New Fugawi Marine5 Screenshot

Northport Systems announced that its newest marine navigation software, Fugawi Marine 5, will be available at the end of March for new purchase and upgrade from Fugawi Marine ENC. According to the company, Fugawi Marine 5 takes advantage of the latest Windows technology, including a touch-screen control optimized for use with Win 7 and 8 tablets.

New Fugawi Marine5 Screenshot

Northport Systems said the new software includes several specific new features including:

• Marine Touch™ — touch-screen control optimized for use with Win 7 and 8 touchscreen tablets.
• ClearChart™ — “ultra fast, smooth and brilliantly clear chart presentation.”
• SurePlanner™ — “simple, intuitive and efficient route and waypoint planning.”
• ClearDash — “instrument display for sophisticated and versatile instrumentation that integrates with the Actisense NGT-1 NMEA 2000® gateway or stand-alone instruments via NMEA 0183.”

Here’s a link to the full press release, which has lots of specific details about supported file formats, chart compatibility  and instrument display options.  It looks like a great package for cruisers using PC navigation and planning, especially since the user license explicitly allows the software to be installed on two different PCs, say one at home for planning and one aboard for navigation.

Copyright © 2012 by OceanLines LLC.  All rights reserved.

New Ranger Tugs 31' Layout

New Ranger Tugs 31' Rendering

I’ll include the text of the company’s press release below because it’s fact-heavy and promotion-moderate, but a few thoughts of my own first.  The R31 extends the fleet logically and will allow current and future Ranger Tugs owners to stay with the brand as their size requirements grow.  This is something of a Holy Grail for boat brands; a model lineup that allows the brand to keep its customers as their needs change.  The R31 includes a flybridge, which is new for the brand and will undoubtedly appeal to buyers in sunnier climes, while retaining the all-weather flexibility of the pilothouse helm station.

Here’s the press copy from Ranger Tugs:

“Kent, WA—Fluid Motion, LLC, the designers and builders of the popular line of Ranger Tugs have introduced the newest model in the fleet—the Ranger 31. The new R31 will debut this month at the Seattle Boat Show in the Stadium Exhibition Center, January 26-Feburary 5. Hull #2 is expected to make the East Coast debut at the Miami International Boat Show, February 16-20 at Sea Isle Marina on Biscayne Bay.

The R31 shares many of the features and qualities of her smaller sisterships but some notable additions to this larger model make her ideal for extended cruising while still being a trailerable trawler. The R31 is the first Ranger Tug to feature a flybridge equipped with electronic controls at both the upper and lower helm. The flybridge also retracts to allow for trailering the 31’. The builders at Ranger Tugs also equipped the foredeck with seating and a table that can be raised or lowered depending on whether the boat is under way or at anchor or dock for entertaining. In addition to the extra seating now available on the flybridge and foredeck the 31’ allows for a larger cockpit area with wraparound seating and extra seating that folds out of the gunwale. When not entertaining, seats are folded leaving the cockpit unencumbered.

The interior layout of the R31 features two staterooms—one large island berth forward with en suite head and a midship berth and day head. Those who are familiar with Ranger Tugs models will recognize the galley layout and lower helm station that maximize interior space. A starboard side door provides easy access from the lower helm to the side decks so crew can get to the bow for line handling.

“We’ve been working on the R31 for the last year,” shares Jeff Messmer, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Ranger Tugs. “While we do have owners that are eager to upgrade to a larger model, the R31 allows us to introduce Ranger Tugs to a set of boaters who prefer a mid-size cruising trawler. We’ve done well with our trailerable trawlers and we continue to increase sales of the R21, R25SC, R27 and R29. The R31 will help us grow even more.”

Like all Ranger Tugs, the new R31 comes essentially turnkey with standard features and equipment intended to make her owner’s experience hassle-free and allow for ease of handling and comfort under way. Standard equipment includes bow and stern thrusters, an optional aft steering station and a Volvo D4 300hp engine that achieves a 16 knot cruise speed.

