In the 1990s Azimut broke away from the pack and became the largest selling brand of large motoryacht in the world. For over 15 years it has held that distinction and as time goes on not only do Azimut’s boats continue to be the most exciting spectacles in fiberglass production motoryachts, but more recently their quality and reliability has improved markedly, as well. The Azimut 85 is their most popular large yacht and more of this 85’ model have been sold than any other brand. Not surprisingly, each year it simply keeps getting better and better. The 2010 model has still more innovations, but more importantly to us, what goes on in the belly of the beast is as impressive as the topsides are chic. Join us as we take an in-depth look at what has become an iconic motoryacht in the 80 something class. She’s more than bella figura --
It is not too soon to begin thinking about next summer and what you will be doing for a water bound venue. Our favorite beach house is a moveable feast where you never have to worry about someone else getting in front of your water views. The Sunseeker Manhattan 60 pictured above is one such boat and we can imagine it cruising the Med, Bahamas or Georgian Bay. Most boats this year over 25’ or so will be built to order, so if you are thinking about a large boat for next summer, you’ll want to order in the fall to get spring delivery. Join us for look at the Sunseeker Manhattan 60 to see if it can make your short list --
Sea Ray News
Sea Ray 44 Sedan Bridge
Two Staterooms and Room to Spare!
Sea Rays typically bring to mind thoughts of express cruisers and low profile Sundancers. However, once in a while you need to get higher for better visibility such as when operating in the pot-infested waters of New England, or perhaps when navigating around coral reefs of the southern latitudes. Fortunately, you don’t have to leave your beloved Sea Rays behind to get a cruiser with a flying bridge – just take a look at the Sea Ray 44 Sedan Bridge. The 44 Sedan Bridge is a perfect size for a pair of cruising couples or a family, while even leaving additional room for the occasional overnight guests. We sent Capt. Steve to give a close inspection of the Sea Ray 44 Sedan Bridge and report back to us. Check out Capt. Steve’s report here --
Boat Building
Hargrave Custom Yachts
Lets the Owner Call the Tune
The process of buying a new large custom-built motoryacht can seem daunting to someone who hasn’t been through the motoryacht buying process before. The staff at Hargrave Custom Yachts knows that and has designed its customer relations process to be low-key, friendly and geared to whatever level of sophistication and detail the customer requests or needs. For example, some customers want to own a large motoryacht but feel out of their element when it comes to designing the interior and creating the décor, to say nothing of specifying all of the necessary equipment. In such a case Hargrave’s staff can design, equip and decorate the vessel -- after numerous consultations – down to the nat’s eyelash. In other cases, the buyer has strong ideas of exactly what he or she (usually BOTH he and she) want in nearly every detail of the yacht’s build. The astonishing thing about the Hargrave process is that the company can give this level of customization for the same price or less than that of a similar size and equipped production motoryacht.
To learn about how Hargrave works with a customer --
Last year Viking Yachts introduced its new 82 convertible and hull #14 is now in progress. Buyers liked her full-beam master stateroom, but for some people 82’ was just a bit more boat than they needed. Since Viking could not convert its existing 74-footer to a full beam master, it did the next best thing – it built an all-new 76. This new battlewagon has five staterooms with four heads, a day head by the cockpit door, and Viking’s patented VIPER steering system. With a 20’3”/6.17 m beam and a displacement of 136,200 lbs./61,779 kg she is much more than just a sportfisherman on steroids, she is also a go-anywhere motoryacht that can comfortably hold accommodate 10 people. To find out all about her, see interior drawings, and discover her price --
While Meridian Yachts may be a fairly new company, it didn’t take long for their boats to catch on in a big way. They seem to be able to add room to a boat where others scramble to find space. A case in point is the 408 Motoryacht. This 42’ tri-cabin boat has so much interior room that if you viewed it first from the interior, you’d never imagine that she’s only 42’. We sent Capt. Steve to give his critical eye a look at the features of the Meridian 408 Motoryacht and let us know if he thought the same as we did.
Check out his full report here --
Second Look
Doral Prestancia:
A Combination of
Luxury Weekender and Classy Cruiser
With more than 30 years of boat building under their belts, Doral has never strayed from their dedication to bringing quality boats to the water. The Prestancia is another example of how well Doral also manages to combine comfortable features with sleek, and smooth flowing lines to create a nice looking, and very classy weekender. With a long list of color and fabric choices, as well as seventeen different engine packages, your Doral Prestancia will truly be a personalized cruiser. Join us as Capt. Rob takes us on a video tour of the Doral Prestancia.
