On Watch with Peter Janssen

Cheoy Lee Yachts Marks 150 Years of Continuous Boatbuilding

By George Day on June 19, 2025 Cruising Life, On Watch with Peter Janssen, On Watch With Peter Janssen

In the world of yacht building, Cheoy Lee stands alone as the oldest continuous builder of boats, yachts, ships and working craft. This year, the company, which has been owned and run by the same family since its founding, is celebrating 150 years in business. Now managed by the fourth and fifth generations, the company is marking the anniversary with several striking and innovative new designs. At Australia’s Sanctuary Cove Boat show in May, the brand new CLB 65 SUV (above) was launched as part of the expanding B Series line of boats. Martin Lo, a fourth-generation director of the…

Spacious, Fast, Marex 310 Sun Cruiser Sea Trial

By George Day on June 12, 2025 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life, On Watch with Peter Janssen, On Watch With Peter Janssen

It was a beautiful day for a boat ride. On Wednesday this week, the rain that had covered the Northeast on Tuesday moved out to sea, leaving us a warm and sunny afternoon to take the new Marex 310 Sun Cruiser out for a spin on Long Island Sound. I met Hal Slater and Dan Trusty of Brewer Yacht Sales at their offices at Safe Harbor Marina in Westbrook Connecticut, the yard known for years as Pilot’s Point. Hal is the president and owner of Brewer Yacht Sales and has decades of experience in marine brokerage and new boat sales.…

New Krogen 60 Open Long-Range Voyager Does It All

By George Day on June 5, 2025 On Watch with Peter Janssen, On Watch With Peter Janssen

The new Krogen 60 Open was introduced at the Palm Beach boat show earlier this spring and proved to be a real show-stopper. The 60 Open is simply huge and offers all the space and accommodation a family might need for extended living aboard and far-flung adventures. While the 60 Open carries all of the Krogen trawler DNA, the new design has really pushed the envelope on the size of the living and working spaces. It looks and feels like a much bigger boat. The afterdeck is truly an outside living room with a hard cover for sun and rain…

Reintroducing Silent Yachts

By George Day on May 23, 2025 Boat Reviews, On Watch with Peter Janssen, On Watch With Peter Janssen

Silent Yachts is the first boat builder to have a boat cross the Atlantic Ocean using only solar powered electric motors. This is no small feat and proves that the original concepts behind the Silent catamaran designs and technology are sound. But, the business in 2022 and 2023 became a victim of its own success and adverse market forces. It simply outgrew its ability to deliver boats and ended up in receivership. As has happened numerous times in the past, one of the owners of a boat yet to be completed stepped in and bought the company. The new owner,…

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…

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