Yachting

WHEN I WAS A KID, ENTERTAINING ON BOARD MEANT breaking out folding deck chairs with sweat-inducing vinyl seats and sailfish logos on the backrests. A few more people would sit on the engine boxes, and the kids would head up the side decks to lie out on the trunk cabin. Perhaps we had an inkling about how the front of the boat would evolve as a social space. ¶ During the past few months, I spent time aboard several yachts with very different missions, but they all had something in common when it came to social zones: They were built to let owners maximize their favorite type of fun. ¶ On the Absolute Yachts Navetta 75 (see story on page 96), the boatbuilder left the cockpit a blank slate that…

TODAY, THE A BEKING & RASMUSSEN YARD IS known for superyachts like the 223-foot Soaring and the 244-foot Elandess. But a century ago, designer Henry Rasmussen was creating the 75-foot sailing yacht Talisman: the first steel-hull yacht Rasmussen’s shipyard built. ¶ The yacht went on to sail under different names for all these years until, a few years ago, a new owner took possession. Originally, he was looking to build a boat from scratch. “But then his daughters said, ‘Why do you want to waste our resources in the world when there are so many nice older boats on the market?’ Then, he looked around and found this boat from 1920. And then, of course, he wanted to protect Earth’s resources, so he thought about how to make it very…

BACK IN 2018, Mercury Marine thrilled boaters with the introduction of its V-6 and V-8 outboard engines, the result of the largest new-product development program in the company’s nearly 80-year history. ¶ Now, the brand is adding the marine industry’s first V-10 outboard to its offerings. This Verado engine is available in 350 hp or 400 hp. It’s a 5.7-liter design that is compatible with Mercury SmartCraft technology. It also can be ordered with an optional dual-mode 48-volt/12-volt alternator to pair with Navico Group’s Fathom e-power system, an integrated lithium-ion auxiliary power management setup that lets boaters eliminate an onboard generator. ¶ “They are powerful, smooth and quiet,” Chris Drees, president of Mercury Marine, said when introducing the V-10 Verado outboards. “They have many of the same fuel-efficiency-enhancing features that are…

THE REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IAN had turned the Atlantic in to one angry ocean. At zero dark early, I started a trek from Long Island, New York, down to Somers Point, New Jersey, driving in a deluge with the hope that a weather window would open up and I would get a chance to see the Galeon Yachts 375 GTO in action. ¶ When I arrived, the rain had let up enough for Galeon’s Bob Burke and me to get off the dock. The wind was pumping, but the 375 GTO’s torque-filled 600 hp V-12 Mercury outboards, under the direction of Burke and a joystick control, made short work of leaving the marina and getting onto open water. ¶ Easing up to the inlet, there was 8 to 10 feet…

RIVA’S EL-ISEO IS BASED on the company’s Iseo runabout but with an all-electric drivetrain that reportedly allows up to 10 hours of quiet running time in economy mode. Notch things up a few clicks, and the El-Iseo’s Parker Hannifin-built GMV310 electric motor can generate 25-knot cruising speeds and 40-knot top speeds. Run time is provided by the boat’s lithium-ion battery banks, while onboard styling comes courtesy of Riva’s DNA. • Whom It’s For: Boaters who want to cruise stylishly at 25 knots and have the ability to tickle 40 knots without emitting carbon dioxide. • Picture This: It’s a nice spring evening in Annapolis, Maryland, so you and your first mate cruise guilt-free up the Severn River. From your El-Iseo, you take in the sprawling view of the U.S. Naval…

IT HAS BEEN MORE THAN TWO DECADES since Yacht Controller was created. The product, which enables handheld, wireless navigation from anywhere on board, is now used in dozens of countries. More than 26,000 systems have been delivered for use on some 270 boat brands. ¶ As feedback poured in from all those boaters, it became clear that not all of them wanted the same experience. “We were finding out that you could put a 50-foot boat next to its twin, and Boater A will use it differently than Boater B,” says Tony Valiente, chief operating officer and managing partner of The Yacht Group. “One guy may be happy at idle-speed engine control, and another guy may want added-speed control, and a third guy may want faster-speed control. We weren’t able…