Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2019 i Yachting

PHILIPPE BRIAND IS AMONG THE WORLD’S most celebrated yacht designers, known for his work with Perini Navi, Turquoise, Admiral and more. He pushes the bounds of innovation, most recently last year, when he unveiled a Flyacht concept for two-person sailing, based on the AC75 class of America’s Cup foiling designs. His latest motoryacht to launch is the 190-foot Feadship Najiba — the second-largest aluminum yacht in the Dutch yard’s history, reportedly capable of cruising at 12 knots while burning just 3 gallons of fuel per nautical mile. (And, no, none of those numbers are typos.) ¶ Following are edited excerpts of Briand’s conversation with Yachting before Najiba was delivered. He spoke about his Vitruvius Yachts brand, which is known for yachts that have 15 or 20 percent lower fuel consumption…

THE IDEA OF SURFING A BOAT’S WAKE dates to at least the 1950s or ’60s, when recreational powerboating boomed in postwar America. It was a time when the idea of an “endless summer” appeared on movie screens, with surfers chasing tasty waves and a big, warm sun around the globe. More and more people began to think about surfing, and quite a few who had grown up water-skiing became interested in riding a board behind a boat. ¶ By the 1980s, as board technology evolved, entire categories of boats were being built to satisfy the wakeboard craze. Boatbuilders added ballast to create a better wake shape for riders doing tricks and jumps, and some boaters dragged cement blocks on board to add weight. The thinking went that the deeper you…

THE GALEON 650 SKYDECK HAS PORT AND STARBOARD GUNWALES AFT THAT FOLD OUT ELECTRICALLY, creating balconies with rail stanchions, guidelines and inserts for bar stools. With the salon windows open and countertops flipped up, the space becomes an open-air oasis with a bar and lounge area. Add the aft deck’s eight-person, U-shaped settee with a table, wet bar, sink, electric grill and ice maker, and you have a teak bistro for sundowners with friends. ¶ Inside, low-profile furnishings and nearly 360 degrees of glass provide unobstructed vistas from stem to stern. The portside galley is aft, with a two-burner electric cooktop, a microwave, a dishwasher, dual sinks and an under-counter fridge/freezer. Across to starboard is a breakfast nook with two swing-out stools. There’s also a portside settee dinette with a high-low…

BUYING A NEW YACHT IS AN EXCITING, AND SOMETIMES COMPLICATED, PROCESS. IT’S HARD TO GET EVERYTHING AT THE HELM right on the first try, or to anticipate what kinds of electronics might come along next. That’s why planning for future refits is just as much a necessity as ordering everything brand-new today. ¶ Future-proofing a helm includes researching how a yacht is constructed, to better understand its down-the-road accessibility options. The task also can include working with a builder to augment data backbones or power supplies, and working with a top-notch marine electronics shop to spec and install a package that lends itself to upgrades. ¶ Different builders and refit shops do things in different ways. Nordhavn, which builds oceangoing yachts from 48 to 120 feet length overall, recently began…

I’VE HAD THE PLEASURE of testing Riviera’s 68 and 72 Sports Motor Yachts in the past, and I found both vessels to be fine examples of what Riviera does best: mix interior luxury with fun outdoor spaces and confidence-inducing hulls. Thus, I was looking forward to taking the 39 Sports Motor Yacht for a spin — though I wondered if Riviera would be able to replicate the aplomb I saw in the larger yachts, this time in a significantly smaller package. ¶ I stepped aboard the 39 last summer in Sydney, Australia. This little sister shares much DNA with Riviera’s larger Sports Motor Yachts. If you couldn’t guess from the name, the vessel is meant to be a hybrid between a rugged SUV and a luxury-minded motoryacht, with styling that…

