Author Peter Janssen

Cruising Life
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Toxic Algae Blooms Cover Western End of Lake Erie. Can Hurt Boating

Lake Erie is in trouble, or at least about 700 square miles of the western end of the lake are, and the problem seems to be getting worse. The surface of the lake there is turning bright green, as miles of algae cover the surface, often deep enough for you to write on. A similar problem two years ago kept boats out of the lake for six weeks or more. The New York Times reports that algae blooms, containing cyanobacteria with toxins that can contaminate drinking water, have been growing on the lake since 2000. They have increased as fertilizer…

Cruising Life
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World’s First Luxurious Personal Submarine, from Aston Martin and Triton

Are you getting bored with the same-old, same-old, cruising on top of the water day after day? After all, anybody can do that. But now, for about $4 million, you can cruise under the water, down to 1,650 feet, in Project Neptune, the world’s first luxurious submarine. Brought to you by Aston Martin (think James Bond) and Triton Submarines, the new sub holds three people and can go 3.5 mph underwater. Announced at the recent Monaco Yachts Show, the sub has silver, blade-like pontoons and an acrylic bubble so passengers can enjoy the view. Aston Martin says the interior will…

Cruising Life
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Garmin Big Winner at NMEA Conference with Eight Awards for Product Excellence

Garmin was the big winner at the annual NMEA conference recently, as the electronics giant was named Manufacturer of the Year (for the third straight year) and won eight awards for product excellence. Garmin dominated the annual Product of Excellence competition at the National Marine Electronics Association convention in Bellevue, Washington. In voting by NMEA members, Garmin won in eight categories – radar, autopilot, multi-function display, mobile application, utility, fishfinder, AIS, and multimedia entertainment. For the second straight year, Garmin won the MFD category with its GPSMAP 8624 (pictured above), a 24-inch, all-in-one chartplotter with the highest screen resolution in…

Cruising Life
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Coast Guard Slams Captain, Crew and Owner in El Faro Disaster; Recommends Wider Use of PLBs

The Coast Guard investigation into the sinking of the container ship El Faro, resulting in the death of the captain and all 32 members of the crew two years ago in a 150-mph hurricane in the Bahamas, cast a wide net of error covering all the parties involved – the captain, the crew and the ship’s owner. Calling the tragedy “one of the worst maritime disasters in U.S. history,” the Coast Guard’s 199-page report said the captain fatally “failed to understand the severity of the situation, even when the watch standers warned him the hurricane was intensifying.” The owner, according…

Cruising Life
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Forbes Tells How Hinckley Developed Dasher, Its Revolutionary New All-Electric Boat

Here’s a great story from Forbes about how Hinckley decided to develop Dasher, the traditional Maine builder’s new 28-foot all-electric boat. Unveiled at the Newport International Boat Show in September, Dasher is the world’s first luxury electric boat, powered by two 80-hp electric motors and dual BMW i3 lithium ion batteries. Development of the revolutionary boat, with a lightweight carbon-epoxy composite hull and titanium hardware, dates to a conference of industry leaders two years ago, designed to make sure that Hinckley was looking to the future. As a result, Forbes says, “Hinckley envisioned a luxury vessel free of fossil fuels…

Cruising Life
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Yanmar Launches World’s Smallest New Dtorque 50-hp Turbo Diesel Outboard

The trend toward diesel-powered outboard engines just got stronger, as Yanmar Marine joined forces with Neander Shark, a German manufacturer, for global distribution of the new Dtorque 111 twin-cylinder, 50-hp turbo diesel outboard. Yanmar says this is the world’s smallest diesel outboard with common-rail fuel injection, providing class-leading range, fuel efficiency, exhaust emissions and noise levels. The new compact outboard has an engine life of at least 10,000 hours, according to the company, more than double the lifespan of a comparable gas outboard. The diesel is smooth and quiet, delivering 50-hp at the prop with a torque output of 111…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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On Watch

We Test the New Grand Banks 60: Fast and Smooth with Some Very Long Legs By Peter A. Janssen This is all you need to know about the gorgeous, all-new Grand Banks 60, the flagship of the legendary builder’s fleet: As we were cruising down Long Island Sound at 24 knots a few days ago, the ride was so smooth, so quiet and so comfortable, that Sue Weisman, the owner’s wife who had just spent a busy day provisioning her new boat, went below to take a shower. She emerged 15 minutes later, smiling and happy. No fuss, no muss,…

Boat Reviews
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We Test the New Grand Banks 60: Fast and Smooth with Some Very Long Legs

This is all you need to know about the gorgeous, all-new Grand Banks 60, the flagship of the legendary builder’s fleet: As we were cruising down Long Island Sound at 24 knots a few days ago, the ride was so smooth, so quiet and so comfortable, that Sue Weisman, the owner’s wife who had just spent a busy day provisioning her new boat, went below to take a shower. She emerged 15 minutes later, smiling and happy. No fuss, no muss, no problems. A hot refreshing shower, just like home, at 24 knots. Don’t try this on many boats. “This…

Cruising Life
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Virgin Islands Still Devastated by One-Two Punch of Irma and Maria

Two weeks later, St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix, the three islands that make up the U.S. Virgin Islands and that are generally regarded as beautiful and peaceful cruising and charter boat havens, are still reeling from the damage done by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. People there are now realizing how bad it is. “Maria broke our spirit,” one homeowner on St. John told The New York Times. He had lost part of the upstairs of his house in Hurricane Irma, and then the downstairs was under two and a half feet of water after Hurricane Maria. The government…

Boat Reviews
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Hinckley Planning New 40-foot Picnic Boat, Largest Yet

When he announced plans for the new 40-foot Hinckley Picnic Boat at the Newport boat show recently, Mike Arieta, Hinckley’s CEO, said that “it’s been 23 years since we launched the first Picnic Boat. It’s rooted in what we do.” That is certainly the case. Indeed, the first Picnic Boat, a drop-dead gorgeous 36-foot, single-diesel, teak-laden dayboat, has become an icon of yacht design, copied around the world. I fell in love with the boat when I first tested it outside the Hinckley factory in Southwest Harbor, Maine, and so did thousands of other people. Hinckley’s Picnic Boat lineup now…

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