Cruising Life

How To Install Solar Power on Your Boat

By Peter Janssen on June 22, 2019 Cruising Life

Here’s some very good advice, from Brad Roberts at Power Boating Canada, about how to put solar power on your boat. Some basic and easy-to-understand information here: A DIY real-life solution to your power issues. By Brad Roberts Solar panels charge a battery-powered boat lift. I was first introduced to solar power by a boater friend in our marina. This was many years ago, and solar has come a very long way since then, but he had a small rigid solar panel laid on his helm under the windshield and connected directly to his batteries. It worked, admittedly crudely, as a…

Mercury Racing Launches New 450-hp Outboards; More Power, More Torque, Less Weight

By Peter Janssen on June 22, 2019 Cruising Life

Mercury Racing just upped the ante in the high-performance outboard engine game, introducing a 450-hp supercharged beast with what it says is the best power-to-weight ratio in the industry. Indeed, the new 450R weighs just 698 pounds, about the same as Merc’s formerly most-powerful 400-hp outboard, and several hundred pounds less than the competition, according to Mercury. “It’s raw performance in a premiere package,” says Stuart Halley, the general manager of Mercury Marine. Outboards are an increasingly popular power choice in a wide variety of boats. Even such traditional Down East builders as Hinckley, Sabre, Wilbur and MJM are building…

New Absolute 58 Navetta: Aggressive Lines, Italian Styling and IPS Performance

By Peter Janssen on June 20, 2019 Cruising Life

The new Absolute 58 Navetta is an Italian-made cruiser with strong, aggressive lines and Volvo’s IPS pod drive performance. The contemporary European-styled interior is luxurious, bright and made for cruising comfort on board. The Navetta’s large hull-side and salon windows alone give the boat a distinctive look, but so does the plumb bow, the high topsides and super-sized swim platform. And there are major social and entertaining areas basically from stem to stern; it would be hard not to enjoy your time on this boat. You can walk on the 58 Navetta from the teak swim platform and up three…

Simrad and B&G Announce New VHF Radios that Transmit and Receive AIS

By Peter Janssen on June 19, 2019 Cruising Life

In a major boost to cruising safety, Simrad Yachting and B&G have just announced new VHF radios that both transmit and receive AIS data. The companies say these are the first radios with this capability. The radios will start shipping in June, with a retail price of $1,099. Both Simrad and B&S are part of Navico, and the new radios look the same and have the same features. The Simrad is called the RS40-B, while the B&G version is the V60-B. They have wireless handset capability, removeable mic, Class D DSC functionality, built-in GPS and a Class B AIS transceiver.…

BVI Update: What’s Open (A Lot), and What’s To Come

By Peter Janssen on June 18, 2019 Cruising Life

BVI Update – Latest BVI News Published: June 17, 2019 Tina Huewe Comments Almost 2 years have passed since Hurricanes Irma and Maria swept through the Caribbean. For many months after, we worried and answered questions like “So how are things?” and “What’s open?” when customers inquired about their favorite snorkeling spots, beach bars, and restaurants in the British Virgin Islands. By now it’s luckily much easier to compose a short list of businesses that have NOT yet reopened than citing the hundreds of establishments that are back to business as usual and that every day welcome yachtsmen from…

Ten Things that Annoy Boat Owners. Pay Heed

By Peter Janssen on June 17, 2019 Cruising Life

Here’s some great advice from Captain Frank Taylor about ten things that annoy boat owners. They ring true; we’ve all been there. (You can find him at www.theshipslogg.com.) Here’s his list: If you ask me, boaters are some of the best people in the world. I’m not sure why, but they are. Maybe it is because they have more fun than most people or maybe it is because they don’t worry themselves with trivial issues such as getting their wills together before they die. After all, the only thing that will be left is a well-used boat, a few life…

For a New Charter Destination: Try the Turks & Caicos on an Axopar 37

By Peter Janssen on June 17, 2019 Cruising Life

Here’s a fresh charter idea: Try a new Axopar 37 Sun-Top with twin 300-hp Mercury Verado outboards in the gorgeous waters of the Turks & Caicos. The Axopar, named MV Bonita, is run by Ocean Frontiers, a private charter company, and it can reach all the hidden cays, dive spots and soft white-sand beaches throughout the Turks & Caicos. The Turks & Caicos, at the southern tip of the Bahamas, are a paradise for divers, with the third largest coral system in the world. Scuba sites include a 14-mile-long barrier reef on the north shore and a 7,000-feet-deep underwater wall…

Save Your Engine: Watch for More E15 at Gas Pumps This Summer

By Peter Janssen on June 17, 2019 Cruising Life

As a result of a recent Environmental Protection Agency ruling, you’ll see more E15 at gas pumps this summer. And E15 (fuel with 15 percent ethanol) can damage your boat’s engine. Previously, the EPA had banned E15 from June 1 to Sept. 15 over concerns that it contributed to smog on hot days. Many outdoor and boating groups, including BoatUS, wanted the EPA to keep the summer blackout. The problem is that E15 is proven to damage boat engines and fuel systems; federal law also prohibits its use in recreational boat engines, and using E15 can void the engine’s warranty.…

Florida Passes “Carfax for Boats” Title Law To Protect Used Boat Buyers

By Peter Janssen on June 16, 2019 Cruising Life

Florida has just passed a new “Carfax for boats” law designed to keep people from unwittingly buying a stolen or damaged vessel. It’s the Uniform Certificate of Title for Vessels Act and it will protect you when you buy a used boat there. Read about it from WJXT News4Jax here: By Brittany Muller – Reporter Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a law that is being called the “Carfax for boats.” The Uniform Certificate of Title for Vessels Act is designed to help prevent boaters from buying a stolen or damaged vessel. The law will provide title protection, meaning it will help the…

New 20-foot Bay Breeze Boat: An Inflatable Party Float

By Peter Janssen on June 16, 2019 Cruising Life

The new Six-Person Inflatable Bay Breeze Boat isn’t exactly the typical blue-water cruising boat we usually write about, but it does seem like a hoot. And you certainly won’t have to worry about the fuel and maintenance costs. The new inflatable is about 20 feet long with a 10-foot beam and it weighs 62 pounds when it’s not inflated. It comes from Sun Pleasure Inflatable, the same people who build those unicorn and pink flamingo floats you may have seen recently. The Bay Breeze is built to resemble a real boat; it has a swim platform, comfortable U-shaped seating in…

Browsing: Cruising Life