Cruising Life

New Sabre 45 Salon Express: Made in Maine, Delivered in March

By Peter Janssen on February 11, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

One of the reasons that Sabre Yachts has built, and maintained, a leadership position in the power cruising market is that the Maine-based company keeps introducing new models, in good times and bad. Now it has just delivered hull number one of the 45 Salon Express to its new owner in Florida. The 45, fitting between the company’s existing 42- and 48-foot models, is an all-new design with two staterooms, two full heads, and the built-in-Maine lines and craftsmanship that help define all Sabres. The master stateroom is forward, with an island bed and several lockers and drawers for storage…

Fast Growing Crack in Antarctic Ice Shelf Will Soon Create One of Largest Icebergs Ever

By Peter Janssen on February 9, 2017 Cruising Life

A crack in the Antarctic ice shelf, now more than 100 miles long and two miles wide, may soon break off, creating one of the largest icebergs ever recorded. And it is growing quickly, increasing 17 miles in the last two months, and the length of five football fields a day. Since the ice is already floating, its separation won’t raise sea levels. But the glaciers behind it will then melt more quickly, and that will add to a rise in global sea level. And because of warming temperatures, other large amounts of ice in West Antarctica could be vulnerable…

Heading for the Miami Show? Take a Weekend in Bimini

By Peter Janssen on February 8, 2017 Cruising Life, Destinations

If you’re heading to the Miami show, or just cruising in Florida, you may want to think about taking a 50-mile side trip (with your passport) over to Bimini. Even at 15 knots, you could leave Miami after breakfast and be sitting down for conch chowder at the Big Game Club (founded in 1936 and a Hemingway hangout) for lunch. Or dive, or explore Alice Town (that will be fun but it won’t take long), or fish, or just relax. For me, Bimini has been a favorite for a fast change of scene, and drop of blood pressure, for many,…

New Kadey-Krogen 50 Open: A Major Change for an Iconic Bluewater Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on February 8, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Kadey-Krogen does one thing – it builds blue-water, full-displacement, passagemaker trawlers – and it does that very well. Indeed, Kadey-Krogen just delivered its 600th yacht. The company is not known for change for the sake of change. But now Kadey-Krogen has come up with a major change – the new Kadey-Krogen 50 Open, where the main deck is continuous from the cockpit to the salon and the galley and then just one step up to the pilothouse. Indeed, Larry Polster, a Kadey-Krogen partner and vice president, says, “The Krogen 50 Open is revolutionary for our brand. She’s a model all…

Volvo Launches New Joystick for Twin Inboard Boats with Shafts, Wins Innovation Award

By Peter Janssen on February 6, 2017 Cruising Life, Engine Room

We all know about Volvo’s revolutionary IPS pod drives, and how they make docking and controlling a boat easy, and actually fun. But now Volvo is going one step further, introducing its new Volvo Penta Joystick for Inboard system, also controlled by a joystick, that makes docking and boat control just as easy for conventional twin shaft-driven inboard boats. The Joystick for Inboards is indeed new and different: It just won a prestigious Innovation Award at the Miami International Boat Show. The new system has the first joystick for twin inboard shaft installations with integrated rudder, engine and bow thruster…

Sunreef 60: A New Power Cat with a Luxurious Master Stateroom

By Peter Janssen on January 31, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

One of the larger and more luxurious power catamarans, the new 60 Sunreef Power Ocean’s 11 comes with a seaworthy hull, spacious public and private areas (inside and out) offering panoramic views, and a cruising range of some 3,000 nm. Sunreef was started in 2003 by Francis Lapp, who was then running a catamaran charter company; he wanted to build his own large custom cats to supply his fleet using the historic shipyard in Gdansk, Poland. Today, more than 90 large Sunreef cats, power and sail, are cruising in waters around the world. But the new 60 Sunreef Power Ocean’s…

Summer Cruise from Manhattan to Quebec City on a Cutwater 28: Great Video

By Peter Janssen on January 30, 2017 Cruising Life

Two years ago, George Sass Sr. and I drove a Cutwater 28 from New York City up the Hudson to Lake Champlain, into Canada and the Chambly Canal, and finally down the St. Lawrence to Quebec City. We took a week and, in a tribute to the easy livability of the 28-foot Cutwater, we were still as good friends at the end of the trip as we had been at the start. The first half of the Downeast Loop, this trip offers easy cruising through some beautiful countryside, great places to stay and even a bit of Europe once you…

Top Ten Tips for Boating with Pets

By Peter Janssen on January 25, 2017 Cruising Life

I still get twinges of pain in my back every time I remember lifting my 75-pound yellow Lab from the dock into the cockpit of my Grand Banks. And it was even worse in reverse, lifting him from the cockpit back up to the dock. Fortunately, labs are so good natured that he put up with all of this, eventually just curling up next to me on the boat. There’s no question that pets and boats can be a tough combination. But there are things you can do to make it easier for your pet – and for yourself -…

New, Retro Huckins 36: Coming Full Circle

By Peter Janssen on January 25, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Some boat designs are meant to last, to have the same appeal many years – or generations – down the road as they did the day they were first launched. That certainly is the case with the new Huckins 36 Sportsman, which the legendary company is calling the 36-36 Sportsman because the original Sportsman 36 was created by Frank Pembroke Huckins, the company’s founder, back in 1936. Today the Jacksonville builder is run by Huckins’ granddaughter, Cindy Purcell, and her husband, Buddy. They say that with the new 36 that Huckins isn’t jumping on the retro bandwagon – since they…

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