Cruising Life

Bass Pro Shops Buys Hatteras Yachts

By Peter Janssen on May 22, 2021 Cruising Life

Johnny Morris, who founded Bass Pro Shops in the back of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri, in 1971, just bought Hatteras Yachts, one of the most respected names in boating. The purchase was announced by North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper at the Hatteras factory in New Bern, N.C. The actual purchase was by The White River Marine Group, which is owned by Bass Pro Shops. The seller was Versa Capital Management LLC, a Philadelphia venture capital firm, that bought Hatteras from Brunswick in 2013. The terms were not disclosed; all the entities involved are privately held. White River…

Brunswick Building Electric Outboards, Self-Driving Boats

By Peter Janssen on May 19, 2021 Cruising Life

At its annual Investors’ Day conference, Brunswick Corp., the boating industry giant, just announced that it will launch new electric outboard engines starting next year, and that it will produce its first Driver Assistance System, leading to autonomous boats, later this year. Chris Drees, the president of Mercury Marine, said the company is already developing electric outboards, and will have the first ready by the end of 2022 and four more by the first quarter of 2023. “We intend for Mercury to be the market leader in both conventional and electric marine propulsion by the end of that year,” he…

NTSB Report: Seacore Power Hit by Violent Conditions

By Peter Janssen on May 19, 2021 Cruising Life

The National Transportation Safety Board just released its preliminary report about the capsizing of the Seacore Power lift boat in the Gulf of Mexico last month, revealing that the boat capsized as the helmsman tried to put its legs down when it was swept by a sudden, violent storm. The boat had 19 people on board when it left Port Fourchon, the southernmost port in Louisiana, on April 13. Six were rescued after the accident by Good Samaritan boats and the Coast Guard, six others died, and seven are still missing. The NTSB report made clear how fast conditions changed,…

Lindell 38: Sturdy and Fast with Very Long Legs

By Peter Janssen on May 18, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Lindell 38 is a sturdy, fast, long-legged cruiser that has a range of 700 nm at about 30 knots. That means it can go from La Conner, Washington, to Ketchikan, Alaska, without refueling, or from New York to Miami with one stop, or just about anywhere on the Great Loop without having to worry about fuel or, because of its low profile, having to wait for a lot of bridge openings. Lindell is well known on the West Coast, and is just starting to spread to the East Coast (a new owner plans to cruise the Northeast). The…

National Geographic Discovers The Great Loop

By co_admin on May 18, 2021 Cruising Life

Here’s a terrific overview of the Great Loop, and several mini-loops, from the National Geographic. Take a look: The great American road trip has experienced a resurgence during the pandemic. But there’s a downside: This summer is projected to feature crowded campsites, expensive gas, and no end to long lines and traffic jams. Luckily, there is another epic U.S. adventure that few know about—and even fewer undertake each year. The Great Loop—a year-long, nearly 6,000-mile journey through the eastern United States and Canada’s interconnected water passages—takes boaters counterclockwise from the Gulf and Atlantic Intracoastal Waterways to the Erie Canal, Great…

New Battery Cells Can Change Electric Boating

By co_admin on May 18, 2021 Cruising Life

Here’s an intriguing story about a new type of battery that could change the face of electric-powered boats. As reported by Forbes, the new graphene aluminum-ion battery cells charge faster, are safer and will provide more range than existing lithium-ion cells. Read about them here: Range anxiety, recycling and fast-charging fears could all be consigned to electric-vehicle history with a nanotech-driven Australian battery invention. The graphene aluminum-ion battery cells from the Brisbane-based Graphene Manufacturing Group (GMG) are claimed to charge up to 60 times faster than the best lithium-ion cells and hold three time the energy of the best aluminum-based…

EU Rolls Back Tariff Increase on U.S. Boats

By Peter Janssen on May 18, 2021 Cruising Life

The European Union will not double its tariffs on boats made in the U.S. to 50 percent on June 1 after all. Earlier this week, negotiators for the EU and the U.S. announced that the retaliatory tariffs on U.S. boats and some other American-made products would remain at 25 percent for the next six months or so. The temporary truce was regarded as a victory for Frank Hugelmeyer, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, and Gina M. Romando, the new Secretary of Commerce and former Governor of Rhode Island, who is particularly responsive to the needs of American boat…

Captain of Dream Charter “Odorous” and “Abusive” Suits Say

By Peter Janssen on May 18, 2021 Charter, Cruising Life

Here’s a story about a dream charter in the Bahamas over the Christmas holidays that went terribly wrong, ending with two lawsuits seeking $10 million in damages and charging that the captain was “odorous, ill-tempered, curt and dismissive, outright angry and abusive.” The suits also say that instead of dropping the passengers off on Exuma Island, he cruised back to Nassau, leading to “false imprisonment” and “panic attacks, trauma, fear of death.” The name of the yacht is Dream, and it’s a 196’9” Abeking & Rasmussen launched in 2001. It charters from Burgess for $420,000 a week, and it has…

The Hinckley Picnic Boat, 25 Years Later

By co_admin on May 16, 2021 Cruising Life

I’ve been a fan of the Hinckley Picnic Boat ever since I tested hull number with Shep McKenney, then the president of the company, just after it launched in 1994 in Southwest Harbor, Maine. Since then, the Picnic Boat has become an icon, imitated and envied around the world. Here’s a great story from Bloomberg about how the Picnic Boat changed Hinckley and boating: Hinckley Yachts, a storied shipwright that was founded in 1928 and has been building out of Southwest Harbor, Maine, since 1933, has a rule: construct no boat until it’s been purchased. A client buys a boat…

Mississippi Reopens After Crack Found in Memphis Bridge

By Peter Janssen on May 14, 2021 Cruising Life

The Coast Guard has reopened the Mississippi to river traffic three days after it was closed because of a structural crack in the Hernando de Soto Bridge in Memphis. More than 45 tugs hauling 700 barges had been waiting for clearance on both sides of the bridge. We don’t have any word about how many recreational boats also were affected by the closure. The Coast Guard closed the river to all traffic between mile 736 and 737 after a crack was found in one of two 900-feet-long horizontal steel beams that are critical to the bridge’s integrity. Authorities said repairs…

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