Cruising Life

Beneteau Unveils New Antares 12 Flagship

By Peter Janssen on July 24, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Beneteau just unveiled the new Antares 12, the flagship of its outboard-powered Antares line. With two or three cabins and two heads, the new, 42′ 7″ Antares can be powered by three 300-hp V8 Mercury Verado outboards, or two 400-hp V10 Mercury outboards. The large teak swim platform has extensions on both sides that flank the outboards for easy boarding or access to water sports. You enter the cockpit via a gate on the starboard side. The bulwark on the starboard side drops down to provide even more social space or water access. An L-shaped lounge, facing a table, runs…

EJET Builds Electric Tender with 40 nm Range

By Peter Janssen on July 20, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

EJET has just launched its new 4X 12’ 9” high-performance electric tender that has a top speed of 35 knots and a range of 40 nm. The company says it’s the “world’s first” electric jet tender, and that it outperforms all others on the market. The 4X packs a lot of power, an electric motor providing 60 kW of continuous power, in fact, managed by an electric control unit that has three different efficiency modes on the tender’s 7-inch touchscreen: Eco, Normal, and Power. If the battery gets too low, the 4X will automatically switch to the Eco mode to…

Greenline 58 Fly: New Hybrid Power

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

The new Greenline 58 Fly hybrid will make its debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September. The 58 represents the start of a new partnership involving Greenline, Marco Casali of Too Design, and MICAD engineering. Casali drew a fresh exterior with clean lines for the new 58, and MICAD worked with Greenline on a new hybrid power system with a pair of 25kW electric motors and an adaptable hydraulic clutch that can be connected inline to any shaft-drive engine. Power options start with twin Cummins diesels from 610- to 715-hp, available on their own or with the hybrid drive.…

Picchiotti Building 24M Gentleman’s Yacht

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

Picchiotti is trying to touch a nerve to the past with its new line of Gentleman’s Yachts, starting with a 24 Meter (78’7”) model that it’s building in Viareggio, Italy. The new Gentleman 24 is the start of a line of semi-displacement yachts with classic lines developed by Yacht Moments and Luca Dini Design, combining an aluminum hull with a glossy mahogany superstructure. The idea is to blend the charm of iconic gentleman’s yachts, going back to the 1920s and ‘30s, with modern technology. Picchiotti is building a limited number of the Gentleman’s series. It’s already working on hull number…

Coming: New ROCK 78 “Compact Explorer” Yacht

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

ROCK yachts in Turkey is now building a new 78-foot “compact explorer” yacht, designed by the Dutch firm Vripack with a range of 3,000 nm. ROCK says the 78, like its other models, is an SUV of the water, in this case meaning “sea utility vessel.” Indeed, Vripack designed the company’s first model, an 85-footer, with lines meant to evoke those of a Ranger Rover. “Vripack introduced us to the concept of an SUV yacht and it was love at first sight,” says Ali Sayakci, who owns the company. The steel and aluminum 85 (pictured above) was launched at the…

Marine Cleanup Initiative Inc.

Palmer-Johnson’s Time Scuttled for Reef

By Peter Janssen on July 17, 2023 Cruising Life

The 125-foot yacht Time, the largest aluminum yacht ever built when it was launched in 1987, was scuttled off Fort Pierce, Florida, last Saturday in an effort to turn it into an artificial reef. Time received a lot of attention when it was built at Palmer-Johnson in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. PJ was one of the premier American builders at the time. And the exterior design was by Tom Fexas, a well-known designer then. The interior was by JC Espinosa Design, a relative newcomer at the time. The yacht has three staterooms for six guests, plus quarters for five crew. With…

Ohio Valley Aerial showing Mississippi River just south of Cairo last fall.

Mississippi, Ohio Rivers Drying Up

By Peter Janssen on July 17, 2023 Cruising Life

As if anyone contemplating the Great Loop this summer doesn’t have enough problems, now it turns out that both the Mississippi and the Ohio Rivers are starting to dry up – for the second straight year. In Cairo, Illinois, where the two rivers join, water levels dropped more than 6 feet last week, and they’re forecast to fall 4 feet more by the end of July. That would push the Ohio into its official low stage, where barges can run aground and the shipping channels narrow. In St. Louis, the Mississippi could fall another 3 feet by the end of…

Technohull Launches New 38 with Fashion Brand

By Peter Janssen on July 17, 2023 Cruising Life

If you want to see what’s possible with a RIB, take a look at the new Aimé Leon Dore/Technohull 38 Grand Sport, the result of a collaboration between the New York-based fashion brand and the upscale Greek builder. The new RIB has Technohull’s signature black color, with rich green tubes and custom Aimé Leon Dore offshore branding, including premium marine seats and tonal embroidering. The Technohull 38 is built on a deep-V hull with a sharp entry and variable deadrise. Power comes from twin 450-hp Mercury Racing outboards, producing a top speed in the 90-mph range. Technohulls are known for…

Heat Wave Threatens Florida’s Coral Reefs

By co_admin on July 17, 2023 Cruising Life

CNN — A sudden marine heat wave off the coast of Florida has surprised scientists and sent water temperatures soaring to unprecedented highs, threatening one of the most severe coral bleaching events the state has ever seen. Sea surface temperatures around Florida have reached the highest levels on record since satellites began collecting ocean data. And the warming is happening much earlier than normal – yet another example of ocean heat being amplified by the human-caused climate crisis and the extreme weather it brings. “We didn’t expect this heating to happen so early in the year and to be so extreme,”…

Hinckley Makes Docking Easier with JetStick 4

By Peter Janssen on July 16, 2023 Cruising Life

Hinckley, one of the proudest names in yachting, just introduced its innovative JetStick 4 control system that makes driving and docking easier than ever before. The heart of the new JetStick is a Dock Hold feature that holds a boat against a dock while the owner secures the lines or performs other duties on deck or below. It’s more precise and seamless than previous versions, and is particularly useful for owners who are short-handed or don’t want to have to rely on guests to help in docking the yacht. “Our clients want the best possible experience when they’re on the…

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