Author Archive: Editor
Tom Tripp is the Publisher and Editor of Oceanlines.biz and the sister website, MarineScienceToday.com.
70 Sunreef Power Cat Hull Mods Double Efficiency
Sunreef Yachts said last week that modifications it has made to the 70 Sunreef Power catamaran JAMBO have nearly doubled the yacht’s fuel efficiency. The fuel consumption on JAMBO dropped from 13 liters/hour/engine at 10 knots at 2,300 rpm, to 7.5 liters/hour/engine at 10 knots at only 1,500 rpm. The mods are a demonstration of [...]
Five Pocket Trawlers for Consideration
Call them pocket-trawlers or mini/pocket-tugs, the North Pacific Yachts 28’ Pilothouse, Nordic Tugs 26, Ranger Tugs 25SC, Minor Offshore 25, and Rosborough RF-246 have hardiness and efficiency in common. The terms “pocket trawler” and “pocket tug” don’t really have precise definitions, yet both connote a small, salty vessel that’s probably a jack-of-all-trades and won’t break [...]
Nobeltec: The Future Has No Dongle
I have seen the future of Nobeltec, and it has no. . . okay, okay, I couldn’t resist. But c’mon, let’s admit, that dongle was the only real thing we hated about Nobeltec navigation software. And yes, I know all the reasons they had for using it, but it really got in the way. And [...]
Passagemakers Aboard S/V Quest Killed by Pirates
Conflicting news reports this morning have agreed on one sad fact, that the four passagemakers aboard the S/V Quest, hijacked late last week by Somali pirates, are dead. The CBS report is HERE. The pirates reportedly told Reuters that they killed the hostages after their two commanders were killed by U.S. military forces shadowing the [...]
First Photos of New Island Pilot IP535
You saw it here first, folks. The first photos of Island Pilot’s new IP535. It’s a monster! And definitely an Island Pilot “fast trawler.” Island Pilot’s Reuben Trane confirms the boat will be on display at next week’s Miami Boat Show, so if you want to see one of the truly unique new boats out [...]
I Think I Want This on My Flybridge
Yeah, I know this photo is from a press release. But maybe it’s not just a cute demonstration. Maybe it’s actually an effective way to prove a marketing claim of dust- and waterproof capabilities. Nauticomp says it tests its marine LED-lit LCD displays to an IP67 ingress protection standard. The ’6′ in that designation indicates [...]
Victoria Allman Breaks-In a Trawler Galley
At last week’s Trawler Fest, our own favorite professional chef, Victoria Allman, treated a group of VIP guests of Kadey-Krogen to an evening of haute cuisine hors d’oeuvres (classy snacks). For two evenings, Victoria gave the gorgeous galley aboard the Krogen 55′ Expedition a workout. The Kadey-Krogen folks (author Shannon Band, actually) wrote about the [...]
What Would YOU Do With this Nordhavn 63 Helm?
The folks at Pacific Asian Enterprises just recently unloaded N63-01 from its freighter in Miami and brought it up to the Stuart completion center. It’s a beautiful boat; an evolution of the N55/60 hull with the aft pilothouse and overall look of the venerable N62 (but not quite the beam of that boat). In looking [...]
Fugawi Offers Avia Instrument Display Software
Fugawi announced today the availability of its new Avia Motor and Avia Sail instrument software. If you have NMEA 0183 or 2000 data streams, you can use this software to set up a nice monitor configuration that suits your preference. The software will read 0183 data via a standard serial port input, or using an [...]
New Website for C-Map by Jeppesen
Jeppesen, a Boeing company, said today it has launched a revamped website for its light marine business. The new look is clean and uncluttered and looks like it will be much easier to navigate. I’m a big fan of “white space” on websites. It allows your eye to quickly capture the most important information, and [...]
Ranger Tugs, Cutwater Buyers Can Get Garmin Factory-Installed
Fluid Motion, the company that builds Ranger Tugs and the new Cutwater fast pilothouse boats said this week it has a deal with Garmin to provide that company’s marine electronics as factory-installed packages on both lines of boats. Of course, if you don’t want Garmin gear, you can certainly order your boat without but I [...]
Looking for New Helm Displays? Nauticomp’s Genesis Might be Right
Nauticomp, the Ontario, Canada-based electronics manufacturer, is showing its new Genesis line of 15″ and 19″ sunlight-readable displays at the boat show circuit and if you’re in the market for new displays, they just might be the right solution. Marine display technology is gradually catching up to land-based consumer displays and these two Genesis units [...]
Navimatics Charts & Tides App Now Lets iPad, iPhone Update ActiveCaptain Data
Apple has just approved the latest update of the Navimatics Charts & Tides app so that iPhone and iPad users can update ActiveCaptain data from their devices. The update allows markets to be edited and reviews and comments to be added. The single license works on both an iPHone and IPad at the same time, [...]
The 50th Krogen 48′ Heralds an Ergonomic Makeover
Kadey-Krogen Yachts said yesterday that the 50th edition of its highly successful 48′ North Sea line is the first to sport a series of now-standard modifications that significantly improve liveability aboard a boat that was already highly regarded in the liveaboard community. The company took the opportunity to re-badge the boat as the “Krogen 48′ [...]
