On Watch with Peter Janssen

On Watch

By Peter Janssen on June 14, 2018 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Ranger Tug 25 Update: Nellie May Passes 4,000 Miles on Great Loop, Now in Erie Canal By Peter A. Janssen The beat goes on. Tim and Mary Kenyon have put more than 4,000 miles under the hull of their Ranger Tug 25 Nellie May since they left Illinois last Sept. 11, and now they’re cruising on the Erie Canal (see the picture, top). If all goes according to plan, they expect to cross their wake in Ottawa, Illinois, about half way between Chicago and Peoria, in early September. We last covered the Kenyons in February when they left Nellie May in Melbourne,…

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By Peter Janssen on June 7, 2018 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Fatigue and Outdated Watch System Caused Sinking of U.S. Tug in British Columbia, Investigation Says By Peter A. Janssen In a new report that resonates with all of us who go cruising, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said that fatigue, caused by the 6-on, 6-off watch system, was the major factor in the grounding and ultimate sinking of the 95-foot-long tug Nathan E. Stewart near Bella Bella, B.C. in October, 2016. The tug ran aground on Edge Reef on the Inside Passage, about 10 nm west of Bella Bella, just after 1 a.m. when the second mate, the only person on…

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By Peter Janssen on May 31, 2018 On Watch with Peter Janssen

After the Great Loop, the McVeys Keep on Cruising: “There is so much more to see.” By Peter A. Janssen Charlie and Robin McVey from Louisville, Mississippi, just don’t know how to quit. Indeed, they’ve been cruising on their 42-foot 1986 Jefferson Sundeck trawler The Lower Place most of the time since they retired more than two years ago. After a few break-in cruises, they started the Great Loop at 5 am on Oct. 23, 2016, and completed it 343 days later, passing through 17 states, the District of Columbia and parts of the Bahamas and Canada. Back at their…

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By Peter Janssen on May 24, 2018 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Larry Polster Finally Takes His New Kadey-Krogen 50 Cruising in the Bahamas: “Damn, We Nailed This” By Peter A. Janssen For Larry Polster, a vice president and partner of Kadey-Krogen Yachts, this cruise has been a long time coming. Indeed, it started more than two years ago when Polster put in his order for hull number one of the new Kadey-Krogen 50 Open series; he wanted it for his personal boat so he and his wife Janet could go cruising again. The Polsters were intimately involved in every aspect of the new build, inspecting it in the factory in Taiwan,…

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By Peter Janssen on May 17, 2018 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Unlawful Search, Part 3. A Lot of You Wrote Us About Your Own Experiences Being Stopped and Searched for No Apparent Reason. Are These a Violation of Your Fourth Amendment Rights? By Peter A. Janssen We have written two stories now about the case of a Lake Erie boat owner whose 23-foot boat was searched by a Pennsylvania Fish and Game Commission officer who gave him a citation with a $75 fine for having only four life jackets for the five people on board. The boat owner, Frederick Karash, 37, fought the fine in court, saying the search violated his…

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By Peter Janssen on May 10, 2018 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Unlawful Search Part 2. Can Local Officials Stop and Search Your Boat, Even If They Have No Reason To Think You’ve Done Anything Wrong? Or Are They Violating Your Fourth Amendment Rights? What Do You Think? By Peter A. Janssen Last week we wrote about Frederick Karash, 37, of North East, Pennsylvania, who was fishing with four friends on his 23-foot boat in Lake Erie two years ago when he was stopped by an officer with the Pennsylvania Fish and Game Commission who checked to see everyone had fishing licenses. They did, but the officer then conducted a safety inspection…

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By Peter Janssen on May 3, 2018 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Lake Erie Boater Fights $75 Fine for Missing PFD, Says State Violated His Fourth Amendment Rights By Peter A. Janssen Here’s a court case that challenges our thinking about our constitutional right against unlawful search and seizure vs the enforcement of standard boating safety. But first, the facts: On May 23, 2016, Frederick W. Karash, 37, of North East, Pennsylvania, was fishing with four friends on Lake Erie on his 23-foot boat. At 7:30 p.m. James Smolko, an officer with the Pennsylvania Fish and Game Commission, who was patrolling the lake, stopped Karash’s boat to check for fishing licenses. After…

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By Peter Janssen on April 26, 2018 On Watch with Peter Janssen

After 48,350 Miles, Mystic Moon Cruises to Japan and Needs Help from Google Translator By Peter A. Janssen As even the most experienced long-range cruisers can attest, when you’re in foreign ports it helps to have a sense of humor, a lot of patience, and a handy Google Translator. At least that’s been the case for John and Kathy Youngblood on their 2004 Selene 53 Mystic Moon during their stay at Marinoa Marina in Fukuoka, Japan. But to start at the beginning… In 2003, the Youngbloods went to the Seattle boat show with the idea that they wanted to cruise around the…

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By Peter Janssen on April 19, 2018 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Aspen Power Cats Working on Two New Cruisers with Outboard Power, but Same Proa Hulls By Peter A. Janssen Aspen Power Catamarans is working on two new outboard-powered cruising boats, a first for the company, but they still will have Larry Graf’s innovative asymmetrical proa hulls. They also will be Aspen’s first twin-engine cruisers, and they join a growing trend to outboard power for cruising boats up to the 50-foot range. The new Aspens will start with a 3070 and a 3480 (pictured above). The 3070 will have a 200-hp outboard on the cat’s larger starboard hull providing the main…

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By Peter Janssen on April 12, 2018 On Watch with Peter Janssen

Maine Builder Back Cove Planning Its First Outboard-Powered Boat, a 34O, with Twin 300-hp Yamahas By Peter A. Janssen There’s big news this week from Back Cove, the Maine company that’s been building single-engine, diesel-powered cruising boats since 2003: It is now working on the Back Cove 34O, and the O stands for outboard power, as in two 300-hp Yamahas. The boat will be ready for sea trials in August and will make an appearance at the fall shows. This is a big change for Back Cove, which is part of Sabre, and an acknowledgement that the market, even for…

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