Cruising Life

Credit: Pantaenius Yacht Insurance

How Safe Are Lithium Batteries?

By Peter Janssen on April 24, 2023 Cruising Life

How safe are lithium batteries on boats? That is a question that is becoming increasingly important as more and more builders around the world are using lithium-ion batteries to power solar/electric vessels, and as more and more boat owners and guests are bringing small lithium-powered devices on board. A symposium of marine industry experts recently met in the UK to try to find some answers, and to judge the fire risk that lithium-ion batteries pose on boats big and small. Their conclusions, as reported in Motor Boat & Yachting, the British publication: The technology is safe, but the risks increase…

Archipelago Launching Methanol-Powered Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on April 23, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Archipelago zero.63, built by Chartwell Marine on the Isle of Wight, aims to become the first expedition-class, recreational boat using methanol power. A relatively new British company, Archipelago launched its first boat, an aluminum-hulled 47 power cat with twin 420-hp Iveco diesels, a 30-knot top speed and a 3,000-nm range, just last summer. Now it wants to bring the methanol-powered version to market, estimating it will have a 20-knot top speed and a 4,000-nm range. The new cat will be powered by a combination of a methanol-reforming system and a methanol combustion engine. It will have a dedicated…

A New Look at U-Boat Worx’s 123-foot Sub

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

We usually deal with boats that go on top of the water, and cruising boats that are owner-operated, to boot. But U-Boat Worx, the Dutch submarine builder, just released some renderings of its 123-foot Nautilus, and they’re just too good not to share. U-Boat Worx says that Nautilus is “the ultimate adventure vessel” because it’s both a luxurious superyacht on the surface and a submarine that can dive down to 650 feet below the surface, carrying up to 10 passengers and seven crew. Power comes from a series of diesel/electric motors ad a 1,200kWh battery pack. Nautilus was designed in…

Silent Launches New All-Electric Tender

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

Silent Yachts, the creative Austrian builder of solar-powered catamarans, just launched its first all-electric tender, a 13’ 1” Silent Tender 400 that holds six people and can hit a top speed of 20 knots. With a carbon fiber hull, the Silent Tender weighs just 199 pounds, so it can fit on the swim platform of a Silent 60, the company’s smallest cat. The tender also replicates some of the 60’s styling, with angular lines, a lowered bulwark, and a black-and-white finish. The hull is surrounded by a stripe of rubber coating; the company says it resembles the signature window stripe…

Lazzara Building Luxury 70 Power Cat

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

Lazzara Yachts of Tampa is building its first 70 LPC luxury power cat for an owner who wants to cruise the Med. The new Lazzara has some nice luxury touches, including the pool on the upper deck, a full-beam (29 feet) master stateroom with a balcony that folds out of the hull on the starboard side, and glazing all around the main deck to provide spectacular views in every direction. The 70 will be powered by twin 1,000-hp Volvo IPS1350 pod drives, producing a top speed of 28 knots, a cruising speed of 18 knots, and a range of 1,000…

Mercury Ships First 7.5e Electric Outboards

By Peter Janssen on April 18, 2023 Cruising Life, Engine Room

Mercury Marine just announced that is has shipped its first batch of Avator 7.5e electric outboards to customers around the world, setting a milestone in the popularization of sustainable power. Part of the giant Brunswick Corp., Mercury says the Avator 7.5e is the first of five electric outboards to be announced this year, including an Avator 20e and Avator 35e. (We don’t yet know the size of the other two.) John Buelow, Mercury’s president, said the current shipments were history-making, and that Mercury is committed “to being the industry leader in both internal combustion products and electric propulsion.” The Avator…

Pacific Garbage Patch: Growing, Permanent

By Peter Janssen on April 18, 2023 Cruising Life

(CNN) Scientists have found thriving communities of coastal creatures, including tiny crabs and anemones, living thousands of miles from their original home on plastic debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch – a 620,000 square mile swirl of trash in the ocean between California and Hawaii. In a new study published in the Nature Ecology & Evolution journal on Monday, a team of researchers revealed that dozens of species of coastal invertebrate organisms have been able to survive and reproduce on plastic garbage that’s been floating in the ocean for years. The scientists said that the findings suggest plastic pollution…

Italy’s Fiart 43 Seawalker: Now in the U.S.

By Peter Janssen on April 17, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The Italian-made Fiart 43 Seawalker was something of an eye-catching standout at the recent Palm Beach show, with its plumb stem, low lines and post-modern European design. Although it’s relatively new to the U.S., Fiart is a well-known name in Europe. The company was founded on the Gulf of Naples in 1960. Since then, it’s designed 150 different models and built thousands of boats that were sold across the continent. Fiart now has offices in Spain, France, Croatia, Turkey and Israel. It is represented here by YachtCreators in Fort Lauderdale. The 43 is the flagship of Fiart’s Seawalker line. It’s…

Maritimo To Launch Two New 75s

By Peter Janssen on April 17, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Maritimo will hold the global launches of its new M75 and S75 luxury motor yachts at the Sanctuary Cove boat show in Australia on May 25. The M75, pictured here, is the flybridge version, while the S75 is the sport version of the latest in Maritimo’s highly regarded lineup of made-in-Australia, blue-water cruising yachts. Both have supersized beach clubs aft for lounging, entertaining and enjoying water sports. Made to be the leader of Maritimo’s fleet, the M75 has the space, style, comfort and seakeeping ability to accommodate a family for an offshore cruising vacation. It has four cabins, including a…

Early Forecast: Below-Average Hurricane Season

By Peter Janssen on April 16, 2023 Cruising Life

It’s still too early to be precise, but this year’s Atlantic hurricane season will be slightly below average, according to the forecasting team at Colorado State University. The CSU forecast calls for 13 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes this season, which starts on June 1 and ends on Nov. 30. The long-term averages for the period from 1991 to 2020 were 14.4 named storms, 7.2 hurricanes, and 3.2 major hurricanes. On the other hand, the CSU team, in its first forecast for the season, did not have particularly good news for the U.S. It says the odds…

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