Ranger Tugs are built at a dedicated facility in Kent, WA, where the company now also offers a new Factory Delivery program and a Destination Training Cruise for new owners. The first R31 will debut in Seattle Jan. 26-Feb. 5 and will be offered at a base price of $279,937. Ranger Tugs is now taking orders for the first R31s and the first boats will begin to ship to dealers this spring.

For more information, visit www.rangertugs.com or call 253-839-5213.”

 

Ranger Tugs 31 (R31) Specifications

LOA molded                                          31’

LOA rigged (with swim & pulpit)            35’2”

Beam                                                     10’0”

Draft                                                       28”

Fuel Capacity                                        180 U.S. gallons

Water capacity                                       80 U.S. gallons

Holding tank capacity                            40 U.S. gallons

Weight (Dry)                                          10,500              .

Engine                                                   Volvo D4 300hp

Copyright © 2012 by OceanLines LLC. All rights reserved.

Construction Update photo of new Nordhavn 120 Megayacht

Pacific Asian Enterprises, Inc., today passed along a new collection of informal photos updating the construction progress of the new Nordhavn 120.  The new-design megayacht will become the new queen of the Nordhavn fleet sometime late this year.  According to PAE,

“Work continues on the first hull of the future queenship of the Nordhavn line: the Nordhavn 120. The latest photos released by the South Coast factory last week illustrate progress on various interior sections of the N120. Evident are the glossy build-up coats of varnish on the cherry wood which will serve to prime the satin finish that the owners have chosen for the woodwork. ‘Even in its unfinished state, the boat is so impressive,’ notes Project Manager Trever Smith.”

Check out the updated Nordhavn 120 photo gallery below.

Copyright © 2012 by OceanLines LLC.  All rights reserved.

ActiveCaptain logo

ActiveCaptain.com, the crowd-sourced database of local navigation and cruising knowledge, has been expanding its offerings over the last couple of months with some significant new capabilities.  The two most important, in my view, involve route-sharing and an allied site devoted to captain reviews of boating-related services.  Here’s a quick rundown on some of the new developments.

ActiveCaptain

Route sharing is now active in the Interactive Cruising Guidebook section of the ActiveCaptain website.  Several thousand pre-plotted routes, posted by ActiveCaptain community members, are available.  They’re saved in a file format (GPX) that is compatible with most updated navigation products.  There are several different ways of searching and exploring routes which make it easy to both find something specific and just browse interesting places.  Route sharing is a logical extension of the original premise of ActiveCaptain, which is to take advantage of that huge database of “local knowledge” that exists in the boat cruising community.  Highly recommended!  Upload your own routes to contribute to the community and explore more at the website.

One other thing to note is the number of external software/hardware packages that now support ActiveCaptain.  The total is up to 14 and includes some of the most well-known nav packages, as well as tablets and smartphones using all the major operating systems.  I use Nuticharts Lite  on my Android-powered Droid X.  Catch up with the latest on this page.

CaptainRated logo

CaptainRated

This is the related website that takes advantage of that same knowledge universe, but this time captures data on services not necessarily tied to a specific chart location.  As an example, the first categorites open for contribution — others will open over the next year — include boat brokers, surveyors and transporters.  Future categories include products, resources and retail organizations.  There’s a good load of initial information in the database and room for an infinite number of captain contributions, all conforming to the same factual, honest format of the original ActiveCaptain chart-related knowledge base.  Check out CaptainRated and let other boaters take advantage of your experiences with the services we all rely on for our boats and cruising.

Copyright © 2011 by OceanLines LLC.  All rights reserved.

The first Kadey-Krogen 52' shown running at no-wake speed after arrival in Seattle

The first Kadey-Krogen 52′ arrived in the U.S. in time for the recent Seattle Boat Show and made her public debut there. The timing was so tight that the Kadey-Krogen team hadn’t had a chance to really begin the commissioning process, so in many of these photos you will see a fairly bare interior. I happen to like seeing it like this since I can use my imagination to decorate and outfit to my own taste.

