Author George Day

Cruising Life
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New Sabre 51 Salon Express Design Preview

At the Newport International Boat Show in September, Sabre Yachts announced the design completion of their brand-new Sabre 51 Salon Express. An all-weather couple’s cruising boat, the design emphasizes entertaining, weekending and ultimately long-term living aboard and cruising. It is always exciting news when this highly respected Maine builder of Downeast-style cruising boats comes out with a new design since the company has been a trend setter for more than 40 years.  The new boat will fit neatly between the 48SE and the 58SE The new 51 is the fruit of a deep-dive, information gathering process to find out just…

Boat Reviews
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Inside the Marex Gourmet Nordic 440 Cruiser Sport Coupe

Now and then when we attend boat shows in Europe and the US, as we do many times every year, we come across new boats that catch our eye. The Norwegian builder Marex is just such a brand and their 440 Gourmet Cruiser Sport Coupe and the smaller models in their line offer cruising couples and families classy alternatives to others in the midrange, sport coupe fleet. The new flag ship of the Marex line is the new 440 Gourmet sport coupe. A fast, family cruiser, the 440’s whole design concept is to link a family to the natural ocean…

Cruising Life
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Anglers Haul In New Shark Species Off Belize

Fishermen have been catching what they thought were small hammerhead sharks in the waters off Belize in Central America for years. They have shared many of these fish with scientists who are working to protect shark populations that are dwindling worldwide. But something was amiss. The hammerheads had many of the characteristics of that eponymous species but these sharks were longer and leaner. And their hammerheads were in fact more the shape of a shovel than a hammer. Research on these Belizean sharks, often funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, started to uncover evidence that these local sharks were in…

Boat Reviews
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Sargo 45 Expedition Gets You There in a Hurry

The Finnish builder of stylish, purposeful express cruisers, Sargo introduced their flagship 45 at the Dusseldorf show in 2023. It still is a head turner. A two or three-cabin express cruiser with a large, all-weather salon, the 45 has a sleek low roof profile, forward windows that are tilted forward and a useful cockpit and slim platform aft. The salon windows are huge and can be opened in warm weather. Starting at the swim platform, you’ll find a large locker for fenders and docking lines built into the deck. On the port side, a stern anchor and roller is fully…

Boat Reviews
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Dutch Builder Doggersbank Introduces New 90 and 105-Foot Steel Trawlers

The Dutch builder Doggersbank which has been building rugged steel-hulled offshore cruising boats since 1968 took the opportunity at the Cannes boat show to introduce two new models at 90 and 105 feet. Designed by the Dutch naval architects Vripack, the new designs add modern styling and updated arrangements to the line. In both designs, the bows are sharper than in the past, the sheer lines are crisper and the glazings in the hulls, salon and bridge are much larger with modern shapes. The boats will still have the Doggersbank DNA with welded steel hulls that can stand up to…

On Watch With Peter Janssen
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Azimut and Volvo Partner to Create All-New Hybrid Propulsion System

At the Cannes Boat Show in early September, Azimut and Volvo introduced the all-new diesel-electric propulsion system that the engine manufacturer has been working on for years and which Azimut has selected to power its brand-new 72-foot Seadeck 7. Unlike current marine hybrid propulsion systems, the new Volvo engines operate in much the same way automotive hybrids. The engines switch from diesel to electric as the loads change. When you accelerate, the diesels kick in and when you level off at cruising speed and further acceleration is not needed the diesels switch off and the electric motors take over while…

Cruising Life
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Firefighters Suspect Lithium Batteries Caused Yacht Fire

On August 5, Rob Tyler was at his home in Ontario, Canada, when he checked the boat monitoring system and onboard cameras on his Aqila 70 Steady AF which was moored in Longboat Key, Florida.  To his horror, he saw smoke coming from the starboard hull. Tyler made several phone calls and finally a marina dockhand inspected the boat and confirmed that smoke was indeed coming from the transom of the starboard hull. He also called 911. By next morning Steady AF lay wrecked with her starboard hull burnt and underwater. The previous evening firefighters arrived at the marina at…

Boat Reviews
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New Omikron 60 Blends Tradition with Modern Innovation

One of the boats that caught my eye while at the Cannes Boat Show was the Greek-built Omikron 60 power cruiser. The boat was designed by Juan Koyoumdjian who is best known for his stylish and fast cruising and racing sailboats. The builder’s brief to the designer was for a family cruiser that offers the quiet and peace of a sailboat with the luxury and conveniences of a powerboat. The Omikron 60 is the result and it’s traditional deck house and strong sheer line have echoes of Eastern Mediterranean boats from the 1950s. Missing is the acre of varnished mahogany,…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Beneteau Swift Trawler 54 Debuts at Cannes Boat Show

While at the Cannes show last week, I had a chance to spend an hour with Eric LeVine, Benteau’s. director of sales and marketing for all of their in-board power cruisers, aboard the new Swift Trawler 54. The 54 is the sixth model in the Swift Trawler line and fits neatly between the ST48 and the ST62. The 54 is a big boat with high topsides and very full hull sections that create a huge amount of interior volume. Beneteau is stressing their commitment to indoor-outdoot living and a close connection with the marine environment. The aft cockpit is spacious…

Cruising Life
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U.S. Coast Guard Hearings Unveil Causes behind Titan Submarine Disaster

Fifteen months after the deep submersible submarine Titan imploded while visiting the wreck of the Titanic killing all five adventurers aboard, the U.S. Coast launched hearings this week to delve into the disaster. Experts and members of OceanGate’s staff, the parent company, testified that the submarine had been plagued with equipment and system problems in the years before the disaster and that an engineer who oversaw the Titan project had been fired because he would not certify the submarine for deep dives. In the months before the fatal dive, the Titan had been stored ashore in Newfoundland in subfreezing weather…

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