Author Peter Janssen

Boat Reviews
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Quarken Launches New 35 Weekender

Quarken, the Finnish builder, is introducing its new 35 Cabin at the big Düsseldorf show, starting Jan. 20. The 35 is Quarken’s largest boat yet. The 35 has the same lines as Quarken’s 27, just stretched quite a bit  – a fairly plumb bow, an asymmetrical wheelhouse to provide as much interior room as possible, with a wider deck on the starboard side. But it also has a forward cabin below that’s large enough to sleep two adults and a sofa that can be extended to hold two children. The enclosed head has a shower. The new Quarken’s windshield is…

Charter
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Total Eclipse Coming: Watch Next in Greenland

Don’t look now, but a total eclipse of the sun is coming on April 8, tracing a broad northeast arc from Mazatlán in Mexico up to New England and Canada. If you’re in the Sea of Cortez, or cruising along the western portion of the Great Loop, you’ll be in prime viewing territory. And if you miss this one, Albatross Expeditions in Copenhagen just announced that it’s planning a cruise to Greenland for a total eclipse viewable there on August 12, 2026. Its new (launched in 2022), 341-foot, ice-rated expedition ship Ocean Albatross will be on a 13-day cruise for…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Seattle Yachts Building New Legacy 12

Seattle Yachts just announced that it’s now building the first downeast-styled 38-foot Legacy 12 cruiser in its plant in Anacortes, Washington. The boat, the first in the Mark 11 series from Tartan Legacy Yachts, will be launched later this year. The new Legacy will have one or two staterooms, a single head and a galley-up layout. Standard power is twin 300-hp Yamaha or Mercury outboards, producing a top speed of 35 knots. Optional twin 400-hp outboards move the top speed up to 45 knots. Twin 300-hp diesel outboards are another option. The new Legacy has a rich and cross-country history.…

Cruising Life
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2023 Hottest Year Ever: EU Report

It didn’t take them long to figure this out. Earlier this week, only nine days into the new year, a group of scientists at the European Union said that last year was the hottest year since people started keeping records in 1850, and it “most likely” was the hottest year ever. Indeed, Carlo Buontempo, director of the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, said that 2023 had been “an exceptional year…in a league of its own.” And this year could be worse. At a press conference in Brussels, Copernicus scientists said that global temperatures started breaking records last June and then…

Engine Room
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Yanmar Building New Hydrogen Engine

Yanmar just announced that it’s making a 4-stroke, high-speed marine engine that uses hydrogen fuel. The goal is to develop hydrogen  power for zero-emission vessels. Yanmar is working with the commercial coastal cruising industry in Japan on the hydrogen power project now, but the implications for recreational cruising boats in the future are vast. While it is developing the new hydrogen engine, Yanmar is also working on a hybrid-electric-propulsion vessel that would combine hydrogen-engine generators with batteries. The preliminary innovative design incorporates a container type of a hydrogen power generation system on the upper deck. As part of its transition…

Boat Reviews
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New Bluegame BGX63: Prize-Winning Cruiser

The Bluegame BGXC63 is anything but one more luxurious, high-style Italian-made motoryacht. Indeed, its looks set it apart at the first glance, with low dark wraparound windows, an almost-military-looking, highly raked front windshield, and the hint of a slash of dark glazing along the hull sides running aft. A closer look reveals a creative two-tier design that opens up the salon and aft deck with so much glass that the interior and exterior tend to blend together. And below, the centrally located master stateroom is so big that it has its own private sitting area that can serve as another…

Boat Reviews
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New Omikron OT-60: Comfort, Not Speed

Omikron, a Greek yard, will unveil its new OT-60 at the big Düsseldorf show, starting Jan. 20. The company says the 60, its first production boat, is “a motoryacht that feels like a sailboat,” offering “the perfect combination of the quiet, easygoing lifestyle of sailing and the convenience and space of a power  yacht.” Standard power comes from twin 250-hp Yanmar diesels, producing a top speed of 16 knots, a quiet cruising speed of 12 knots, and a range of more than 1,000 nm at 8 knots. Omikron says the OT-60 is not designed for speed, but for comfortable cruising…

Boat Reviews
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Arksen Starting New Line of Offshore RIBs

Arksen, the smart and ambitious new kid on the block in the expedition yacht neighborhood, just keeps growing. It’s finishing its flagship 85 on the Isle of Wight in Great Britain; it also has a 75 and a 65 in its Explorer series. It makes small boats too, introducing its 28 and 32 to the U.S. market at the Palm Beach show last March. Now it just announced that it’s starting a new Arksen 8 Discovery series of what it calls offshore open adventure boats, sturdy RIBs that are 26’ 2” long and have seats for 12. Available with single…

Boat Reviews
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Now: Summit 54 with IPS Pod Drives

Summit just announced that it will offer Volvo’s IPS pod drives on its 54 Motoryacht. It’s building the first one with IPS now in its factory in Taiwan. Summits have come with standard 542-hp Cummins diesels and straight shafts since the first one was launched in March, 2020. Designed by Sarasota-based naval architect Michael Peters, who’s drawn everything from Hinckleys and Magnums to superyachts, the Summit 54 tops out at just over 24 knots. The IPS package, with twin 600-hp Volvo IPS800 pod drives, is expected to add four or five knots to that speed. “With IPS power, we’ll be…

Boat Reviews
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North-Line 42: Sturdy Dutch Cruiser

The Dutch-built North-Line 42 Wheelhouse is a traditional-looking, blue-water cruising boat, a no-nonsense affair built to tackle the boisterous waters of the North Sea and come back home safely. There’s nothing fancy here; the bulwarks don’t fold out for a floating beach club, the boat won’t drive or park itself. But, powered by twin 480-hp Cummins dieses, it will hit  a top speed of about 30 knots; dial back to a displacement speed of 8 knots and it will have a range of 840 nm. The North-Line 42 has a Class A Ocean-Going certificate. Built for a cruising family, the…

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