Browsing: Volvo

Boat Reviews
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Azimut Launches New 59-foot High-Tech, High-Style S6 Sport Cruiser

Azimut will launch its new high-style, high-tech, 59-foot S6 sport cruiser at the Cannes Yachting Festival starting Sept. 11. The latest in the Italian builder’s S series, the three-stateroom, two-head boat features the glazed hull surfaces and distinct bow cap that make the series easily recognizable. It also features carbon fiber construction and three Volvo 550-hp diesels with IPS700 pod drives for fuel efficiency, quiet cruising and fingertip-easy low-speed maneuvering around a dock. With an exterior by superyacht designer Stefano Righini, the Azimut S6 sports a low profile, highly raked windshield and equally low and raked radar arch. The interior…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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On Watch

The Leopolds Cruise Their Ranger Tug 27 Up the Inside Passage  to Alaska, All Three of Them (and Moxie) By Peter A. Janssen When Mark and Peggy Leopold drove a trailer with their 27-foot Ranger Tug out of their driveway in Anacortes, Washington, on June 2, heading for the launch ramp to start their 3,000 nm round-trip to Juneau, Alaska, they left the davit crane that they usually use to lift their daughter Nicole on board behind. Instead, given the uncertainty of docks they would be encountering along the way, they brought a two-person sling, with secure straps, to carry…

Boat Reviews
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Hunt Launches New 54 Express, Smallest in Its Prize-Winning Ocean Series

Hull number one of Hunt Yachts’ new 54 Express is just getting out of the test tank in Taiwan and is almost ready to ship. The smallest yacht in Hunt’s Ocean Series, which goes up to 84 feet, the new 54 Express carries all of Hunt’s legendary craftsmanship, elegant, clean lines, and the deep-V hull that has defined superior offshore performance for more than half a century. The new 54 has the same low profile, long sheer and classic looks that have made Hunts easily recognizable around the world. The first in this new series has a foam-green-colored hull, which…

Boat Reviews
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New Nimbus 405 Flybridge: A Stylish, Sophisticated, Swedish Cruiser with Volvo Performance

The new Nimbus 405 Flybridge is the latest iteration of the popular and prize-winning Nimbus 405 Coupe, adding space, an additional helm station and lots of entertaining room to the three-stateroom, two-head, Swedish-built, all-weather cruiser. The 405 Coupe was a hit when it was introduced three years ago, winning a Best of Boats Award and a nomination for European Powerboat of the Year. Nimbus is relatively new in the U.S., and it’s represented by Essex Yacht Sales in Connecticut on the East Coast and by Seattle Yachts on the West Coast. But the brand is well-established in Europe; it started…

Boat Reviews
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New Waypoint 36 Coming This Spring from American Tugs. A Solid, Two-Stateroom, Pilothouse Cruiser with an Appealing Price

The Tomco Marine Group, makers of American Tugs in La Conner, Washington, is launching an entirely new model called the Waypoint 36 later this spring. It is basically a new, lower-priced version of the American Tug 365, with two staterooms, one head, a 260-hp Volvo diesel and an introductory price of $350,000. The new Waypoint 36 uses the same hull and deck as the American Tug 365, but the interior will have more molded components and fewer options. The company says the idea is to build a more affordable, quality, trawler that can cruise up the Inside Passage to Alaska…

Boat Reviews
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Award-Winning Azimut S7: Lots of Innovation, Performance and Luxurious Italian Style. See the Video

The new, highly creative 70-foot, four-cabin Azimut S7 won the “European Power Boat of the Year” for over 45-foot yachts at the Dusseldorf show in January, recognizing its innovative features inside and out. Azimut used a lot of carbon in the S7, particularly in the superstructure, to keep the weight – and the CG – down, while triple Volvo IPS1050 pod drives propel the luxury-filled Italian-built cruiser to a 36-knot top speed. The exterior styling, by Stafano Reghii, gives the boat an aggressive low profile with a raked front windshield, aft-set flybridge, and diamond-shaped deckhouse windows that showcase the play…

Boat Reviews
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New Prestige 630S Will Launch in Miami, a 30-Knot Cruiser with Contemporary French Flair

The new, aggressively styled Prestige 630S with a light-filled interior and proud French pedigree will be launched in the U.S. at the Miami Yacht Show on Collins Avenue, starting Feb. 15. The newest in Prestige’s SportYacht lineup, the 630S has three cabins (plus a captain’s quarters) and a 24-knot cruising speed powered by twin 725-hp Volvos with IPS950 pod drives. Inside, the 630S has a clean, contemporary, European-styled salon, with luxurious settees and a dining table where guests can enjoy 360-degree views from windows all around. In addition, a large sliding glass sunroof lets in more light and fresh air…

Cruising Life
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The Favors Get Their New Ranger 29 and Start New Cruising Adventures

Jim and Lisa Favors from Traverse City, Michigan, are hardly new to cruising, or to Ranger Tugs, for that matter. They’ve been boating most of their lives and have completed the Great Loop once (plus many, many side trips), and they’ve trailered their red-hulled Ranger Tugs 27 Kismet all across the United States. But last winter they decided they wanted to move up a bit (and have room for visiting grandchildren), so they sold Kismet – and bought another Ranger Tug, this time a 29. They just took delivery of their new Ranger Tugs R29, also called Kismet, also with…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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On Watch

Volvo Turns to Outboards. Are Hybrids Next? Will your transom look like this, with a total of 2,508 horsepower coming from four Seven Marine outboards? Well, the answer is yes, if Volvo Penta has anything to say about it. Volvo just announced that it is entering the rapidly growing outboard market by buying the majority stake in Seven Marine, which Volvo Penta President Bjorn Ingemanson calls “the leader in the high-powered outboard market.” In a conference call, Ron Huibers, president of Volvo Penta of the Americas, said, “Now the idea is to make some of the most exciting outboards ever…

Engine Room
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Volvo Penta IPS 15: Lighter, More Efficient, More Maneuverable

I tested the very first Volvo IPS drive back in 2005, when the engine company put two of their pod drives in a Tiara 38 to see how they would work on a recreational boat. Pods, of course, had been used for years on commercial ships, but this was the first on an American production boat. With two Volvo engineers, I cruised from Sandusky, Ohio, on Lake Erie, up to St. Ignace, Michigan, next to the Mackinaw Bridge at the top of Lake Huron. The test, of course, was a home run. At the helm, we turned a joystick to…