Browsing: Volvo

Engine Room
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Volvo’s New Key Fob: Power Up Your Boat from 100 Yards Away

Volvo is continuing to make boating easier. At the Fort Lauderdale show the Swedish company introduced its 8-liter diesel engine and its matched IPS pod drive to the United States market for the first time. They are designed primarily for cruising boats in the 30- to 45-foot range (we wrote about these a few months ago). Also new is Volvo’s key fob for powering up your boat before you even climb on board; indeed, you can be standing as far as 100 yards away. You can use the remote key fob to switch on the battery, turn on the deck…

Boat Reviews
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Leader 46: An Innovative Flagship with French Flair

The flagship of the Leader fleet, the new 46 has lots of innovative touches, French lines, and Volvo performance (either with sterndrives or IPS), which all combine to make it an appealing contemporary cruiser. No wonder the Leader 46 by Jeanneau has been nominated for the European Boat of the Year award. When I was on the boat, I particularly liked the cockpit galley with the grill opening aft; you stand on the wide teak swim platform, facing your guests, and fire up the barbeque. (There’s also a traditional galley below.) Another appealing touch: The forward-facing mate’s bench seat to…

Boat Reviews
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Ranger Tugs 31 CB: A Trailerable Cruising Flagship

The flagship of the Ranger Tugs fleet, starting at 21 feet, the new Ranger R-31 CB (for Command Bridge) is trailerable, meaning you could cruise one part of the Great Loop, say, this summer, bring the boat back home and start off where you left off next year. And you probably won’t have to worry too much about highway bridges. The flybridge folds down to reduce air draft on a trailer to 13’2”; you just unlock the canvas cowling, drop the inner supports and fold it flat. Ranger Tugs are run by the father-son team of David and John Livingston…

Boat Reviews
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Palm Beach 65: Stunning Looks – and Performance

The Newport show will be the U.S. debut of the Palm Beach 65, which is made in the joint Palm Beach/Grand Banks factory in Malaysia. A luxurious – and beautiful – three-stateroom, three-head boat designed by world champion sailor Mark Richards, the Palm Beach 65 can be ordered with Volvo IPS pod drives or with straight shafts. This particular boat is powered by Volvo D-13 900-hp diesels with shaft drives; bow and stern thrusters make maneuvering easy. I tested this boat recently on Long Island Sound and it topped out at 30.2 knots; the ride was remarkable with the bow…

Boat Reviews
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Nordic Tugs 40: Prize-Winning Cruiser

The new Nordic Tugs 40 just won the People’s Choice Award at the Newport International Boat Show. The award, voted on by people attending the show, said the boat has a “combination of comfort, luxury and performance, featuring direct access to the flybridge from the pilot house, a starboard-side boarding door in the cockpit, a large pilot house with seating for six, a spacious salon layout and a mid-stateroom boasting two large bunks with a lower double.” The Nordic Tugs 40 is an updated version of the popular Nordic Tugs 39, with some improvements from stem to stern to make…

Boat Reviews
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Nordic Tug 26: A Classic Pocket Cruiser

When it was first introduced at the Seattle boat show in 1980, the Nordic Tug 26 was an instant hit; at an introductory price of $29,995 (including a refundable $1,000 deposit), the company sold 37 at the show and 54 by the end of the month. A single-diesel cruiser with a 36-hp Volvo and a faux smokestack, the Nordic Tug 26 had a lot of character. Some 200 have been sold since then, to owners who want to do the Great Loop, the Inside Passage or just the next cove on a Saturday afternoon. The 26 now is powered by…

Engine Room
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Volvo’s New Engines, IPS Drives and Joysticks for Cruising Boats

Volvo Penta has good news for cruising powerboat owners. It just introduced a new D8 diesel engine for boats in the 45- to 55-foot range, larger IPS pod drives for that engine, and new joystick controls for traditional shaft drives, all under the company’s theme of “Easy Boating.” The new D8 diesel is designed for both IPS and inboard shaft drives, giving cruising powerboat owners a broader selection of power systems. The D8 is an eight-liter, six-cylinder, inline diesel; it’s new to the recreational boating market, although it’s been used in Volvo trucks and buses for the past three years.…

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