Maritimo will be bringing the new M55 Black Edition to the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show later this month and the new boat has been upgraded with truly enhanced living spaces. The changes to the design, already a popular model for the Australian builder, begin with the spacious cockpit that connects via sliding doors to the aft galley in the salon. A new wider transom island has been added between the cockpit and the swim platform that creates a better social area and enlarges the barbeque grill and counter. The cockpit’s dinette/lounge now faces forward and socially links the cockpit…
Browsing: Cruising Life
The successful Turkish builder Sirena yachts has gained a huge worldwide following in the last decade with their distinctive angular designs, plumb bows and creatively planned living spaces. The original 48 Flybridge is a large part of the company’s success. This fall, Sirena launched their new 49 Coupe Hybrid, based on ther first 48’s hull design,with a flat-top coupe roof, wrap around salon windows end even more salon and cockpit living space. The company has made a commitment to “eco-friendly propulsion” and developed a true hybrid system with twin 213kW E-Motion motors, a 39.1 kWh lithium battery pack and twin…
At the Newport International Boat Show in September, Sabre Yachts announced the design completion of their brand-new Sabre 51 Salon Express. An all-weather couple’s cruising boat, the design emphasizes entertaining, weekending and ultimately long-term living aboard and cruising. It is always exciting news when this highly respected Maine builder of Downeast-style cruising boats comes out with a new design since the company has been a trend setter for more than 40 years. The new boat will fit neatly between the 48SE and the 58SE The new 51 is the fruit of a deep-dive, information gathering process to find out just…
Now and then when we attend boat shows in Europe and the US, as we do many times every year, we come across new boats that catch our eye. The Norwegian builder Marex is just such a brand and their 440 Gourmet Cruiser Sport Coupe and the smaller models in their line offer cruising couples and families classy alternatives to others in the midrange, sport coupe fleet. The new flag ship of the Marex line is the new 440 Gourmet sport coupe. A fast, family cruiser, the 440’s whole design concept is to link a family to the natural ocean…
Fishermen have been catching what they thought were small hammerhead sharks in the waters off Belize in Central America for years. They have shared many of these fish with scientists who are working to protect shark populations that are dwindling worldwide. But something was amiss. The hammerheads had many of the characteristics of that eponymous species but these sharks were longer and leaner. And their hammerheads were in fact more the shape of a shovel than a hammer. Research on these Belizean sharks, often funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, started to uncover evidence that these local sharks were in…
The Finnish builder of stylish, purposeful express cruisers, Sargo introduced their flagship 45 at the Dusseldorf show in 2023. It still is a head turner. A two or three-cabin express cruiser with a large, all-weather salon, the 45 has a sleek low roof profile, forward windows that are tilted forward and a useful cockpit and slim platform aft. The salon windows are huge and can be opened in warm weather. Starting at the swim platform, you’ll find a large locker for fenders and docking lines built into the deck. On the port side, a stern anchor and roller is fully…
The Dutch builder Doggersbank which has been building rugged steel-hulled offshore cruising boats since 1968 took the opportunity at the Cannes boat show to introduce two new models at 90 and 105 feet. Designed by the Dutch naval architects Vripack, the new designs add modern styling and updated arrangements to the line. In both designs, the bows are sharper than in the past, the sheer lines are crisper and the glazings in the hulls, salon and bridge are much larger with modern shapes. The boats will still have the Doggersbank DNA with welded steel hulls that can stand up to…
On August 5, Rob Tyler was at his home in Ontario, Canada, when he checked the boat monitoring system and onboard cameras on his Aqila 70 Steady AF which was moored in Longboat Key, Florida. To his horror, he saw smoke coming from the starboard hull. Tyler made several phone calls and finally a marina dockhand inspected the boat and confirmed that smoke was indeed coming from the transom of the starboard hull. He also called 911. By next morning Steady AF lay wrecked with her starboard hull burnt and underwater. The previous evening firefighters arrived at the marina at…
One of the boats that caught my eye while at the Cannes Boat Show was the Greek-built Omikron 60 power cruiser. The boat was designed by Juan Koyoumdjian who is best known for his stylish and fast cruising and racing sailboats. The builder’s brief to the designer was for a family cruiser that offers the quiet and peace of a sailboat with the luxury and conveniences of a powerboat. The Omikron 60 is the result and it’s traditional deck house and strong sheer line have echoes of Eastern Mediterranean boats from the 1950s. Missing is the acre of varnished mahogany,…
Fifteen months after the deep submersible submarine Titan imploded while visiting the wreck of the Titanic killing all five adventurers aboard, the U.S. Coast launched hearings this week to delve into the disaster. Experts and members of OceanGate’s staff, the parent company, testified that the submarine had been plagued with equipment and system problems in the years before the disaster and that an engineer who oversaw the Titan project had been fired because he would not certify the submarine for deep dives. In the months before the fatal dive, the Titan had been stored ashore in Newfoundland in subfreezing weather…