Would you like some Grey Poupon while you’re aboard --
One of the most striking things about boats is how similar they all are with each other in their class. Which is to say, one 150-footer is remarkable similar to another 150-footer, in general layout and function, even thought they are totally custom designed from the keel up. You can imagine, then, what production boats must be like. But here and there we find exceptions (which prove the rule), and it is there we usually find the most interesting boats, no matter what their size. The Marlow 57E CB is such a boat. At $1.550 million she is as affordable as any boat in this class, but price is not what caught our eye. Rather we were intrigued by her layout and her unorthodox concept: an “expedition” yacht designed for and capable of semi-displacement speeds, a boat that is light-weight, has a fully cored hull and is powered by twin engines. Is that the way “expedition” yachts are suppose to be?
To find out more about this unusual boat--
One might think that something as simple as a brush would not have to be specially made for use on a boat. But one would be wrong. In fact, you can’t just run down to Ace Hardware and get a brush that has been made specifically for cleaning jobs on fiberglass decks and topsides. What you need is a Marine Mate brush with specially made “split end” soft fibers that won’t scratch your delicate gelcoat, but which will hold lots of soap and water and get your fiberglass surfaces clean without causing microscopic scratches. The Marine Mate brush comes with a 48” long screw-in handle. Any boat crew will tell you that “Many hands make light work,” so you should always have at least two of these brushes on hand to wash down your topsides after a day on the water.
Turbochargers are a simple, elegant concept: use an engine’s exhaust gases to spin a turbine to compress air to pack more oxygen in cylinders for greater horsepower. Today, virtually all marine diesels have them because of the advantageous power-to-weight ratio they provide. While your engine is turning a 2000 rpms, they may be spinning as fast as 100,000 rpms, yet they usually give no trouble and require little maintenance. Nevertheless, they are delicate, precision-made items of equipment with extremely close tolerances and they can be easily rendered inoperable in the right circumstances.
As our story this week about a boat fire illustrates, the more you know about maintaining one, the better --
Over the last few years most of us have been familiarized with the advantages of synthetic oils when used in our cars and trucks, but did you know the same applies to your boat engines? For the same reasons synthetic motor oil is good for our car
engine, they are good for our boat engines; better fuel economy, cooler running engines, better wear protection, and increased horse power. Royal Purple Synthetic oil offers multiple grades for both gas and diesel engines including SAE 0W40, 10W30, 5W20, 10W40, 5W30, 15W40, 5W40 and 20W50.
To find out more or locate a dealer in your town, pull your dipstick here --
On August 15th the 65’ fishing trawler Blue Diamond was 90 miles east of Atlantic City and taking on water. A Mayday call brought the 87’ USCG Cutter to the scene and by the time Coast Guard personnel got aboard there was 7’ of water in the trawler’s bilge. Luckily for all concerned this steel vessel sprung a leak in calm seas or this orderly rescue could have been a nightmare for all concerned. Take a look at this well-made USCG video showing the step-by-step evolution of the rescue. Note at the end of the video the techniques used to stem the flow so pumps could keep up with the leak. See it now --
At 5:30 PM last Wednesday Channel 16 in the Miami, Florida area crackled with “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, I have a boat on fire.” The USCG station at Government Cut immediately responded with, “Where is your location?” Happily for all concerned, Dan Trumble, the owner/skipper of the burning vessel knew exactly where he was and radioed his location, then quickly said, “I am abandoning ship.” With that his radio went dead. Sea Tow Captain John Bennett was two miles south of the stricken vessel at Dinner Key, heard the Mayday on his VHF and immediately cast off the lines from his 17-footer and was off to the rescue.
To find out what happened and how the fire started --
NWP Saga
Nordhavn 57 Conquers
The Northwest Passage on August 30!
In the 1850s the route of the Northwest Passage was figured out by mariners who had been sent to find the lost Franklin Expedition, but no one actually made the complete passage in a single vessel until 1903-6 when Roald Amundsen traversed the passage in his small sailboat Gjoa. He had to winter over three winters in order to complete the passage. The Nordhavn 57 Bagan followed the same route this summer making it in one month. This summer at least 7 recreational vessels are attempting the NWP, including two British officers in a 17’ sailboat! (Mad Dogs and Englishmen!)
To find out all about her, see interior drawings, and discover her price --
This week Capt. Steve goes over four new lessons and guidelines on recognizing the signs of hypothermia, how to help avoid it, and what you can do to lessen the effects on your body. Hypothermia does not only happen in cold water, even in 70 degree water you can still experience a significant loss of body heat. Do not ignore the signs of hypothermia as the condition will only get worse as time progresses. Capt. Steve will go over some survival techniques and how to treat hypothermia by gradually bringing up the body temperature. These are basic procedures which all recreational boaters should be aware of. The videos presented this week are part of Capt. Steve’s USCG-approved boating course called “Smart Boating.” Watch Capt. Steve's video boating lessons every week on BoatTEST.com.
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