Author Peter Janssen

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Scout Building Largest Outboard Cruiser

Scout Boats is building what it says is the world’s largest outboard-powered cruising boat in its factory in Summerville, South Carolina. The new Scout 670 LXC is powered by five 600-hp Mercury V-12outboards, and it’s scheduled to be launched later this year. The Scout 670 has an LOA of 66’9”, which makes it 1’9” larger than the HCB Estrella 65, made in Knoxville, Tennessee, and powered by six 450-hp Mercury outboards. An earlier, and slightly smaller, HCB was featured in an episode of Billions, which never shied away from excess. The new 670 is the flagship of the Scout fleet,…

Boat Reviews
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Iconic Shelter Island Runabout: Now with Outboards

The iconic Shelter Island 38 Runabout, which got a lot of attention when Billy Joel launched hull number one in 1996, is now being built with outboards. The original boat had twin 415-hp MerCruisers with Bravo 3 drives and counter-rotating  props, delivering the “Newport by lunch” speed that Joel wanted. More recent versions have been powered by 370-hp Yanmar diesel sterndrives, topping out at 45 knots. Now, with twin 300-hp Mercury Verados, the top speed is about the same, but the outboards are quiet, and they can be lifted up for running in shallow water. Almost 30 years ago, the…

Boat Reviews
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New Beneteau Antares 42-Foot Flagship

The flagship of Beneteau’s Antares fleet, the new 42-foot Antares 12 is a versatile flybridge cruiser that’s easy to like and easy to use. The Antares 12 is a three-cabin, two-head family cruiser, powered by three 300-hp Mercury outboards, with a top speed of 36.8 knots. Two 400-hp Mercury outboards are options. A fingertip joystick control makes slow-speed maneuvering and docking easy. A door next to the helm opens to the starboard side deck, so the captain can move around the boat quickly. All the way aft, a fixed bench seat runs across the transom, and the swim platform is…

Cruising Life
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“Bank Effect” Causes Crash: NTSB

A pilot’s navigation error and an unexpected “bank effect” caused a 600-foot-long tanker to hit a pier in South Carolina last September, sending a 300-foot section of the pier crashing into the water and cutting deep gashes in the tanker’s bow, according to a new report from the National Transportation Safety Board. The accident occurred on the Cooper River, north of Charleston, just after 4 in the afternoon, when the tanker Bow Triumph was heading outbound on the Joint Base Charleston Channel. The tanker had a beam of 105 feet and a draft of 26 feet. The channel was 600…

Charter
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MarineMax Vacations Now in the Abacos

MarineMax Vacations just announced that it’s formed a partnership with Cruise Abaco, a long-time charter operator, to provide its power catamarans for chartering there. The MarineMax Vacations charters, on board its Aquila cats, will start this summer. Chad Mcghee, president of Cruise Abaco, said he welcomed MarineMax Vacations “to the beautiful Abacos with our first-class charter experiences aboard the award-winning Aquila power catamarans.” For his part, Raul Bermudez, VP of charter sales for MarineMax Vacations, said, “The reliability of a long-time charter operator as our partner makes this relationship a win-win for all parties, but most importantly for our customers.”…

Boat Reviews
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Rustler Launches Its First Powerboat

Rustler Yachts, a British semi-custom, blue-water sailboat builder with a well-earned reputation for craftsmanship and seamanship, just launched its first powerboat, the elegant Rustler 41. Adrian Jones, the director of Rustler Yachts, said, “We’ve been asked many times if we would build a motorboat by both existing Rustler customers, and those who simply understand our philosophy towards building boats.” The resulting 41, designed by fellow Brit Tony Castro, delivers “comfort, speed and pride of ownership,” according to the company. The 41 carries classic lines with a retro hint and looks that represent a European version of a lobster boat. For…

Engine Room
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Yamaha Testing New Hydrogen Outboard

Yamaha has built the world’s first recreational hydrogen-powered outboard and is testing it on a 26-foot Regulator. So far, the range is only 50 nm, but Yamaha hopes to double that by the end of the year. Yamaha is dedicated to developing clean energy. Earlier this week, it introduced a hydrogen-powered golf cart at the Yamaha Marine Innovation Center n Kennesaw, Georgia. It worked with Roush Industries for the engineering involved in mounting three massive carbon-wrapped hydrogen tanks in the hull of a customized Regulator 26XO. The three tanks hold the equivalent of 25 gallons of gas. The high-pressure tanks…

Cruising Life
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Pre-Departure Safety Briefing: Boat US

Here’s some great advice from BoatUS about how to brief your crew before you leave the dock. Taking a few minutes for a briefing can go a long way to keeping everyone safe underway: 1. LIFE JACKETS Don’t simply point and tell where they are. Get them out, and make sure everyone has a life jacket that fits, knows how to don it, and either wears it or knows where it’s located if stowed. Explain how inflatable life jackets work, as well as how to orally inflate or manually activate them. Show guests where the throwables (life rings, flotation cushions)…

Boat Reviews
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Lyman-Morse Building New Revel 44S

Lyman-Morse Technologies in Thomaston, Maine, is building the first hull of the new Revel 44S, an outboard-powered vessel that’s designed to combine the practicality of a center console with the amenities and comfort of a cruising yacht. Revel is a new company, founded just two years ago, in Charleston, South Carolina. The new Revel 44S is an international effort, with the hull designed by Bill Prince Yacht Design of Port Washington, Wisconsin, and the interior and exterior by Macra Naval Architecture of La Spezia, Italy. A lot of the engineering came from Revel founder and CEO Joshua St. Germain, who…

Boat Reviews
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New Mirrari 55: Pushing the Envelope

The new 55-foot Mirrari, designed by Timur Bozca, is pushing the envelope a bit. Mirrari is a new brand, and its first boat is now under construction at the Enata Group yard outside Dubai. The new Mirrari, among other things, is marked by a high-tech glass dome over the salon that was inspired by the bone structure of birds. The Enata Group is an international composites manufacturer focusing on sustainable solutions for the aerospace and yachting industries. It made a splash in the international yachting community when it launched the revolutionary 32-foot Foiler Vaduz last year. With four retractable hydrofoils,…

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