Browsing: Down East boats

Cruising Life
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Wilbur Introduces New 37 Weekender with Twin Outboards and a 48-Knot Top End

Here’s a big change for Wilbur Yachts, the traditional builder of Down East boats in Southwest Harbor, Maine. Lee Wilbur started the company in 1973 and built more than 200 classic lobster boats there over the years, working with such iconic boating names as Jarvis Newman, Ralph Stanley, Ralph Ellis and Raymond Bunker, among others. In 2001, Wilbur sold the company to his daughter, Heidi, and her husband, John Kachmar, who’ve been running it ever since. Now Kachmar has come up with an entirely new look for Wilbur – a Wilbur 37 Weekender.  Powered by twin 425-hp Yamaha outboards, the…

Boat Reviews
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First Look at New, Outboard-Powered Back Cove 34O Running at 39 Knots. See the Video

Here’s a first look at the brand-new Back Cove 34O running with twin 350-hp Suzukis. The first outboard Back Cove (and the first twin-engine Back Cove), this new made-in-Maine cruiser topped out at a rapid pace of 39 knots right out of the box. It is still being tweaked, and will make its first public appearance at the Newport International Boat Show starting Sept. 13. The boat represents a major breakthrough for Back Cove, which has been building single-engine, diesel-powered cruisers since 2003. It is based on the Back Cove 32, a classic Down East couple’s boat, which was named…

Boat Reviews
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Hinckley Launches New Picnic Boat 40, the Largest Yet, but with Same Iconic Lines and Appeal

Hinckley just launched its all-new Picnic Boat 40, the largest Picnic Boat yet, with sea trials off Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard on the weekend before the Fourth of July. With a hull designed by the highly acclaimed Michael Peters, the new Picnic Boat retains all the drop-dead iconic Down East looks and waterjet performance that have made the brand famous around the world. The new layout in the 40 offers a seamless flow from the transom to the helm, with large social areas, a wet bar, overhead protection from Sureshade and great visibility, whether you’re sitting at the helm or…

Cruising Life
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Reliant Builds New Creative Luxury 40-Foot Tender that Does Just About Everything

So far, Reliant Yachts has specialized in making classic Down East-style cruisers like the Reliant 40, a traditional boat with a long sheer, low profile and gorgeous tumblehome. But the company, launched by two of the most respected names in the business, David MacFarlane, the former president and CEO of Alden, Cal, Ranger and Rampage, and Jim Ewing, the former VP of Alden and president of Trumpy, is nothing if not creative. Indeed, take a look at their newest project, the X40L, a Swiss Army-knife approach to yachting that’s part tender and part SUV on the water. “When yacht builders…

Boat Reviews
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Ellis 40 Bowrider Express: A New Approach for a Traditional Down East Boat

You usually don’t think of “lobster boat” and “bowrider” in the same sentence. But now Ellis Boat, which has been building lobster boats (and “lobster yachts”) in Southwest Harbor, Maine, since 1947, has put the two together in its new 40-foot Ellis Bowrider Express. And despite the new seating in the bow, the boat remains true to its heritage. “It’s a fantastic vessel,” says Shane Ellis, the grandson of the company’s founder. “It has a traditional bottom, but with a custom seat on top. We’re a custom builder. We built this for a client who wanted a seat for the…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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On Watch

We Test New MJM 35Z with Twin Outboards. WOW! By Peter A. Janssen It was a Chamber of Commerce summer morning when we headed out of Newport Shipyard on Zinnia, hull number one of the new MJM 35Z, with a beautiful light blue sky, the wind coming in from the ocean at an easy 15 knots or so, the waves on Narragansett Bay just about two feet with gentle, breaking, white foam on top. Leaving the dock, Bob Johnstone, the founder of MJM Yachts (and J/Boats before that), turned the teak joystick under his left hand and walked the boat…

Boat Reviews
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We Test the New MJM 35Z with Twin Outboards. WOW!

It was a Chamber of Commerce summer morning when we headed out of Newport Shipyard on Zinnia, hull number one of the new MJM 35Z, with a beautiful light blue sky, the wind coming in from the ocean at an easy 15 knots or so, the waves on Narragansett Bay just about two feet with gentle, breaking, white foam on top. Leaving the dock, Bob Johnstone, the founder of MJM Yachts (and J/Boats before that), turned the teak joystick under his left hand and walked the boat sideways, the twin 300-hp Mercury Verado outboards pushing the boat in any direction…

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