Author Peter Janssen

Boat Reviews
By

Maritimo Launches New Black Edition

Maritimo, the Australian builder that’s celebrating its 20th anniversary, just announced that its launching a new Black Edition series of refinements and upgrades across its 55, 60 and 600 series of luxury motor yachts. The changes start with Maritimo’s already spacious open cockpits that connect to full cruising galleys inside the salon. The new Black Edition includes a redesigned larger transom island that separates the swim platform from the cockpit. The Black Edition has an upgraded lounge and barbeque area and a new forward-facing cockpit lounge. There’s  also a new door to access the lazarette, next to the built-in fridge,…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
By

Ship Loses Power, Topples Baltimore Bridge

About 00:39 on Tuesday morning, the 984-foot-long container ship MV Dali left the Seagirt Marine Terminal in Baltimore, heading down the Patapsco River to the Chesapeake and ultimately to Sri Lanka. It was fully loaded with 4,900 containers, a crew of 21 Indian nationals, and two harbor pilots (one was an apprentice). Two tugs escorted the Dali out the harbor for about 20 minutes, as was the custom, until they headed back home. Everything  was under control. A spring tide was ebbing, and the Dali, powered by a single 55,630-hp, 9-cylinder MAN engine, was cruising at about 8 knots. About…

Engine Room
By

Sharrow Unveils New Contra-Rotating Props

Sharrow Marine apparently believes, with good reason, that two are better than one. Its revolutionary no-blade prop represented the first major design change in fixed propellers in a century when it was introduced in 2020. Now, the Michigan company just announced that it will make an upgrade, the CX contra-rotating prop for outboards and sterndrives. The two props will rotate in opposite directions on a single shaft. Sharrow will offer the CX for Volvo Penta DuoProp sterndrives, Mercury V12 outboards, Bravo 3 sterndrives, and Suzuki 300- and 350-hp outboards. The basic Sharrow uses loops to produce thrust, not blades. The…

Charter
By

Four Seasons Yacht To Cruise Med, Caribbean

If you’re tired of just one more charter vacation, or if you just want to let someone else do the driving while you relax in lap of luxury at some of the most glamorous ports in the world, consider a cruise on the new Four Seasons 679-foot yacht. Four Seasons just announced the itineraries for its luxurious vessel, and they include more than ten destinations in the Med and the Caribbean in its first season in 2026. The ship is now under construction at the Fincantieri yard in Italy. The maiden voyage, from January to March 2026, will cover Croatia,…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
By

Ship Loses Power, Topples Baltimore Bridge

About 00:39 on Tuesday morning, the 984-foot-long container ship MV Dali left the Seagirt Marine Terminal in Baltimore, heading down the Patapsco River to the Chesapeake and ultimately to Sri Lanka. It was fully loaded with 4,900 containers, a crew of 21 Indian nationals, and two harbor pilots (one was an apprentice). Two tugs escorted the Dali out the harbor for about 20 minutes, as was the custom, until they headed back home. Everything  was under control. A spring tide was ebbing, and the Dali, powered by a single 55,630-hp, 9-cylinder MAN engine, was cruising at about 8 knots. About…

Boat Reviews
By

Princess Unveils New Flybridge 58 Cruiser

Princess Yachts, the upscale British builder, just announced at the Palm Beach show that it’s building a new F58, a three-stateroom luxury flybridge cruiser. The F58 is the latest member of Princess’ F series, which already includes a 55 and 65. Easily handled by a couple, with helm stations in the salon and up top on the open flybridge, the new Princess is powered by twin 1,000-hp MAN diesels. Optional 1,200-hp MANs are upgrades if you want even more power. It comes with a low profile, particularly for a flybridge yacht, with sporty lines accented by a slash of glazing…

Boat Reviews
By

New 50-Knot Electric RIB from eD-TEC

A German start-up is now starting sea trials on its new all-electric, high-performance 31-foot RIB that cruises at 30 knots and hits 50 knots at its top speed. The company is called eD-TEC, which stands for Electric Driven Technology. Based in Munich, the company was founded by Michael Jost, the former chief strategy officer for Volkswagen, and the new carbon-fiber monohull was developed by Sven Akermann, who’s been designing performance sail and power boats since 2007. The 31-footer is the first in a range of RIBS from 22 to 55 feet. It’s due to be delivered this summer, and it’s…

Boat Reviews
By

Lexus Unveils New Luxury Yacht 680

Lexus just unveiled its new 68-foot LY (for Luxury Yacht) 680, a new and slightly larger version of the LY 650 it launched in 2018. The new 68 will be built by the Horizon Group in Taiwan, which produces models from 52 to 150 feet. Lexus says that Horizon has “a reputation for its advanced technological capabilities, which have been honed through the construction of superyachts.” Standard power is twin 800-hp Volvo IPS1050 pod drives; twin 1,000-hp IPS1350s are upgrades. Lexus says the concept of the new 680 is “to feel like a hideout in the middle of the sea,…

Boat Reviews
By

First Nordhavn 51 Cruises to Greece

Hull number one of Nordhavn’s new 51-foot blue-water cruiser just took a 600-nm shakedown run from Istanbul, near its factory in Turkey, to Rhodes in Greece, through some of the most beautiful cruising grounds in the world. Along the way, the new owners, Mark and Fiona Rammell, were able to try out their new boat on its first venture in what they plan as a multi-year exploration of the Med, the coast of England and then the U.S. before returning to their home waters in New Zealand. Rammell is a retired pilot for Air New Zealand, and he and Fiona…

Boat Reviews
By

New 66-foot Valder Cat: A Foil and a Heliport

It may have been the somewhat-orange color, or it may have been the idea of a helicopter landing on the top deck, but The Keys, a custom Valder Yachts 66-foot foiling catamaran, got a lot of attention at the Palm Beach show last week. Built in New Zealand, the brainchild of offshore racer Wayne Valder, The Keys is designed as a fast, comfortable offshore boat powered by twin 1,300-hp MAN turbo diesels, ZF gears and custom five-blade props. It has a foil about half way aft in the hull that lifts the boat up above the surface at 17.5 knots.…

1 11 12 13 14 15 398