On Watch with Peter Janssen

The True North 39 is a Modern American Classic

By George Day on May 9, 2025 On Watch with Peter Janssen, On Watch With Peter Janssen

The True North brand was initially developed by Pearson Yachts in Rhode Island but was acquired by Catalina Yachts a few years ago and the two boats they build, the 34 and 39, have gone through a complete re-engineering. The new 39 that was launched last summer is an evolution of the successful 38. The 38 was an inboard-powered Down East-style express cruiser with a single owner’s cabin. The new 39 is similar in many ways but Catalina has changed the inboard for three Mercury Verado outboards. The 39 has a lot to like. This is a sensible American-built cruiser…

On 85th Anniversary of Operation Dynamo, 75 ‘Little Ships’ to Return to Dunkirk

By George Day on May 1, 2025 On Watch with Peter Janssen, On Watch With Peter Janssen

In May of 1940, at the start of World War Two, the British Expeditionary force that had been transported to France to fight the invading Nazi army, was quickly overwhelmed and driven back to the shores of the English Channel. What followed was one of the most heroic civilian efforts ever undertaken in a time of war. The call went out to boat owners across England to register with the British Admiralty and to join what would become the mass evacuation of the British army from Dunkirk, France to England. This month, 75 of those Little Ships as they became…

J Craft’s Pursuit of Timeless Perfection

By George Day on April 24, 2025 On Watch with Peter Janssen, On Watch With Peter Janssen

Since 1999, the Swedish builder J Craft has been building classic ultra-luxury speedboats on an island near Gotland. Their 42-foot Torpedo is a hand-made collector’s item that evokes La Dolce Vita from the Riviera and the Gatsby Days on Long Island, New York. Torpedos have advanced, cored-fiberglass hulls and classic mahogany decks that are finished with 18 coats of hand-rubber lacquer and varnish. Her leather seats and bolsters are made from the finest leather and hand-stitched to perfection. At the end of a dock the boat shines like a precious jewel. But, with Swedish DNA –think sea-going Vikings—each Torpedo is…

Regent Craft Sea Trials Prototype of the All-Electric Viceroy Seaglider

By George Day on March 28, 2025 Cruising Life, On Watch with Peter Janssen, On Watch With Peter Janssen

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.…

Marex Launches in USA at Palm Beach Boat Show This Week

By George Day on March 20, 2025 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life, On Watch with Peter Janssen, On Watch With Peter Janssen

The Norwegian builder of fine family cruisers has a fleet of its unique and innovative designs at the Palm Beach International Boat Show this week as they launch Marex USA with American partner Chris Hughes. In the fleet at Palm Beach, the Marex 330 Scandinavian is a perfect example of what makes the Marex line so special. First of all, at 35-feet overall, the 330 packs a huge amount of living space and relaxing areas into a relatively compact envelope. This is accomplished in a number of subtle ways. The hull form has full sections forward and fairly high freeboard…

Hinckley Feeds the Need for Speed, Introduces 53-knot 41 Outboard

By George Day on March 13, 2025 Cruising Life, On Watch with Peter Janssen, On Watch With Peter Janssen

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…

Stylish, New Grand Banks 62 to Debut at Palm Beach Show

By George Day on March 6, 2025 Cruising Life, On Watch with Peter Janssen, On Watch With Peter Janssen

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…

USS United States Nears Destination in Alabama. Track Progress

By George Day on February 27, 2025 Cruising Life, On Watch With Peter Janssen, On Watch with Peter Janssen

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…

La Dolce Vita Inspires the New Pardo Endurance 72

By George Day on February 13, 2025 On Watch with Peter Janssen

The Italian builder of futuristic day and cruising boats has launched the new Pardo Endurance 72 and it seems the concept from the start was to emphasize the good life, la dolce vita. Designed by BURDISSOCAPPONI Yachts & Design, the new Pardo exudes Italian styling just as does a Lamborghini or an Armani suit. It will premiere in the United States at the Palm Breach Boat show in March. For Americans, we either love this kind of modern styling or not. But there is little question that Pardo Yachts are distinctive, and their look is sexy, modern and, in a…

Hull Number One of New Helmsman 46 Trawler Hits the Water

By George Day on February 13, 2025 On Watch with Peter Janssen, On Watch With Peter Janssen

Helmsman Trawlers, based in Seattle, Washington, has built a reputation for designing and building true American-style trawlers for adventurous cruisers, cruisers who want the range to go far and wide and the seakeeping comfort of a semi-displacement trawler hull. Recently, Helmsman launched hull number one of their all new 46 and the new design, while very much bearing the builder’s family resemblance, is strikingly handsome, with a trim flying bridge and hard top, reversed raked windshields in the pilothouse and a sheer that really evokes a trawler heritage. Helmsman’s founder and CEO Scott Helker commented to me during a recent…

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