Minor Offshore has a New 28′ Cruiser
The Minor Offshore brand of Finland-built patrol/cruiser boats has introduced a new 28′ model that strikes a good balance between affordability and size — all packaged in a hardy, family-ready cruising boat. Represented in the U.S. by Skarne Marine, of Milford, Connecticut, the Minor Offshore boats could eventually become major players in the small-to-mid-size cruising [...]
Outer Reef to Represent Kadey-Krogen Internationally
Apparently Kadey-Krogen had visions of international sugar plums dancing in its corporate head this holiday season, because today they announced with Outer Reef an agreement to have OR represent Kadey-Krogen through all of OR’s “established international sales and service locations.” I’ll probably have more information over the next few weeks, but it’s clear the companies [...]
Raymarine Extends Warranties to Three Years for Registered Products
Raymarine, a division of FLIR Systems, said today it would offer a third year of warranty to owners who register their products online with the company. The standard two-year warranty otherwise applies. The third year is offered at no cost. The warranty upgrade is applicable to all new products purchased starting January 1, 2011. [...]
Sea Fare Winter 2010-2011 — Victoria Allman in the Galley
—Editor’s Note — Victoria Allman is the chef aboard a 143-foot megayacht and the author of the recently released “Sea Fare: A Chef’s Journey Across the Ocean.” This is the ninth in a series of periodic columns here on OceanLines featuring her irresistible recipes. Best of all for OceanLines readers, who are travelers of the [...]
Nord Star Offers New 24 Offshore Model with Outboard Power
Nord Star USA and Brewer Yacht Sales will be showing a new Nord Star 24 Offshore model from the Finnish boat builder at the New England Boat Show in late February. The boat features outboard propulsion but retains the salty pilothouse looks of its sister ships in the Nord Star Patrol line that runs all [...]
Marinalife Launches New Website
Marinalife, the online boating concierge and reservations service, has launched a new website, with a clean, nautical look that bodes well for the user experience. The company has also added a useful search function for back issues of the Marinalife Magazine, and its new blog. I did a quick test of the search function using [...]
Cutwater is New Brand of Fast Cruisers from Ranger Tugs Builder
Cutwater Boats is the new brand from Fluid Motion, LLC, the designers and builders of the popular Ranger Tugs. The first two models out of the yard in Monroe, Washington, will be the Cutwater 26 and Cutwater 28, express-style, diesel-powered fast cruisers capable of up to 25 knots. The company said Mark Mansfield has been [...]
2011 Ranger Tugs Rendezvous Set for Sept. 9-11
Following a successful 2010 owners’ rendezvous in Bremerton, Washington, this past September, Ranger Tugs has announced that the 2011 edition will take place September 9-11, 2011, again in Bremerton, at the Port of Bremerton Marina. Some 42 Ranger Tugs attended the fleet gathering this year, up a third over the previous year. Ranger Tugs are [...]
Beneteau’s New Sense 50
by Guest Author Zuzana Prochazka Editor’s Note — Zuzana Prochazka is an award-winning writer and editor and currently serves as the president of the Boating Writers International association. Her website, TalkoftheDock, is “the boater resource for gear, boat reviews and other topics related to cruising and general loafing about on the water. “ Oh yeah, [...]
Nordic Tugs Production Re-Starting
News this week from Nordic Tugs, Inc., that it has re-started production after a three-month hiatus during which most of the operational employees were laid off. Bob Shamek, who heads sales and marketing for Nordic Tugs, said workers were being recalled as the production processes ramp up. The company has a number of boats on [...]
Greenline 33 Shows How to Do Green
In a recent piece I did for Boats.com, I wrote that the new Greenline 33 cruiser is the real green deal. I saw and briefly tested the boat at the Annapolis Powerboat Show last fall and it truly impressed me. Here’s a quick rundown on the boat; for the full story, read the article at [...]
Dashew Offshore Working on FPB 112 Design
The Dashew Offshore designs, pioneered by Steve and Linda Dashew’s Wind Horse and the tens of thousands of miles under her keel, have been moving smartly forward recently, with the FPB 64 in production and now, the FPB 112 moving into detailed design and production. Wind Horse, the FPB 83 that served as the prototype [...]
Rough Weather Video
Yeah, I know I really shouldn’t be doing this. Showing rough-weather videos to boating junkies is like feeding the bears at Yellowstone. It’s not good for them. They want more. They will go to YouTube and spend (waste) hours looking at rough-water videos, then bad weather videos, then tornado videos, then videos of that cool [...]
First Verizon iPad NOT for Boaters
I’ve been pretty happy over the last couple of years with the quality of signal that I get on Verizon’s networks in the United States. I have not, however, been happy with their equipment — in particular their use of the term “GPS” to describe the cellular- and WiFi-derived position reporting. It is most [...]
North Pacific Yachts 43 is a Value Leader in Pilothouse Yachts
When I first wrote about the North Pacific Yachts 43 Pilothouse in March of 2009, I thought the model represented a good value for families looking for a roomier vessel to cruise on with the kids. On seeing the boat again at this year’s Annapolis Powerboat Show, I’d like to expand that view to mark [...]
SI-TEX and Jeppesen Offer a Deal to Boat Show Goers
SI-TEX and Jeppesen said today that attendees at key North American boat shows over the next several months who buy a new SI-TEX ColorMax or EC Series chartplotter and compatible C-Map by Jeppesen MAX electronic chart will receive a free Jeppesen PC-Planner home navigation planning tool (a $149 value). First, the show list: Fort Lauderdale [...]
