Author George Day

Boat Reviews
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Revisiting the No-Nonsense Nordic Tug 44, an American Classic

The Nordic Tug 44 is one of those classic cruising boats that will never go out of style. Introduced in 2017 and still in production, the 44 is an upgrade and replacement for the NT 42, which was and is a terrific coastal cruiser. But there were a couple of issues in the 42 that owners and the builders wanted to address. The 44 is the result of their input and labors. A two-cabin, two-head design, the 44 has a larger master cabin and the salon has been extended by a couple of feet. This additional space makes a lot…

Cruising Life
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The Waterway Guide to a Great Loop Cruise is a Great Place to Start

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.…

Cruising Life
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The Comms Revolution Continues: T-Mobile Links Phones to Starlink Satellites

On Tuesday of this week, cell-phone provider T-Mobile started beta testing its new satellite phone service in partnership with Starlink. At present the satellite phone service is only available through T-Moible and on certain Samsung smart phones. By providing a high-speed internet connection anywhere in the world at a reasonable cost, Starlink has already revolutionized communications from our boats. Being able to handle all internet chores while crossing large bodies of water, even oceans, or while swinging on the anchor is some remote paradise, we now can now take our shoreside life with us while cruising.  This is both a…

Boat Reviews
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Sneak Peek at the New Aquila Coupe 42 and 46

In February at the Miami International Boat Show, Aquiia Catamarans will introduce the new Couple 42 and Coupe 46. But, here’s a sneak peek at what Aquila has in store for us. Both cats are sleek outboard or inboard-powered speedsters with a low air draft and spacious forward cockpits. With two staterooms and en suite heads, both are proper cruising boats that will blow your hair back as you jet from one cruising landfall to the next. The new designs make good use of Aquila’s trademark double-stepped hull configuration and the Hydro Glide Foil System. The hulls are configured to…

Boat Reviews
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Polish Builder Cobra to Introduce New Campione 41 at BOOT

It should be no surprise that Poland has become a leading yacht builder. It was at the Gdansk Shipyard in 1980 that shipbuilder Lech Walesa founded the Solidarity Union, which led the way a decade later to independence from the dying Soviet Union. Today, more than a dozen Polish yacht yards build hundreds of new boats ever year, many for brands based in Scandinavia and Europe. But one of its home-grown brands, Cobra Yachts, has an expanding reputation for delivering interesting family cruising boats from 37 to 48 feet, that combine modern Italian-yacht design with the great value to be…

Cruising Life
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Eight Bells for Azimut-Benetti Chairman Paolo Vitelli

Paolo Vitelli, Chairman of the Italian yacht building firm Azimut-Benetti passed away on December 31 after an accident in his home. He was 77. Azimut-Benetti reigns as one of the luxury yacht market’s leaders and remains one of the most innovative. And, Vitelli remained until his death a towering figure in yacht building.  The Azimut-Benetti Group is regarded as the world’s leading mega-yacht builder, a position it has held for the last 24 years. The company is run by Vitelli’s daughter Giovanna Vitelli who joined her father in 2000 and ascended to the chairmanship in 2023. Over the last four…

Boat Reviews
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Absolute Comes Out with New Navetta 53 Family Cruiser

The Italian builder Absolute offers three models, the Navetta line, the Flybridge line and the Coupe line and while all are successful and interesting, the Navetta designs are the ones getting the most attention recently. This year Absolute is launching two new Navetta models at BOOT Dusseldorf next week, the 53 and 64, and both show numerous tweaks and improvements to the otherwise established design theme of the past. We’ll look at the 53 here and then come back to the 64 down the road. The 53 has an expanded foredeck lounging area and higher bulwarks, with an attractive cut…

Boat Reviews
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Is 2025 the Year Electric Powerboats Go Mainstream?

Last fall, when the successful Finnish builder Axopar celebrated its 10th Anniversary at the Cannes boat show, it did so by introducing two new electric-powered runabouts.  This is no small statement for a company that made its bones building incredibly fast and muscular outboard boats with an attitude. Now, they’re building boats that purr. The electronic wave is definitely upon us. Battery technology and thus range improves every year to the point that new brand Sialia boasts their new day-cruiser can run at 25 knots for up to 70 miles. That was unthinkable five years ago. Advanced batteries in combination…

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Zipwake Dynamic Trim Tabs Dampen Pitch and Roll

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…

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