Friday, April 25

Browsing: On Watch with Peter Janssen

One Monday, September 9, at the Cannes Boat Show in the South of France, French catamaran builder Fountaine Pajot announced that they will expand their partnership with French power-boat builder Couach to create an entirely new line of cruising power cats to be called the Code 07 series. Fountaine Pajot has become one of the largest catamaran builders in the world with over 4,000 cats launched and now employing over 1,000 skilled craftsmen in their ever expanding French facilities. Couach began building boats in 1897 in France, developed some of the first marine engines and has since developed a worldwide…

The Newport International Boats Show, known in the trade as NIBS, kicks off next week and runs from September 12 to 15. The show is the first big in-the-water show of the fall and has a wide cross section of boats from every niche of the market. Every year, we take the opportunity to highlight some of our favorites. This is a subjective list and focuses on owner-operated power cruisers that fit with the family cruising lifestyle. That’s what Cruising Odyssey is all about. So, here are 11 boats, new and recently new, that caught our eye. Back Cove 39O…

This month, Tiara Yachts of Holland, Michigan, announced the introduction of the all new 56 LS Luxury Sport cruiser with four 600-horsepower Mercury  Verado V-12s on it transom.  The new 56 will join the 43 and 48LS in the builder’s outboard sport line Weighing in at 39,000 pounds and with a dead rise of 21 degrees in the deep V hull, the new 56 will be both very quick and provide a truly soft ride through chop and larger waves. The addition of an optional SeaKeeper stabilizer will add to that sense of stability. The 56 is designed for indoor-outdoor…

One of the lead news stories of the week was the tragic and somewhat baffling capsize and sinking of the 183-foot yacht Bayesian near Porticello, Sicily, with the loss of seven souls. Fortunately, 15 of the 22 people on board survived. The consensus among Italian officials has solidified on the likelihood that the yacht was hit by a very local and very powerful waterspout that forced it over onto its side leading to massive flooding and ultimately, in minutes, to its sinking into 180 feet of water. Everyone has the same question: How could this have happened?  I have cruised…

Here’s some good news. Hunt Yachts of Portsmouth, RI, has introduced the design for a new 56-footer in their Ocean series. The Hunt Associates design, with its patented Deep-V hull, includes all of the classic qualities that have made Hunt Yachts renown for their superb seakeeping abilities in all weather, high cruising speeds and elegant fit and finish. The 56 joins the Ocean 63, 68 and 76. The 56, which is in the final stages of the design process, will be offered with either a flybridge or as a coupe. The flybridge model will have a hard top for protection…

This week, Hinckley Yachts, which is celebrating both its 100th year in business and the 30th anniversary of the first Picnic Boat, announced the launch of the new Picnic Boat 39, the first model in the line with forward seating. The new model offers owners and guests an unique boating and social environment in the three distinct but adjoined seating areas – the cockpit, helm area and now the forward lounge—which are perfect for entertaining family and friends. The access to the forward seating area has been ingeniously engineered with a sliding window mechanism that easily and conveniently opens the…

This week, Jeff Druek, President and CEO of Outer Reef Yachts, announced the introduction of the new, re-engineered Outer Reef 650 Classic Motoryacht, which is the smallest model in the company’s M Class yachts. Druek noted that the 650’s sistership, the 700 Classic Motoryacht, has long been the most popular model in the series. Yet, he and his team had often heard from owners and customers the need for a smaller version. “For those who desire the attributes of the 700 in a smaller yacht,” he said, “whether due to slip size, itinerary restrictions, handling preferences, and more, Outer Reef…

Now, here’s something new from the market disrupters at Uber. Uber Europe, which pioneered facilitating Uber users to book yachts for day trips or more, announced this month that the service would be expanded to deluxe resort areas in Ibiza, Venice, Paris and Greece. A typical Uber Yacht experience in Ibiza would get you and up to seven friends aboard a private Sunseeker for eight hours of touring the island as well as swimming and other water sports. It would  cost $1,600 for the day and comes with a complimentary bottle of champagne. Uber also noted that the ride sharing…

This year, Tiara Yachts has many reasons for celebration. The family owned and run company is marking the 50th anniversary of the Tiara brand and the new Tiara 54 EX, introduced at the 2024 Miami show, was named a Top Product by Boating Industry magazine. Tiara, based in Holland, Michigan, was launched by Leon Slikkers in 1974 as a premium powerboat brand. It soon became one of America’s leading lines of center consoles and weekenders. Tiara was not the first brand introduced by Leon Slikkers. He learned the boat building trade while working at Chris Craft in the early 1950s…

Peter Janssen is absent from On Watch this week for the first time in almost eight years. He has retired at the venerable age of 88. As the co-founder and editor of the newsletter, he produced 400 editions and wrote more than four thousand articles. For a seasoned journalist, that is a lot. For a man already in his eighties when we founded Cruising Odyssey, the achievement is legendary. So, as I take the helm and steer Cruising Compass into its next chapter, I want to offer Peter my gratitude and appreciation for all he did and all he does.…

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