Here’s a story that piques my imagination since I am a fan of all things nautical and love innovation. In early March, Regent Craft, a Rhode Island based start-up, launched its first full-scale protype of the all-electric, 12-passenger Viceroy seaglider. They named the craft Paladin, i.e., a defender of a noble cause. At 55-feet in length and with a wingspan of 65 feet, the design is the largest all-electric flying machine ever built and represents a significant technological breakthrough.  The prototype will initially spend several months of in-the-water and foiling trials as all systems and critical software are tested and refined.…

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…

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…

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…

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…