Author Peter Janssen

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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New Fountaine Pajot MY 40: Year of the Cats

Judging by all the activity and new launches so far, this is shaping up to be the year of the cats. New catamarans, it seems, have leaped into the power cruising mainstream. Several were introduced at the recent Fort Lauderdale show, while others are already in the private or charter markets, and even more are on the drawing boards. The new Fountaine Pajot MY 40 (pictured above) was a big hit in Lauderdale, and so was the Bali 4.3, which is 42’ 3” LOA and has a massive 23’ 3’ beam. Silent-Yachts had its newly repowered 55 solar cat on…

Boat Reviews
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Ranger Tugs Launches New 25 Trailerable Pocket Cruiser

Ranger Tugs just launched its new R 25 trailerable pocket cruiser at the Fort Lauderdale show. This newest Ranger is powered by a single Yamaha 250-hp outboard and, like all Rangers, it’s packed with enough amenities to make cruising easy and fun. Over the years, I’ve cruised on several Rangers in the Pacific Northwest. They’re made by Fluid Motion, based in Kent, Washington. It also makes Cutwater Boats, and it’s one of the most successful boat companies in recent times. I’ve always felt that each cruise ended much too soon, as Rangers (and Cutwaters) provide a lot of room and…

Electronics
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Simrad Launches Two New Radars for Smaller Cruising Boats

Simrad Yachting just announced the launch of HALO20+ and HALO20 radars, a pair of compact, pulse-compression units designed for smaller cruising boats. Both radars provide excellent detection with short-range performance, while HALO20+ has the fastest rotation on the market and can detect targets farther away than the HALO20. With a 20-inch dome, the HALO20+ is Simrad’s smallest pulse compression radar yet, delivering a full 360-degree sweep every second. Simrad says it has an industry-first 60 RPM rotation at ranges up to 1.5 nm. These fast updates give boat owners an almost real-time view of close range activity, helping to avoid…

Cruising Life
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41 Great Christmas Gifts for Your Favorite Cruising Boat Captain

Yes, I know it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but Christmas is coming in only six more weeks, which raises the question – what do give your favorite cruising boat captain or mate? There are always many opportunities here, no matter how large the boat is, or how experienced the owner is, or how much stuff (all totally necessary, of course) is already on the boat. In the next few weeks, we’ll have more great gift ideas, but here,  for a start, is a list of 41, yes 41, Christmas presents from Yachting World, the British magazine. It has a few…

Boat Reviews
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New All-Solar Silent-Yachts 80 Tri-Deck Luxury Cat

Silent-Yachts just announced that it’s making a new 80 Tri-Deck solar-powered catamaran with a sky lounge or “owner’s deck” on the upper deck with lots of private space and the possibility of panoramic views all around. The third deck is an enhancement of the yard’s successful flagship 80, making it the most spacious Silent to date. “The additional sky lounge is a very convenient space and helps stretch out the period of using the boat,” said Michael Köhler, the founder and CEO of Silent-Yachts, an Austrian company. “The extra space on top extends social areas on board, while offering new…

Cruising Life
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New Underwater Diving Drone Features a Robotic Arm

Here’s something new that could add another dimension to your next cruise or charter: an underwater diving drone with a robotic arm, so you can explore the ocean depths down to 492 feet. It’s called the Geneinno T1. Geneinno is a startup team that makes underwater drones and scooters. They say the Geneinno T1 is the world’s first diving drone equipped with a robotic arm. It dives deep and can explore the ocean floor. If you don’t want to go that far down, it has a precise hovering feature and a high-low angle shot that can be used for professional…

Cruising Life
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Army Corps Will Close Locks on Illinois Waterway Next Summer

Here’s some bad news for anyone planning for the Great Loop or cruising in the Midwest next summer. Many of the locks along the Illinois Waterway, running from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi, will be closed for repairs and no vessels will be allowed through. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates the eight lock and dam sites along the Waterway, and it closed some of them for short periods of time earlier this year. It has announced the dates for major repairs in 2020 and again in 2023, and said that “during the scheduled closures, no vessels will be able…

Charter
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BVI Update: Many Favorite Spots Now Open

It’s been more than two years since the hurricanes devastated much of the British Virgin Islands, and the recovery has been difficult. Many marinas, charter fleets and resorts were hard hit. But now some of our favorites are open again or getting back to normal. “Normal,” of course, is a high bar to reach, since the BVI are one of the best, easiest and most attractive cruising grounds in the world. Here’s an update from The Moorings, the worldwide charter powerhouse, on what’s open now. Pusser’s Marina Cay, probably high on the list of everyone’s favorite destinations in the BVI,…

Boat Reviews
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New Outback 50: A Cruising Boat For Active Owners

The new Outback 50, just unveiled at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, is designed for active boat owners, people who want to go places and do things. Its most noticeable feature is its open transom and “infinity deck” aft that can hold a small vessel, jet skis, or other toys. Many years in the making, the Outback 50 has a serious cruising pedigree, a collaboration between Michael Peters, the well-known designer, and Andrew Cilla, the owner of Luke Brown Yachts in Fort Lauderdale and a long-time cruiser. Over some drinks about ten years ago, Cilla asked Peters to design…

Boat Reviews
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New 32-Foot Zar Formenti “Ferrari of RIBs” Now in U.S.

Here’s a new high-performance, high-style, Italian-built RIB that’s much more than a traditional RIB and was just introduced to the U.S. market at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.  The Zar Formenti 95 SL, says company founder Piero Formenti, “is like the Ferrari of RIBs in Europe.” It’s easy to see why he thinks so. This newest and largest of the Zar Formenti RIB line has seating in the bow and stern for 12 as a day cruiser, and it can sleep two in a cabin below with a stand-up head and shower. It also has an outdoor galley on…

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