Sunday, May 25

Browsing: Cruising Life

Combining support vessel utility with super yacht elegance and finish, Outer Reef this month introduced the first new design in their Crossover series.  As part of the new Adventure Sport Vessel line (ASV), the 27-meter (88-foot) yacht is capable if fulfilling several different roles her owners. For adventurous owners who plan to explore the far corners of the world, the 27 Crossover has all the brawn and the range they need.  At eco-cruising speed, the boat will have a range of 3,000 miles. Plus, with a large boat deck and crane and a small boat deck on the cabin top,…

Seakeeper, the leaders in stabilizer systems for both displacement and planning boats, announced this week that the company now has Seakeepr Ride underway,  trim-tab systems for boats from 19 to 55 feet. The new models being introduced are for boats from 38 to 55 feet and can be retrofitted to most planning hull designs.  So, owners of express cruisers and larger center consoles will be able to add stabilization without having to install a gyro system. The Seakeeper Ride systems have a dramatic effect on a boat’s performance in a wide range of conditions. The trim tabs on the transom…

Level Yachts, a new Spanish boat builder, launched their first model, the 43 sT, and the new company at the Cannes Festival of Yachting in the south of France last September.  Both were warmly received by industry professionals and the international audience of boat owners. But, Level many be a new brand on the mid-range family cruiser market, its founders are not. Veteran yacht dealers and brokers, the partners between them have sold more than 2,000 new boats in the last 20 years.  The company and the 43 ST may be new but the first model is based on long…

Tucked underneath your engine(s), the lowly engine mounts are out of sight and, mostly, out of mind. But, these four steel and rubber bits of hardware are crucial to the well-being and smooth-running of the whole drive train –engine, transmission, shaft, shaft seal, cutlass bearing and prop. So, a little care is due. As part of routine maintenance such as changing the engine’s oil, filters and zincs, it is important to shine a light on the engine mounts to see how well they are aging.  Aging is the key word because engine mounts deteriorate over time and hours of use.…

Coecles Harbor Marine is located between the North and South Forks at the eastern end of Long Island, New York and is known regionally as the builder of the much esteemed Shelter Island 38 runabout. Last year the builder came out with an outboard version that spec’d twin 300-horsepower Mercury Verado outboards instead of the standard inboard diesel engine. The outboards are quieter than the inboard engines and do not smell of diesel. Importantly, the shift to outboards opened up the hull under the cockpit for storage of items like snorkeling and diving gear and water toys. As a one…

The sinking of the mega-yacht Bayesian last August 19 with the loss of seven lives stunned the yachting world. The yacht is a centerboard design with the tallest sloop-rigged mast ever built. Yet, its builder, Perini Navi, asserts publicly that the 184-foot boat was unsinkable. But sink she did. Early in the morning on August 19, the boat was moored half a mile off the Sicilian town of Porticello when it was hit by a violet squall. Winds built to 60 knots which caused the vessel to drag anchor. As it slewed sideways it was hit on the beam by…

The Dutch builder Altena Shipyard which builds Doggersbank expedition yachts for Vripack Design Group has focused their combined efforts primarily on yachts  that will be run by professional crews for owners who will fly in to meet their yachts in exotic locations. But Vripack and the builder are aware of the growing market among younger cruisers for expedition yachts that can be run by owner operators. This is a market where Outer Reef and Nordhavn have prospered for years. The Doggersbank 60 has been the builder’s offering in this niche. To attract these younger, adventurous buyers, cruisers who also enjoy…

It has been a busy week in South Florida. And, in true Florida fashion, last weekend was party time. The Air and Sea Show was taking place off Ft. Lauderdale, attracting huge crowds. And the Maimi Formula One Grand Prix scorched up the streets of Miami Gardens, also drawing vast crowds. So, it is no wonder that 32 revelers, most of them young women, some in evening dresses and some in bikinis, found their way aboard a Lamborghini 63 belonging, the police surmise, to a successful internet influencer. The owner’s identity has not been released. What the party goers didn’t…

The Legendary Development Group, which has built and runs marina resorts on Florida’s Gulf coast, is well along in phase one of a new marina and resort on Blue Water Cay, on the southeast corner of New Providence Island, The Bahamas. When completed in 2026, the Legendary Marina Resort at Blue Water Cay, as it is called, will have a 132-bed hotel, 22 condominiums, and rows of beach-front cottages.  Plus, there will be comfortable crew quarters for boat owners who want their professionals to have all the conveniences of home. Phase one will see the completion of the in-the-water docks…

Here’s a story that you don’t see often. On Monday, the managers of Florida’s Blowing Rocks Marina near Tequesta, notified police that a 66-foot yacht had been stolen from the marina and was underway. The police, alerted the Coast Guard and the local marine patrol and then jumped into a speedboat to make chase. They located the stolen boat, a modern flybridge express cruiser, in the Intracoastal waterway near Hobe Sound but the perpetrator had no intention of going quietly. So, law enforcement had to use their patrol boats to stop the much larger yacht. Employing boat handling techniques that…

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