’re all the third generation of Furuno’s NavNet MFD series, and they’re called NavNet TZtouch3. Furuno says they are the three most powerful MFDs on the market; they all have a more powerful quad-core processor for a fast response. The new MFDs come in 12-inch, 16-inch and 19-inch displays. The 12-inch version is a hybrid, with a RotoKey you turn to help navigate in any sea condition. (I’ve often found that this is a big help. If I try to use my finger to set…
Best New Electronics: NMEA Technology Award Winners
If you’re thinking about buying new electronics for your boat, either as part of a new vessel or as an upgrade on your existing one, you’ll want to take a look at this review of some of the best from NMEA Boater. It lists the winner and four other finalists for the National Marine Electronics Association Technology Award in 2019, and it’s certainly a good place to start. It has the manufacturers’ own descriptions of their entries. The overall winner was Raymarine/FLIR ClearCruise (pictured above). The entry says it “is an industry-first navigation technology that brings leading-edge Augmented Reality to…
Stay Connected with New, Fast, AquaFi Mobile Hotspot
Here’s a new way for you – and a lot of your friends – to stay connected when you’re cruising: the Taylor Made AquaFi Mobile Hotspot. Indeed, the AquaFi Hotspot delivers fast and reliable 4G LTE speeds for up to ten users on board at the same time. The AquaFi provides a secure 2.4 GHz connection, and it can connect with multiple devices at up to 150 Mbps. Speeds will vary according to the strength of the cell signal. The device requires a Nano SIM card (included) and it’s easy to set up with the free AquaFi app. Made for…
Now’s the Time To Plan Your Spring Charter in Corfu
Here’s some good news from The Moorings: Their charter operation is reopening in Corfu on Oct. 1. But now is really the time to plan for a special charter there next spring, when we hope that traveling will be easier. The prices are right. A seven night charter for two people on a Moorings 434 power cat with four cabins starting on April 10 costs $2,944. Here’s what The Moorings has to say: We are happy to announce that our Corfu marina is scheduled to reopen October 1, 2020*. Please be aware that additional entry requirements and restrictions may still…
New 51-Foot Cat for Charter in Bora Bora Lagoon
Want to drift through the drop-dead gorgeous turquoise waters of Bora Bora, without having to go through all the trouble of actually cruising there? Here’s the solution: Charter a 51-foot, four-cabin, solar-powered catamaran that’s already there, and sit back and enjoy. Built by ELYT Charter Tahiti, the new cat will be ready to charter in the Bora Bora Lagoon by the end of the year. It sleeps eight in the four cabins, and it has two heads and a large central living room and kitchenette on the main deck. The upper deck is basically a rooftop with 360-degree views, a…
New Discounts on Luxury Barge Cruises in Scottish Highlands
Here’s a way to get away from it all: Charter a luxury hotel barge for a cruise through the Scottish Highlands. European Waterways, the largest hotel barging company in Europe, can help you with that. It runs two vessels, the Scottish Highlander (pictured above), which holds eight passengers, and the Spirit of Scotland, which holds 12. They both cruise through Scotland’s iconic Caledonian Canal and other areas of the Highlands with stops along the way for everything from golf to touring medieval castles to tastings at a whisky distillery. Because of the pandemic and people’s changing travel plans, European Waterways…
Seattle’s Popular New AirBnB for Boats
Here’s a fun story from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer about how GetMyBoat, the new boat rental app, has taken off there: By Christina Ausley, SeattlePI This past Fourth of July, it seemed many a Seattleites were hunting down a boat rental for the weekend alongside their lakeside cabins. Nonetheless, a massive boat rental app has launched across the Seattle area, and it seems to be … the AirBnB of boats? GetMyBoat, the world’s top boat rental website and app, divvies out boat rentals to more than 130,000 vessels in 184 countries. From powerboat rentals, sailboat charters and fishing charters, to jet-ski…