Monday, May 11

Browsing: Cruising Life

Two weeks ago, at the Connecticut Spring Boat Show in Essex, we  came across a new brand that seemed to fit in as though it had been created specifically for the New England Downeast audience. But, in fact, it is a British design and built by the famous bespoke builder in the west of England Cockwells Marine. Here’s our first look. The handsome 35-footer has a truly traditional, built-by-hand feel with a bright varnished transom, varnished rails all around, two varnished tables in the cockpit and you can even have the entire cabin finished in varnished teak. The boat at…

The Italina builder Bellini has been in business since the 1950s and was once a rival to Riva in the classic Lake Garda-style speedboat market. But, the company ceased building new boats in 1973 when the founder fell ill and had to retire. Fifty years later the founder’s son and nephew, who are running the Bellini boat yard, made the move to start building new boats again. Their first design, the Bellini Astor 36, came out in 2023. This is the first time a Bellini design has appeared in Cruising Odyssey since the company has kept production to a minimum.…

The world’s leading builder of recreational power cats, Aquila has proven year after year that they hear their customers and can deliver just what they want. So is the case with the new 42 Coupe which provides a large, enclosed  salon instead of an indoor-outdoor space surrounded by canvas. With no side decks and almost 16 feet of beam, the 42 feels like a much bigger boat particularly when the doors between the salon and the cockpit are open creating one vast social space. The main space has a large C-shaped dinette with the inline galley across from it. The…

This week, Hinckley Yachts of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, announced that it had acquired the Port of Egypt Marina and boat yard in Southold, New York.  The facility is the tenth location in Hinckley’s portfolio of marinas and service yards that range from Southwest Harbor, Maine to Ft. Meyers, Florida. Situated on Peconic Bay where Long Island’s North Fork meets a string of protected barrier islands, Port of Egypt has long been known for its protected marina and its 15 acres of indoor and outdoor storage space. Now, as part of Hinckley Yacht Services, the well-established yard is being thoughtfully enhanced…

The Dutch builder Zeelander Yachts builds four models  of their unique and elegant designs, the 5, 6, 7 and the relatively new 8. Each boat is made on a semi-custom basis and in limited production. The 8, at 79 feet, represents the apex of the Zeelander line and is a highly refined motor yacht that combines the company’s unique curvaceous hull and cabin designs with the highest of high-tech engineering and onboard systems. As the builder likes to say, Zeelander yachts are not for everyone. The 8 is a three-season cruising boat with a large enclosed salon and inside steering.…

The Serbian builder Greenline has since inception been dedicated to designing and creating boats that are efficient and eco friendsly. Their work in electric and hybrid power systems has been state of the art and solor in playing an even larger role as panels get more efficient. The new Greenline 42, which was introduced at boot Dusseldorf in January is the latest iteration of all these components. First it is noticeably larger than the 40-footer it is replacing. The cockpit and solon feel more spacious and the master cabin below could be on a 50-footer. Greenline offers the 42 with…

Gilbert Park was getting his boat ready for a 300-mile cruise and decided to give the back end a good survey. The rudders looked fine, but the starboard propeller had some pock-marks that indicated electrolysis. Park wasn’t sure if the prop needed to be replaced or repaired but he knew he needed to take it to the local propeller store to get a professional opinion. And, that meant he had to pull the prop off the shaft. Once the split pin and nuts were removed, Park tried a bit of old-fashioned brute force. Despite a big hammer and a block…

Last Saturday, on Florida’s Biscayne Bay,  Claudia Orellanes and Neil Schwabe were thrown from his twin-engine, 27-foot center console as it spun wildly out of control at high speed. As the boat circled, its propellers tragically struck both Orellanes and Schwabe inflicting serious wounds before taking off with no one at the controls. This is the second powerboat fatality on the bay in the last week. Orellanes was pulled from the water by nearby rescuers but died from her injuries. Schwabe was airlifted to an area hospital but as of Thursday no report on his condition had been published. Dramatic video…

Here’s a look at one of our favorite new boats at last week’s Palm Beach International Boat Show where we got a look at the first model to come to North America. The Norwegian boat builder Marex, which launched its new partnership MarexUSA at last year’s  Palm Beach show, introduced their new 39-footer. The new design is known as the Marex 390 and fits in the line between the 330 and 440 Gourmet Cruiser. While this two-cabin express cruiser bears the family resemblance of her sister ships, her lines are more futuristic and the salon windows and the hull glazing…

The Spanish builder De Antonio has carved out a special and innovative niche in the performance cruiser market. With futuristic styling, sumptuous living spaces and performance that blows your hair back, the range checks a lot of buyers’ boxes. The new 60 pushes the brands existing envelop right to the edge without sacrificing that special De Antonio DNA. The 60 comes standard with four Mercury Verado outboard that will deliver sped in the mid forties. But, you can opt for four 600-horsepower Verados –a whopping 2,400 horses—that will get you in the 50-knot range.  This a really going radical. The…

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