On Watch with Peter Janssen

Cruising Through Alaska in a Time of Coronavirus

By Peter Janssen on July 29, 2020 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Jeff and Susie Parker hadn’t really planned it this way when they left Idyll Time, their 48-foot Kadey-Krogen, in Petersburg, Alaska, last October and flew home to Tennessee. They simply figured that leaving it there would give them a head start on cruising through Alaska once the season opened again this summer. As things turned out, that decision meant that they are able to enjoy the boat, and to cruise in Alaska now, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most cruisers in the Pacific Northwest aren’t able to go to Alaska because the U.S/Canadian border remains closed to nonessential travel. But…

New Saxdor 320: A Blend of Looks, Pedigree, and Price

By Peter Janssen on July 22, 2020 Boat Reviews, On Watch with Peter Janssen

Here’s a new boat that’s bound to get a lot of attention at the boat shows this fall, because of its looks, its pedigree, and its price. Take a first look at the head-turning Saxdor 320 GTO from the new Finnish company, Saxdor Yachts, founded just last November by Sakari Matilla, who previously was a founder of Axopar and several other boat companies. The Saxdor 320 GTO also is a product of the award-winning firm of J&J Design, which has worked on some of the best-selling sail and power boats for the past 36 years. And the Saxdor 320 GTO…

New Arksen 85 Expedition Yacht from Innovative Builder

By Peter Janssen on July 14, 2020 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Here’s a new expedition yacht from a fresh player in that market with deep pockets and a well-developed appreciation of both innovation and adventure. The Arksen 85, now being built on the Isle of Wight, is the brainchild of Jasper Smith, the tech entrepreneur who founded PlayJam, the world’s largest TV games network; he now wants to build an environmentally friendly series of expedition yachts that can take on rough waters anywhere in the world. The Arksen 85 is a different kind of yacht from a different kind of company. Arksen is planning three models, 70-, 85- and 100-footers that…

After One Baja Bash and 4,000 nm, Red Rover Comes Home

By Peter Janssen on July 8, 2020 On Watch with Peter Janssen

One Baja Bash and 4,000 nm later, Red Rover, the well-traveled 2005 Nordhavn 55, is back home in the United States after cruising in Mexico both before and during the time of coronavirus. Back in 2016, Kevin and Allison Jeffries, lifelong boaters, sold their house in Seattle and moved aboard Red Rover full time with their two shelter dogs, Zoe and Max. Their children were grown, and they’ve been cruising ever since. Last October, the Jeffries cruised down to Mexico; they went as far south as the far side of Puerto Vallarta before heading back to the Loreto in the…

MJM Launches New Zurn-Designed 38-foot Day Boat

By Peter Janssen on June 30, 2020 On Watch with Peter Janssen

MJM just announced that it’s entering the growing day boat market with a new 38-foot Dual Console 3z. It has the same Doug Zurn design that the company has used on all its Down East cruisers since it was started in 2002. In a webinar introducing the new boat, Peter Johnstone, the MJM chairman, said the new day boat is designed “to address the way people boat around the country. Our outboard boats enabled more people to enjoy our brand. This is the way people are boating today. We’ll always have our express cruisers as the core of our brand,…

New Hunt Ocean 63 Expedition Yacht Now in Rhode Island

By Peter Janssen on June 24, 2020 On Watch with Peter Janssen

The Hunt Ocean 63, the latest yacht to be launched by the Hinckley Company, has been commissioned at the company’s yard in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. With its iconic Hunt deep-V hull, the Ocean 63 is designed as an expedition yacht that will perform well in any sea conditions anywhere in the world. The new Hunt has the clean, classic lines that define the brand, with an aggressive bow, a long sheerline, and a low profile for a 63-foot flybridge yacht. It was designed by the C. Raymond Hunt Design studio in New Bedford, Massachusetts, which has been developing and refining…

Boat Sales Soaring This Summer, Reaction to Pandemic

By Peter Janssen on June 17, 2020 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Boating, it seems, is the perfect answer. In a time of COVID-19 crises and social distancing, taking to the water is an increasingly attractive proposition. At least that seems to be the case for a lot of people buying new and used boats. Across the country, many dealers are reporting near record boat sales for the past month or so. MarineMax in Quincy, Massachusetts, for example, says they sold 100 boats in May, a 30 percent increase from last year. In Clinton, Connecticut, John Benchimol, the owner of Harborside Marina and Yacht Sales, told WTNH that when the pandemic hit…

Why Are These Ships Running in Circles?

By Peter Janssen on June 8, 2020 On Watch with Peter Janssen

We all know that AIS (Automatic Identification System) is a major advance in boat navigation and safety. It shows the track of vessels underway throughout the world, and is used by thousands of commercial and recreational vessels. It adds a new level of safety, and displays the name and location of boats near you, even before they can see you. When it works. There is now reason to think that some vessels’ AIS systems have been hacked. The mystery is why, and who did it. The problem is that AIS tracks showed about a dozen ships traveling in circles near…

Bahamas Reopen to Boating on June 15

By Peter Janssen on June 3, 2020 Destinations, On Watch with Peter Janssen

Tourism officials in the Bahamas just announced a two-phase plan to reopen the islands to international travel. In Phase 1, recreational boats can return starting June 15; in Phase 2, the islands will be open to international air and ship travel starting July 1. Dionisio D’Aguilar, the Bahamas Tourism Minister, said that Phase 1 “is expected to see the opening of the tourism sector with the return of boaters, yachters, and private aviation being allowed to enter the destination. We are starting with these smaller special interest groups as they provide a more controlled segment. They all will pre-register electronically,…

Ray Hunt Designs New Yachts, New Hull Shape

By Peter Janssen on May 27, 2020 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Few names in American boating are more iconic than C. Raymond Hunt. After all, he designed the deep-V hull more than 60 years ago that has been regarded as the gold standard for offshore performance and safety ever since. So it’s news, big news, when his successors have made some adjustments now, creating a more efficient hull shape for today’s yachts with the goal of producing double-digit cruising speeds, under moderate power, while still retaining all the seakeeping abilities of the original. But Ray Hunt Design, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, has done exactly that, drawing a new Ray Hunt Design…

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