Author George Day

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Jeanneau Introduces New Sea Loft 480 Floating Cruising Villa

You have to hand it to the brand managers and designers at Jeanneau for constantly thinking outside the box. If fact, it seems at times that they don’t  know there is a box. The Sea Loft 480 proves the point. And it is informative that in the description of the boat on the Jeanneau website and brochure the concept of “cooking’ is an oft repeated theme. Sure, we all cook when we cruise, but they seem to be inferring that what’s going on here is instead cruising while actually cooking. And why not, the new design was created for families…

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Grand Banks Introduces New GB 65 Deluxe Family Cruiser

Grand Banks announced this week that they are adding an all new 65-footer to their line that will fit neatly between the 62 and 70. Like the other models in the 60 range the new 65 will be available with either an open flybridge or an enclosed Skylounge. Both versions share the new streamlined lines introduced by CEO and chief designer Mark Richards when he took over the company.  While the new designs have the traditional Downeast aesthetic that made the early models so distinctive, the new Grand Banks are sleek, graceful and downright handsome. Part of the evolution of…

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New Ferretti 800 Marries Stylish Grace with Immense Power

The new 800 from the Italian builder Ferretti carries the company’s unmistakable DNA – that unique Italian blend of style and power. At 80 feet, the hull is of a size that carries its lines including the flybridge sweetly and without any jarring visual angles.  The actual flybridge is almost invisible from off the boat. Like this generation of Ferretti yachts, the 800 has been dedicated to outdoor living at its best.  On the fore deck, the designers have included a spacious sunning area with wide sunbeds. Plus, there is a lounge and a dining table that will seat five…

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Finnish-Built Grandezza 34OB Packs a Ton of Quality and Space in a Small Package

This is a first for Cruising Odyssey. We have never reviewed a boat from the Finnish builder Grandezza even though they have been building boats for a generation and have dealers around the world. Simply put, they do not show boats at American shows and do not have an American distributor. So here we go. The newest boat in their line of sport cruisers from 25 to 37 feet is the 34 Outboard. This is the same hull used in the 34 inboard but by moving the propulsion aft useful interior spaces have been opened up. Built on Finland’s west…

Cruising Life
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2026 Atlantic Sargassum Bloom Thickest on Record

This year has seen ocean temperature in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans set record levels with select areas reaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit. This increase is causing flora and fauna in both oceans to change traditional patterns and none more so that the great bloom of  Sargassum in the Atlantic. Up until 2011, the Atlantic Sargassum bloom was mainly confined to the Sargasso Sea in the middle of the North Atlantic. Small patches of the weed would break off and float into the trade winds that blew them west. But these were occasional patches and few and far between Starting…

Cruising Life
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West Marine: Here’s How to Bankrupt a Company

As we have reported over the last month, West Marine, America’s largest marine chandlery, filed a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy that will allow it to work with its creditors to reduce debt and to reorganize the company’s finances. How did the company get into this dire situation. Craig Lewisk, editor and publisher of Scuttlebutt Sailing News, is a sailboat owner and a long-time customer at his local West Marine. Here’s his amusing and revealing take on issues that are driving the company toward failure.  I insert a thru-hull plug into my Alerion 28 hull when removing the speed/depth transducer, which is…

Cruising Life
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Great Loop Record Attempt Halted Due to Hull Damage

On July 20, seven days into his second Great Loop speed record attempt, Robert Youens and his co-skipper Steven Hernden called it quits. They departed from Chickasaw, Alabama on July 13 and were making record time, often covering 400 miles a day in their single engine aluminum Jon boat In the first three days, they covered 1,300 miles of the 6,000 they would have to tick off to complete America’s Great Loop. By the fourth, they had outrun the RV that was trailing them with beds for the night and spare fuel. Youens is no stranger to the Great Loop.…

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Zeelander 5 Gets Special Custom Treatment

In the rarified air of the ultra-wealthy, sometime even the very best money can buy will fit into a relatively small package. And, so it is with the newly launched Zeelander 5. The Dutch builder recently delivered a new semi-custom version of their Zeelander 5 model to a Turkish billionaire, and the boat was tailored specifically for him. He wanted it to mirror the style of his luxury super cars, plane and home décor so what he got was an elegant blend of Bentley on the outside and Hermes on the inside. Zeelander builds four models, the 49-foot 5,  the…

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New Renda 62S Packs a Ton of Style in a Sleek Aluminum Hull

Turkish builder Renda Yachts which is based in the beautiful coastal town of Marmaris, has set for itself a lofty goal: They intend to build yachts for owner operators that deliver mega-yacht style and finish. Their new Renda 62S has a very distinctive and aggressive look with an angular sheer, plumb bow, low black cabin and wide open transom. In a way, with its dark tinted windows, it looks like a boat for the villain of a Jame Bond novel complete with a giant laser to atomize his foes. With aluminum hulls and deck structures, the boats are light and…

On Watch With Peter Janssen
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Kadey-Krogen and American Tug Bankruptcy Touched Many with Boats in Build

On July 6, when Kadey-Krogen Yachts and theur sister company American Tugs filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, there were at least six or seven owners who had placed deposits and we awaiting delivery of their new dream boats. It least one of the boats in build had been paid in full in advance. Now, in the aftermath, those owners are left in the lurch and are understandably upset and angry. They have lost sizeable amounts of money and had their cruising dreams dashed, at least for the tie being. A chapter 7 bankruptcy calls for the liquidation of all the…

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