The SS United States has been in Mobile Alabama for the last 13 months undergoing a complete environmental remediation before being scuttled south of Okaloosa Pass, Florida. The 990-foot ship will become the world’s largest artificial reef. According to officials from Okaloosa County, the ship is ready to go but they are waiting on final reviews from the Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency. The ship will be towed 22 miles into the Gulf where it will be scuttled and sunk. As a huge reef, it will attract a wide array of sea life and thus will…

Until August 2025, the standing record for the fastest time to circle the full 6,000 miles of the Great Loop was an amazing 19 days and 19 hours. It was set by Captain Red Flowers in a high-powered 28-foot center console. No one thought the record would ever be broken. But last year, Robert Youens, 71, thought differently and his feat Is nothing short of astonishing for several reasons. First, he was not a young man and weeks of high-speed running is hard work. Second, he was making his record attempt in a 16-foot aluminum Jon Boat. And third, his…

Naval Yachts, the Turkish builder of fine motor yachts and expedition yachts, has introduced their  new XPM 78. If you hanker for high adventure cruising to the ends of the earth, then an expedition yacht is for you. The XPM 78 is a purposeful, businesslike, aluminum vessel with a nearly plumb bow, a fairly narrow beam, a large raised salon and a sugar-scoop transom. Up top there is a large, enclosed flybridge which will be useful when maneuvering through bergy bits in the Arctic. The hull form is a shoal-draft, semi-displacement configuration with a round bottom, chines at the waterline,…

At  last week’s Palm Beach International Boat Show Grand Banks, the pioneering developer of trawler-style cruising boats for family cruisers, tthrew he first celebration in 2026 of it’s 70th year in business.  It’s hard to believe that the original company known as American Marine was launched in 1956. Grand Banks, which is now part of the Grand Banks Group that includes Palm Beach Yachts and East Bay Yachts, started life on the waterfront in Hong Kong. With the introduction of the Grand Banks 36 in 1964, the builder created its defining essence.  The salty, ship-like 36 footer invented the trawler…

I’ve spent the last two days at the Palm Beach International Boat Show in Palm Beach, Florida, and have had the chance to see a dozen or more brand new family cruisers that are being introduced to the U.S. market for the first time. This morning we’ll take a moment to highlight one that comes from one of America’s most venerated builders. The new Hinchley Picnic Boat 45 is a big handsome day cruiser and sometime weekender with a speedboat’s brisk performance. The design was drawn by Micheal Peters and contains all of Hickley’s Downeast DNA but with a difference.…

So, what is PBIBS, you might ask? Well, it is what marine business folk call the Palm Beach International Boat Show that opens next Wednesday on Marc h 25. This all powerboat show, which is actually located in West Palm Beach along the Intracoastal Waterway, has grown by leaps and bounds over the last decade and become one of our favorite shows. The mix of boats seems just about right in a balance between family cruisers (our thing), mega yachts, muscle boats and dinghies. Plus there are acres of gear and equipment and service companies with booths on land. Increasingly,…

While the Great Loop of the eastern half of the US is famous and often referred to, its little cousin, the Great Eastern Loop, is well worth any adventurous cruiser’s attention The 2,400 mile loop makes a circumnavigation of the US Northeast and the Canadian Maritimes. Nominally, the route starts in New York City and leads up the Hudson River to Lake Champlain. From there it follows the Richelieu River the length of the Chaplain Valley into Canada where it joins the St. Lawrence River at the city of Sorel-Tracy.  There’s a 17-foot height limit on this section of the…