Cruising Life

Cannes Debut for Marex Gourmet Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on September 19, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Marex, the Norwegian builder, just introduced its new 440 Gourmet Cruiser flagship at the Cannes Yachting Festival. Marex has designed the 440 as a family cruiser with special emphasis on its galley; Marex says it’s the largest in its size range. The 440 is built for safe and easy living on board, with two cabins (and an optional third) and two heads below. A washing machine is standard. The side decks are protected by high railings, so moving around the boat is safe all around. And there’s a door next to the helm so the captain can have fast access…

New Fast Vespro from New Italian Yard

By Peter Janssen on September 19, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Centouno Navi, a new Italian yard, just launched its first boat, a 56-knot luxury cruiser named Vespro, at the Cannes Yachting Festival. The new 54-foot Vespro, powered by two 1,200-hp MAN V8 diesels and jet drives, is more than fast; it’s also efficient, delivering a remarkable range of 350 nm at its top speed. Designed with an emphasis on Italian style and aesthetics, the new Vespro serves as a fast day boat or weekender. The yard says the name translates into “dusk” or ‘twilight” in English, giving the Vespro something of a romantic theme. The exterior is designed to connect…

Brunswick Launches New NAVAN Line

By Peter Janssen on September 19, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Brunswick just unveiled a brand new line of NAVAN “luxury adventure” boats at the Cannes Yachting Festival. The NAVAN C30 (cabin) and NAVAN S30 (open bow and cuddy) will make their U.S. debuts at the Miami show in February. One of the giants in the worldwide boating marketplace, Brunswick already makes 18 different boat lines, including Sea Ray, Boston Whaler and Bayliner. But none of them look like the new NAVAN. If you think the NAVAN looks like an Axopar, Saxdor or Nimbus, you’re right. And that’s the point. Those Scandinavian models have become increasingly popular in the past few…

New SeaPiper 35: Lots of Character

By Peter Janssen on September 18, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new SeaPiper 35 is an honest boat. It’s not a floating condo; it doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles; it wouldn’t particularly feel at home at a luxury resort/marina. With the SeaPiper 35 what you see is what you get. It’s a straightforward, easy-to-use, easy-to-maintain, 7.5-knot workboat-look-alike that’s trailerable; it can carry you around the Great Loop, down the ICW or up to the San Juans and Canadian Gulf Islands safely and comfortably. It doesn’t look like every other boat in the harbor; it has character. The SeaPiper was originally designed by Ritzo Muntinga, an electronics engineer…

Safehaven Building “Extreme Explorer” Yacht

By Peter Janssen on September 18, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Safehaven Marine in Cork, Ireland, just announced that they’re building a new “extreme explorer” high-speed catamaran with a hydrofoil and ocean-crossing range. Safehaven says the new T-2000 Voyager is its most extreme recreational boat ever, and is designed to be the ultimate explorer yacht. Powered by twin 1,550-hp MAN V12 engines, the T-2000 Voyager will have a top speed of more than 50 knots. The 65’ 7” boat carries 2,900 gallons of fuel, giving it a range of 1,700 nm at 16 knots, and 3,000 nm at 9-10 knots, according to the builder, all with a safe reserve of fuel.…

Solara, Hyfoil, Big Winners in Newport

By Peter Janssen on September 16, 2023 Cruising Life

The just-launched Solara S-310 Sport Coupe, the latest model from Fluid Motion, and the Hyfoil 28, an innovative foiling catamaran RIB, just won top prizes at the Newport boat show. The Solara S-310 SC won the prize as the Best New Powerboat 30 Feet and Over, awarded by a panel of judges; it also won the People’s Choice Award, voted on by people attending the show on its opening day. The Hyfoil 28 won the prize as the Best New Powerboat Under 30 Feet, as well as the award for Best Overall New Powerboat and the show’s Green Boat Award.…

Garmin Unveils New, Faster, Chartplotters

By Peter Janssen on September 12, 2023 Cruising Life, Electronics

Garmin just introduced its new flagship GPSMAP 9000 chartplotter series, with 4K resolution, edge-to-edge clarity and a processor that’s seven times faster than previous versions. The new touchscreen chartplotters come in 19-, 22-, 24-, and 27-inch displays, representing the largest size in recreational boating. Prices start at $9,999. They will be available next month. The new GPSMAP 9000 MFDs work with Garmin’s BlueNet gigabit network to provide comprehensive connectivity throughout the boat, connecting multiple chartplotters, radars, cameras and sonars. They also provide multimedia streaming and video, so users can play and hear the same video and audio over multiple screens…

Latest CLB72 Makes Newport Debut

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

CL Yachts is showing its latest CLB72 cruiser at the Newport Show. With twin 1,000-hp Volvo IPS1350 pod drives, the four-stateroom, three-head yacht tops out at 31 knots, a more-than-respectable speed for a luxury motoryacht. The CLB72 has smooth lines and a sophisticated interior; the idea is to convey simple elegance. There are many social areas inside and out, ranging from al fresco dining on the aft deck to relaxing on lounges on the foredeck. CL says the flybridge on the 72 is one of the largest in its class; it houses the upper helm, lots of seating and a…

American Tug Displays 395 in Newport

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

American Tug is displaying its 395 Esmeralde at the Newport show this week, the first show since the Kadey-Krogen Group bought American Tug in May. The 395 is one of American Tug’s most popular models, available in a one- or two-cabin configuration with one head. Standard power is a single 380-hp Cummins diesel, producing a top speed of about 14 knots and a range of about 1,000 nm at a displacement speed of about 7.5 knots. An optional 550-hp Cummins boosts the top speed to more than 18 knots. Based in LaConner, Washington, just above Seattle, American Tug was started…

ATF: Conception Fire Started in Trash Bin

By Peter Janssen on September 11, 2023 Cruising Life

Here’s the latest on the fire on the Conception dive boat that killed 34 people off Southern California on Labor Day weekend, 2019, from The Maritime Executive: After carrying out a painstaking recreation of the fire aboard the dive boat Conception, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) has determined that the blaze likely began in a plastic trash can on the main deck level – not in a stack of charging lithium-ion batteries, as originally suspected. ATF investigators built a mockup of the main deck level of Conception to test out various scenarios for the fire’s starting and…

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