On Watch with Peter Janssen

Marex Launches in USA at Palm Beach Boat Show This Week

By George Day on March 20, 2025 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life, On Watch with Peter Janssen, On Watch With Peter Janssen

The Norwegian builder of fine family cruisers has a fleet of its unique and innovative designs at the Palm Beach International Boat Show this week as they launch Marex USA with American partner Chris Hughes. In the fleet at Palm Beach, the Marex 330 Scandinavian is a perfect example of what makes the Marex line so special. First of all, at 35-feet overall, the 330 packs a huge amount of living space and relaxing areas into a relatively compact envelope. This is accomplished in a number of subtle ways. The hull form has full sections forward and fairly high freeboard…

Hinckley Feeds the Need for Speed, Introduces 53-knot 41 Outboard

By George Day on March 13, 2025 Cruising Life, On Watch With Peter Janssen, On Watch with Peter Janssen

This week, Hinckley Yachts of Portsmouth, Rhode Island Introduced a Hinckley Picnic Boat on steroids. The new 41-footer, based on the successful launch of the 39 last summer, has all of Hinckley’s classic Down East looks with the gleam of an impeccable hull finish and the teak trim and tables shining with a dozen coats of varnish. But it also has three outboards that will give it a top end of 53 knots. “The Hinckley 41 is for those who desire the thrill of outboard power while embracing the artistry and pedigree that define our brand,” said Gavin McClintock, CEO…

Stylish, New Grand Banks 62 to Debut at Palm Beach Show

By George Day on March 6, 2025 Cruising Life, On Watch with Peter Janssen, On Watch With Peter Janssen

The new Grand Banks 62 that will make its American debut at this month’s Palm. Beach Boat Show was designed to replace the highly successful GB 60 and continues the evolution of the Grand Banks design philosophy that began when CEO Mark Richards, founder of Palm Beach Yachts, assumed leadership of the brand. Founded in 1953, Grand Banks pioneered the trawler-cruising market with handsome, traditional designs that cruised efficiently at eight knots. The Grand Banks 36, the original model, became the archetype for all the cruising trawlers that followed. Today, eight knots does not meet the needs of all modern…

USS United States Nears Destination in Alabama. Track Progress

By George Day on February 27, 2025 Cruising Life, On Watch With Peter Janssen, On Watch with Peter Janssen

Last week, the USS United States was towed from her berth in Philadelphia, where she has been moored since 1997 and began her last journey to a shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. The greatest ocean liner ever built in America, the majestic ship, now in disrepair, will spend a year being stripped and decontaminated before being scuttled off Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Florida, to become the largest man-made reef in the world. The ship is being towed by a mighty ocean-going tug with a 5,600 horsepower engine and shepherded by two assistant tugs. The route took them down Delaware Bay, south to…

Outer Reef Introduces New 540 Adventure

By George Day on February 20, 2025 Cruising Life, On Watch With Peter Janssen, On Watch with Peter Janssen

This week Outer Reef Yachts announced the introduction of the new 540 Adventure. The new boat follows in the wake of the 780 Adventure that was introduced last summer. Like the bigger model, the new 54-footer will be built in The Netherlands. The new 540 was designed by the Dutch firm Bern Weel Design and carries the same purposeful, expedition styling as the 780. It will be built in fiberglass, with Divinicell coring above the waterline and in the deck and super structure. Powered by twin Volvo D8-600 engines with conventional straight shafts, the new boat will have a range…

La Dolce Vita Inspires the New Pardo Endurance 72

By George Day on February 13, 2025 On Watch with Peter Janssen

The Italian builder of futuristic day and cruising boats has launched the new Pardo Endurance 72 and it seems the concept from the start was to emphasize the good life, la dolce vita. Designed by BURDISSOCAPPONI Yachts & Design, the new Pardo exudes Italian styling just as does a Lamborghini or an Armani suit. It will premiere in the United States at the Palm Breach Boat show in March. For Americans, we either love this kind of modern styling or not. But there is little question that Pardo Yachts are distinctive, and their look is sexy, modern and, in a…

Hull Number One of New Helmsman 46 Trawler Hits the Water

By George Day on February 13, 2025 On Watch With Peter Janssen, On Watch with Peter Janssen

Helmsman Trawlers, based in Seattle, Washington, has built a reputation for designing and building true American-style trawlers for adventurous cruisers, cruisers who want the range to go far and wide and the seakeeping comfort of a semi-displacement trawler hull. Recently, Helmsman launched hull number one of their all new 46 and the new design, while very much bearing the builder’s family resemblance, is strikingly handsome, with a trim flying bridge and hard top, reversed raked windshields in the pilothouse and a sheer that really evokes a trawler heritage. Helmsman’s founder and CEO Scott Helker commented to me during a recent…

Locking Our Way through the French Canals

By George Day on February 13, 2025 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Donald and Marjorie Walker are the proud owners of a Broom 33, a Dutch-built cruise that is popular with those who enjoy exploring the canals of Europe. Planning to attend the annual Broom owner’s rendezvous in Naarden, The Netherlands, they chose to get there via the French canal network. Their journey, which involved passing through numerous locks every day, took them first through familiar canals and rivers where they had spent time in earlier cruises. Then, they ventured into routes that were new to them and often had fairly long distances between marinas. The canal and river system is comprised…

Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show Kicks Off Next Week

By George Day on February 6, 2025 On Watch With Peter Janssen, On Watch with Peter Janssen

From February 12 through the 16th, the Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show takes over the city of Miami and Miami Beach to create one of the world’s largest in-the-water boat shows. The show is produced by Informa Markets and owned by the National Marine Manufacturer’s Association and the International Yacht Broker’s Association. The show expects more than 100,000 people to attend over the course of four days. More than a thousand brands will be on display and attendees will have a chance to climb aboard and ogle over a thousand boats, both in the water and on dry land.…

Six New Launches of Note at BOOT Dusseldorf

By George Day on January 23, 2025 On Watch With Peter Janssen, On Watch with Peter Janssen

The world’s largest indoor boat and watersports show is running this week in Dusseldorf, Germany. The show occupies 16 large halls and there are more than 1,500 exhibitors displaying everything to do with boating and watersports. The show runs through January 26. One of the fun things about the show is you get to see some models and brands that aren’t often seen in U.S. shows. While there are dozens of new boats being introduced this week, here’s a quick look at six that caught our eye. Aquador 400HT The Swedish builder Nimbus has their new Aquador 40 hard top…

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