Cruising Life

Boston Boatworks 44 Offshore Express

Boston Boatworks Unveils New 44 Express

By Peter Janssen on October 16, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Boston Boatworks has unveiled plans for its second Offshore Express model, a 44-footer, powered by twin Volvo D6s with Aquamatic Drives. It’s already started work on the first two hulls at its factory in Charlestown, Massachusetts. The new 44 comes a few months after Boston Boatworks introduced its first Offshore Express, a 52, made for an owner-operator. The Offshore Express series was designed by Doug Zurn, the Marblehead, Massachusetts, naval architect who’s worked with Boston Boatworks on several other boats in recent years, while Winch Design, the London firm that usually works on superyachts, has done the interiors. Boston Boatworks…

Ferry Captain Asleep Before Crash: NTSB

By Peter Janssen on October 16, 2023 Cruising Life

The National Transportation Safety Board just said that the master of a Washington State ferry fell asleep at the wheel before it ran into its dock in Seattle. The NTSB’s report on the accident said the master, who was at the helm of the 328-foot-long ferry at the time, had ceased rudder commands about 30 seconds before it hit a dolphin at its cruising speed of 15 knots. The accident caused $10 million worth of damage. Only one person suffered a minor injury. The NTSB said the master had no recollection of the events before the accident and was not…

Absolute Building New Navetta 70

By Peter Janssen on October 12, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Absolute just announced that they’re making a new Navetta 70 that they’ll launch at the Cannes Yachting Festival next September. The new 70 represents a new direction for the Italian yard. The Navetta 70 will keep much of Absolute’s original architecture, including the open lateral gunwales, covered walkways, extensive glazing on the main and lower decks, fold-out terraces in the cockpit, high ceilings, and minimal use of steps to make moving around the yacht safe and easy. But now it will introduce a contemporary interior with bleached wood and bronze finishes, a larger galley, and an enlarged flybridge that’s a…

New Inflatable 5 mph GoBoat 2.0

By Peter Janssen on October 11, 2023 Cruising Life, Gear

For just plain fun, take a look at the inflatable GoBoat 2.0. You won’t want to take it to Bermuda, but if you just want to cruise around your local lake or harbor it would fill the bill. And when you’re done, just deflate it and stow it in your lazarette or the trunk of your car. The company says the GoBoat 2.0 (an improvement over the original model) is safe, stable and easy to pack. You inflate it with a hand pump and then climb on. It’s made with GoBoat’s proprietary AirCore composite construction with three separate air chambers.…

New Electric Frauscher x Porsche Just Launched

By Peter Janssen on October 11, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Frauscher x Porsche 850 Fantom Air was just launched at Lago di Garda in northern Italy for the first time. The innovative new 28-foot electric runabout uses powertrain technology from Porsche’s all-electric Macan, which is still under development. The Frauscher x Porsche comes with 400 kW of electric power and has a top speed of 46 knots. At its optimum cruising speed of 22 knots, the lithium-ion battery with a 100 kWh capacity lasts about an hour; the battery also comes from the Macan. The boat uses 80-volt technology for fast charging. The battery can be charged with…

Sirena 78 To Make Debut at FLIBS

By Peter Janssen on October 10, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The Sirena 78, the upscale Turkish builder’s first enclosed-flybridge cruiser, will make its U.S. debut at the big Fort Lauderdale show starting Oct. 25. The new, four-cabin, 25-knot Sirena comes with an impressive pedigree. Germán Frers, the famed Argentine, designed the exterior, while Cor D. Rover, with his award-winning studio in The Netherlands, did the interior. Frers at first resisted the idea of the flybridge; it added weight up top. To compensate, he added five tons of ballast in the keel along the centerline. With twin 1,550-hp MANs and V-drives, the elegant new 78 tops out at more than 25…

Enata Unveils 40-knot Foiling Vatoz

By Peter Janssen on October 10, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The Enata Group just unveiled its sleek new 32-foot luxury foiling boat Vatoz that can hit a top speed of 40 knots when it flies almost 5 feet above the water. The Vatoz uses two 370-hp diesels and “torpedo” drives for hydrostatic propulsion. The Vatoz foils, or flies, at 18 knots. It has a range of 190 nm at 20 knots and 150 nm at 30 knots. Enata is an international manufacturing company with headquarters in Dubai, and it uses its proprietary Wingman management system to operate the foils and “wings” on the Vatoz’ hull sides. The side wings provide…

How To Navigate Safely in Fog

By co_admin on October 9, 2023 Cruising Life

Here are some great tips from Motor Boat & Yachting about how to deal with fog: If you’re still in port and in a boat without radar, perhaps you want to reconsider your trip and stay where you are. If you’re already underway and you run into fog, here’s what to do to keep everyone safe: Put on lifejackets. Double-check your position and write it down. Start making the appropriate sound signals. Slow down so you can react immediately to any threat, whether that’s represented by another boat or a pile of rocks. If the fog is really thick, head…

Front Street Launches New Harbor 28

By Peter Janssen on October 9, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Front Street Shipyard in Belfast, Maine, just launched the first New Harbor 28, a modern version of the legendary Wasque 26, but now with outboard power. The New Harbor 28 is a modern take on an iconic design, usually attributed to John Alden. The Wasque (pronounced WAY-SQUEE) 26 was originally built with inboard power to handle the choppy waters around Vineyard Sound, first by Vineyard Yachts and more recently by C. W. Hood. For more than a decade, when Ed Sutt was living in Jamestown, Rhode Island, he dreamed about owning a Downeast boat. A year ago, when he was…

Archipelago Sells New 40 Expedition Yacht

By Peter Janssen on October 9, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Archipelago, the relatively new British builder of expedition-class power catamarans, just announced that they’ve sold the first hull of their new 40 with hybrid diesel/electric/solar power. The new 40, based on the company’s first boat, a 47, will be launched in early 2025. Dr. Stephen Weatherley, an experienced sailor with a PhD in astrophysics who founded the company two years ago, says the new 40 has taken everything in the 47 and made it a bit smaller: “Smaller engines, lower emissions, easier to berth, with all the capability and force needed to get you home after a day, a week,…

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