Some things to notice:

• The fabulous galley, including the Viking range and oven. I need to invite my superyacht chef friend Victoria Allman to come and play in this lovely workspace.
• The office space below decks, which, in this two-stateroom configuration, really opens up the lower area with a functional, flexible area for work, navigation planning, and normal household management chores.
• The expansive helm/dash setup. There’s room here for multiple big-screen displays so you can take advantage of all the latest technology, including monitoring, networked navigation and other sensors, and provide redundancy and flexibility. There is also plenty of room for two helm chairs; a feature I really like for longer passages.
• The engine room has lots of space in which to work, especially with the standard single John Deere 6068AFM75, a continuous duty 231hp engine. Plenty of lighting and sturdy grab rails make those regular engine room checks underway more comfortable and safer.

Check out the photos in the gallery below.

Copyright © 2011 by OceanLines LLC.  All rights reserved.

Instrument Panel Photo of Cruise Ship Carnival Pride during Hurricane Irene -- Photo courtesy of Bill Band

A fascinating blog entry yesterday on the Kadey-Krogen Yachts website recounts the Hurricane Irene experience of Chesapeake ship pilot Bill Band, father of Shannon Band, KKY’s marketing manager.  Band was one of two pilots who took the 960-foot Carnival Pride out of the Port of Baltimore and into the Bay to ride out the hurricane.  Just check out the wind-speed reading on the instrument display photo above, taken by Band during the storm.  Yikes.

It’s a fascinating story about modern ship handling and heavy weather strategy that should interest any captain who has wondered how he or she would fare at sea in a tropical cyclone.  The scale of everything in this story is larger than what most of us deal with every day, but many of the experiences hold similar in principle.

Have a look at the blog entry from Pilot Band on the Kadey-Krogen website.  There are some other impressive photos there, too.

If you were at sea during Irene, or any other major storm, we’d love to hear about your own experiences in the comments.

Copyright © 2011 by OceanLines LLC.  All rights reserved.

Kadey-Krogen 52' First Hull Port Quarter View -- Photo: Kadey-Krogen Yachts

Kadey-Krogen has released the first photos of the nearly complete first Krogen 52′, which should be leaving the factory shortly by ship in time (hopefully) to make its debut at Seattle’s Lake Union Boats Afloat Show September 14.  This all-new design shows classic Krogen lines in a raised pilothouse model.  There’s no mistaking what company this yacht is from.  It’s a bluewater passagemaker and liveaboard yacht intended to meet the full-time needs of a couple or family.  Enjoy the photos and if you get to the Boats Afloat Show, let us know what you think!  Failing that, we may see hull #2 at the Fort Lauderdale Trawler Fest in early February next year.

Kadey-Krogen 52' First Hull Port Side Forward View -- Photo: Kadey-Krogen Yachts

Kadey-Krogen 52' First Hull Pilothouse Helm View -- Photo: Kadey-Krogen Yachts

Kadey-Krogen 52' First Hull Flybridge Helm View -- Photo: Kadey-Krogen Yachts

Kadey-Krogen 52' First Hull Side Deck View -- Photo: Kadey-Krogen Yachts

Kadey-Krogen 52' First Hull Wing Station View -- Photo: Kadey-Krogen Yachts

Kadey-Krogen 52' First Hull Office View -- Photo: Kadey-Krogen Yachts

Kadey-Krogen 52' First Hull Office View 2 -- Photo: Kadey-Krogen Yachts

Kadey-Krogen 52' First Hull Office Bookshelf View -- Photo: Kadey-Krogen Yachts

Kadey-Krogen 52' First Hull Port-Side Bar-Buffet and Pantry View -- Photo: Kadey-Krogen Yachts

Nobeltec Screencap Showing Charts + Furuno DFF1 Sounder Integration -- Image Courtesy of Nobeltec

Nobeltec said today it has released a free service pack update for users of the new (January 2011) version of Admiral and VNS.  The service pack offers integration with Furuno’s popular Digital Fish Finder (DFF1) Sounder, as well as a number of NMEA 2000 integration improvements.  While I don’t often simply reprint a press release, Nobeltec is a pretty straightforward company and it makes more sense to just quote it here.  I am also planning a full review of the Nobeltec TimeZero Trident software, to which I believe most boaters will eventually want to move.