CALL IT FATE. WHEN A YACHT OWNER AND THE RIGHT yacht meet at the corner of passion and vision, the arrival point is awesome. ¶ For one yacht owner, his journey to this point saw him buy a yacht that had been for sale for about six years. The pedigreed, one-off craft had retro styling and was purpose-built to run at around 50 knots. The owner wanted to maintain her style while transforming her from a utilitarian go-fast vessel for four to a “luxury-entertainment yacht for 12.” All the work had to be finished in Bristol fashion. And, of course, she would still need to run fast when desired. ¶ The 56-footer, Vendetta, penned by naval architect Doug Zurn, was originally built in 2005 for Rock & Roll Hall of…

IF YOU’VE EVER CHARTERED A YACHT, OR IF YOU SUFFER FROM “10-foot-itis” and regularly upgrade your ride, then you can appreciate the headaches that can unfurl at an unfamiliar helm. Sure, somebody will give you a walk-through of the basics before you set off, but learning to operate a new vessel’s helm still comes with a steeper learning curve than, say, mastering a rental car’s dashboard, even one built by a different manufacturer than your everyday whip. ¶ Why must it be so hard to learn a new helm’s features? That’s the question Navico’s Information Display (ID) was built to answer. It brings the same level of systems connectivity and integration to boats that drivers find in their automobiles’ dashboards. ¶ The idea has been a long time coming. Modern…

THE CHRIS-CRAFT CORSAIR 36 saw a 10-year production run from 2005 to 2015. From 2005 to 2009, the boat was offered open (as seen above). From 2009 to 2015, there was a hardtop option. ¶ Yachting tested both versions six years apart. The open version had 420 hp Volvo Penta gasoline engines producing 40.5 knots on the pins. The hardtop version had 430 hp Volvo Penta gasoline engines, and we saw a 41.4-knot top-end speed. ¶ At press time, we found 15 Chris-Craft Corsair 36s on the market, ranging from $179,000 for a 2006 model to $399,000 for a 2015 edition. FROM THE ARCHIVE “Her navy blue hull was accented with a red boot stripe, one of 11 color schemes off ered. In my opinion, dark colors suit the 36,…

ORIGINALLY, THE design plans for the 164-foot Endless Summer called for a crew pantry abaft the bridge. The owner thought that space might instead be ideal for stowing some of his favorite wines — 440 regular-size bottles and 60 magnums, to be exact. ¶ “As you come up the stairs from the main deck, the wine cellar is right in front of your face. It is amazing,” says chief stewardess Zayntana Jonsson. “I’ll catch the owner in there just going through the bottles and checking it out. It’s obviously his passion.” ¶ Endless Summer, a 2017 launch, is entering the charter market after cruising throughout the South Pacific, and the owner wants to share his collection, which ranges in price from about $100 to $5,500 per bottle at auction, Jonsson…

THIS HAD TO HAPPEN. Ever since the Great Recession shook the world some 10 years back, and many yacht owners felt pressure to tamp down ostentatious displays of wealth, center-consoles have replaced convertibles and larger vessels on the waterways. In a way, the 25- and 30-footers represented a degree of humility that fit the zeitgeist. ¶ But then the creep set in. ¶ What used to be expressly runabout-type boats became 35- and 40-footers with berths and full heads. The nearly unavoidable summation of this trend — to this point — is the HCB 65 Estrella, the largest boat ever in its class and perhaps one of the most talked about models in recent memory. She’s a literal showstopper. I’ve witnessed multiple people halt in their tracks to gawk when…

ONBOARD BLISS Fusion’s XS Series speakers and subwoofer are built to deliver crisp, rich sound. The XS speakers come in 4-, 6.5- and 7.7-inch models ($129 to $249) and can be LED backlit in a variety of colors. Fusion’s 10-inch XS Series subwoofer ($219 to $249, depending on color choice) delivers low-end sound and can be wired to an amplifier or plugged into a DSP-enabled Fusion stereo. Fusion Entertainment, fusionentertainment.com GESTURE DRIVING Garmin’s Reactor Autopilot Control is a buoyant and water-resistant remote. It allows wireless control of compatible Garmin autopilots and multifunction displays at ranges up to 45 feet. The Reactor Autopilot Control ($249) has programmable preset buttons. It also has gesture control: Point and shoot the remote in any direction, and the boat’s autopilot will steer the appropriate course.…