Author Peter Janssen

Cruising Life
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Keep Your Crew Happy: Soundproof Your Boat

Ask any builder of modern cruising boats, and they’ll readily confirm that sound levels are extremely important to their owners and potential buyers. Not only at the helm and salon, but also even in the staterooms, particularly since many master staterooms now are located midships, just forward of the engine room. A noisy boat with a lot of decibels coming from the engine or the generator (or both) can make for an uncomfortable cruise; it makes talking difficult at best, and it can lead to a headache and a longing to return to the peace and quiet of home back…

Cruising Life
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After the Abandon Ship, What’s Life Really Like on a Life Raft?

If you’re cruising offshore, let’s hope you have a life raft stowed somewhere on your boat. If the worst happens – your boat hits a whale or shipping container, a fire starts in the galley or engine room, a freak wave swamps the boat – you certainly want a raft to keep you and your crew afloat. But what is life actually like once you’re in the raft and free of the mothership? To find out, two editors from Yachting Monthly launched a raft from a simulated sinking ship in the Bay of Biscay. The two men were on a…

Cruising Life
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4,465 Milles of the Great Loop Alone on a 14-foot Walker Bay

You’ve got to love Dave Pike (at least I do). On his blog, where he explains why he’s doing the Great Loop in a 14-foot Walker Bay RIB, he introduces himself by saying, “I’m a 67-year-old male with a bit of adventure in my DNA.” He’s climbed mountains, paddled canoes through the Canadian wilderness, and started cruising when he and his wife Ann chartered a trawler in Alaska 15 years ago. And now he’s just gone through the Erie Canal on his Walker Bay, putting 4,465 Great Loop miles behind him, as he starts the last leg of his solo…

Boat Reviews
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Sirena To Show Two New Boat in Cannes and Announce Plans for Another

Sirena Marine just keeps growing. Last year the high-class Turkish builder started its new powerboat line (officially called Sirena Yachts) with a 64-foot long-range cruiser, first shown at the Dusseldorf show, followed by a 56-foot version introduced at the Miami show. Now it will have both of those models in the water at the Cannes show in September, where Ipek Kirac, the company’s CEO, will announce plans for an even larger yacht. Both the 56 and 64 are impressive cruising boats with clean, contemporary European lines and curved wraparound pilothouse windows. They come with an impeccable pedigree. German Frers, one…

Cruising Life
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A Touch of Class: Folding Teak Boarding Step. See the Video

This isn’t something you absolutely have to have to enjoy your cruising life, but I think it is very cool: A new teak dock step that makes climbing on your boat easy, and then folds into itself to make storage easy as well. And it does add a touch of class to any dock. When the step is fully open, it provides a large and stable platform to get on and off your boat. And when it’s folded down, it’s only 6 5/8 inches thick, so it can fit into a lazarette or storage bin. The Folding Teak Dock Step…

Cruising Life
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Get Thermal Images on Your Phone or Tablet with New FLIR Devices

Now you can turn your smart phone or tablet into a FLIR infrared camera with two new devices, making thermal imaging possible anywhere you go. The new FLIR ONE, with an 80×60 pixel resolution thermal camera, and the FLIR ONE PRO, with 160×120 resolution, hook up to your phone or tablet’s USB-C or Lightning connector; a MicroUSB connection will be available later in the year. This means they are compatible with both Apple and Android phones and tablets. The devices, or dongles, are small and light, and represent the third generation of FLIR’s thermal imaging technology. They are compatible with…

Cruising Life
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Famed Rybo Miss Budweiser Burns and Sinks Off Florida Keys. See Video

This is just disheartening. Miss Budweiser, a classic 49-foot, 1961 Rybovich, burned and sank after an apparent engine room fire near Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys. The captain and two others on board jumped overboard and were picked up, unhurt, by a passing boat. Miss Budweiser was returning from the Ernest Hemingway International Billfish Tournament in Cuba to its home port in Palm Beach at the time. The famed boat was bought by the Busch family of Budweiser (and other beer) fame a year after it was built. Over the years, the boat won many fishing tournaments, and…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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On Watch

Cruising the Loop, A Canadian Couple Live Their Dream When Mike and Maria Fenn left Krates Marina in Keswick, Ontario (just above Toronto), early last July to start the Great Loop, a friend gave them a small toy monkey to put on their boat; in fact, he gave a monkey to everyone starting a long cruise. “The purpose is to get the monkey off your back and instead put the monkey on the dash of your vessel,” Fenn said. The Fenns probably didn’t need a good luck monkey; they’d been cruising out of Krates for 21 years. And last summer,…

Boat Reviews
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New Aquila 36 Cat with Twin 300-hp Outboards: A Fast and Roomy Cruiser

At first glance, it’s easy to see why the new Aquila 36 power cat is getting a lot of attention. After all, two big 300-hp Mercury Verado outboards are hanging off the stern. But look again, and you’ll probably want to climb on board for a test run. The boat has an enormous amount of space, inside and out. The cockpit alone can hold 24 adults, while the two staterooms below, one per sponson, are not only large but also come with extra headroom, lots of light (from long side windows), and an en suite head. The new Aquila is…

Charter
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An Insider’s Guide to the Dalmatian Islands from The Moorings

Here’s an insider’s guide to the best of Croatia’s Dalmatian Islands on the east coast of the Adriatic, with a mix of cerulean blue water, fair winds, warm weather and more than a touch of history (the islands were ruled by the Republic of Venice from before Columbus’ time to 1797). You can cruise among the islands in a chartered boat, stopping to explore historic towns with medieval walls, cobblestone streets and waterfront bars; Korcula,  pictured above, is the birthplace of Marco Polo and one of the oldest towns in Croatia. Or get a guide and enter blue and green…

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