Herewith the Nobeltec News:

“Nobeltec announces new hardware integration and software functionality with the service pack release of Admiral 11.1 and VNS 11.1. VNS and Admiral are optimized for safe and accurate navigation on recreational boats, commercial vessels, and mega yachts. This newest service pack adds value to Nobeltec navigation systems. One of the most significant updates to the marine navigational software is the ability to integrate with the Furuno Digital Fish Finder (DFF1) Sounder.

“Integration with the Furuno DFF1 sounder is a natural addition to our Nobeltec software suite,” Nobeltec General Manager Bill Washburn said. “We’re glad boaters can take advantage of the integration of two great products: the Furuno DFF1 Sounder and Nobeltec VNS and Admiral software.”

Improvements to NMEA 2000 integration also enhance functionality in the Admiral and VNS software. The new release supports NMEA 2000 AIS Device Priority, and the real time weather functionality has been upgraded to include Pressure, Air Temperature and Humidity inputs from NMEA 2000 sensors.

Admiral and VNS 11.1 showcase improved AIS target filtering. In the Admiral software, the service pack adds the ability to filter AIS targets based on class and both VNS and Admiral offer the option to display a target’s class (A or B).

The latest version will also, for the first time, include NV. Charts digital chart integration and support. These raster charts cover Europe, Bahamas, Cuba, and other areas in the Caribbean. The integration of NV. Charts digital charts is in addition to many other types of raster charts as well as C-MAP® MAX Pro™ vector charts already supported by VNS and Admiral.

This is the first service pack for the software since the successful release of Admiral 11 and VNS 11 in January 2011. The new release is available as a free download to customers currently running the latest version of Admiral or VNS. Customers can visit the Nobeltec website (www.nobeltec.com) to access the new service pack.”

Copyright ©2011 by OceanLines LLC. All rights reserved.

Silver Spray, Nordhavn '63, running in Stuart, FL. Photo by Billy Black, courtesy of P.A.E.

We’ve got a great collection of photos of the very first Nordhavn 63, Silver Spray, taken by Billy Black in Stuart, Florida, for P.A.E. last month just before delivery.  There is quite a bit of detail to absorb and the photos leave you with the overwhelming impression of a luxurious, capable bluewater yacht.  I happen to think this might be the perfect size for a couple to handle without crew, although Ken and Roberta Williams demonstrate that the N68 is manageable for a couple, too.  If you haven’t seen the initial performance data, you can view it here.

We’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on the yacht’s features and decor.  Let us know in the comments.

Here’s the link to the gallery page:  Nordhavn 63-01 Delivery Photos

Copyright © 2011 by OceanLines LLC.  All rights reserved.

First Nordhavn 63, named Silver Spray -- Photo by Owner, Courtesy of PAE

Pacific Asian Enterprises, Inc., yesterday released the first published performance data for the new Nordhavn 63.  The data are from the first hull, Silver Spray, which was just delivered to its owner at PAE’s Stuart, Florida commissioning facility.  As you can see in the accompanying photo above, taken by the yacht’s owner, the N63 truly looks like the “next-generation” N62, the aft-pilothouse trawler that was a customer and fan favorite all through its production run.  PAE has a lot riding on this yacht and it could become the right model to help bring the next generation of luxury distance-cruising boaters to the brand.  It’s large enough to accommodate truly sumptuous appointments, yet small enough to be easily handled by a couple without crew.

The First Nordhavn 63, Silver Spray -- Photo Courtesy of PAE

In the table below, you can see that the sweet spot for cruising will be a little more than 8 knots.  The fuel consumption basically doubles from 8.1 knots to 9.30 knots.  And of course, as with nearly every other hull like this, if you slow down you get better range.  Here you can see the NMPG at 7.55 knots is 1.42, which is very good performance for a yacht that displaces about 143,000 lbs.

The N63 hull incorporates an interesting design detail called a “maintenance strake.”  We wrote about it here.

You can download the complete performance data sheet here.

Here is a link to the Nordhavn 63 webpage for full specs and information.

 Nordhavn 63 Cruise Performance Data

*Performance based on average of 2 reciprocal-course runs.  Data from Nordhavn 6301, equipped with a single Lugger 1276, and a 5-bladed 42″ x 29.5″ P Hung Shen prop.

Copyright © 2011 by OceanLines LLC.  All rights reserved.