Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2024 i Yachting

EBERHARD VIEG, the CEO of Prebit lighting near Bonn, Germany, is blunt when describing himself and the company’s founder, Michael Woita. “We are really nerds about light,” Vieg says. “Everything on the boat can be high-end materials, but if the lighting is off, it will not appear to be nice. If you change the lighting, it makes a difference.” ¶ Woita learned this lesson after working in the lighting industry and then buying a sailboat, Vieg says: “He found out that lighting was awful on the boat, and he decided to do something.” Woita founded Prebit about 20 years ago. “He created reading lights, and then the company developed and developed and grew.” ¶ Its newest product is the Thoa lamp, which is a portable, rechargeable light that can be…

ON THE BLACKTOP of a boatyard adjacent to the bustling harbor of Anacortes, Washington, a warhorse of a 1970s-era racing yacht is stripped down and propped up, and is clearly in the throes of a keel-to-masthead reincarnation. The boat’s name is Improbable, which is fitting, because that also described the chances I’d run into an old sailing friend named Bruce Schwab when I arrived in the Pacific Northwest last summer to hop on a cruising boat headed north. Improbable is Schwab’s boat and the object of his current labor of love, and the entire story borders on the unlikely and implausible—which is why it’s pretty cool. ¶ Schwab, a self-confessed “certified boat bum and sailing nut,” is also an accomplished sailor who has twice raced alone around the world and…

• Space on the 85-foot-long Lazzara LPC 500 is similar to what yachtsmen will find on a 130-foot monohull. The LPC 500 has a full-beam owner’s stateroom with an en suite head and a double vanity. The owner’s space opens to the water with 80-square-foot fold-out balconies to port and to starboard, allowing for ocean views, private meals or sunbathing. Heading aft from the master opens to a beach club with a transformer platform for water access, and loose furniture and lounges for relaxing seaside. Part of the beach club is shaded with a TV, for days when the big game is on and the kids want to swim. Forward on the lower deck are four guest staterooms with en suite heads. Up one level is the salon, which can…

• Hybrid propulsion is at the core of the Xquisite Sixty Solar Power. The power cat comes standard with twin 450 hp Volvo Penta D8-IPS600 diesels. The hybrid power option is twin 440 hp Yanmar 6LY and twin 100 kW e-Motion electric motors. The e-motion package includes a variable-speed generator and lithium batteries for silent operation on the hook and underway. Solar panels can charge the batteries during the day. The batteries can also be fast-charged off the diesels underway, and via the generator on the hook. Slow charging can be done from shore power or when running in diesel-electric mode. Xquisite says the hybrid solution helps reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions by up to 65 percent. • Accommodations include a master, a VIP and a guest stateroom. There…

• Aspen Power Catamarans has a think-different approach to its hull forms, using an asymmetrical proa design. The proa-style displacement—and double-bottom—hulls have identical lengths, but the starboard hull carries 35 percent more volume than the port hull. This helps give the cat a fuel-efficient and seakindly ride. These boats can also access skinny water with a sub-2-foot draft. Aspen’s E-Z Davit System above the transom helps with handling the tender. • Windshields are built for safety, with curved and tempered glass. Bonded solar-guard side windows are treated to reflect 50 percent of sunlight transmission to help keep the vessel’s interior cool. • Accommodations include one twin berth each in the port and starboard hulls, and a forward master stateroom with a king-size berth, a hanging locker, a lighted bookshelf and…

WHEN YACHTING DECIDED to present its first-ever Innovation Award, the question was not which boat deserved to win. Most builders, after all, can turn out at least one good boat model every couple of years. What’s much harder is consistently producing new models with features that are smart and stylish, fun and functional, and unlike anything else on the water. What’s really hard is doing all of that at a production-boat pace to please dozens upon dozens of new-boat buyers each year. ¶ After much deliberation, the choice was clear: The inaugural Yachting Innovation Award goes to the Galeon 560 Fly. It’s a boat that epitomizes the Polish builder’s drive not only to think differently, but also to build differently, in a way that ensures originality on the docks. ¶…

AS THE JUMPING-OFF POINT from the Florida mainland to the Keys, Key Largo is a fabulous introduction to what lies farther down the Overseas Highway. Its clear blue waters, abundant marine life and great dining options make the island a welcoming port of call for all. • JOHN PENNEKAMP CORAL REEF STATE PARK The country’s first undersea park, covering a sprawling 70 nautical square miles within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, is a prime destination for all sorts of water fun. Paddle through the mangroves on a rented kayak, canoe or paddleboard. Chill out at Far Beach or Cannon Beach. Cast a line for mutton snapper and grouper. The park’s reef—part of the third-largest reef system in the world—is its top draw, with more than 80 species of coral…

ANY YACHT THAT’S BUILT with a “solar skin” is bound to attract owners who have at least a few thoughts about the environment. Such is the case with Sunreef’s Power Eco series of catamarans. Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso recently took delivery of a 60 Power Eco, saying that sustainability considerations were fundamental to his vessel choice. The owner of the first 80 Power Eco, christened Sól, built the yacht entirely cruelty-free, including far more than avoiding animal-derived fabrics such as leather. ¶ As just one example, there’s a composting machine on board Sól. It lets the chefs reduce trash by turning scraps into fertilizer for island farmers, who, in exchange, provide the yacht with locally grown microgreens. “This is definitely different,” says chef Sara Nelson. “I don’t know any…

AT JUST OVER 52 FEET LENGTH OVERALL, the Riviera 46 Sports Motor Yacht is the Australian builder’s new entry-level model in the series, and it’s set up to host good-size parties and to cruise with friends and family. ¶ For starters, consider the after section of this yacht’s main deck. Between the cockpit and the shaded alfresco deck, there is 115 square feet of socializing real estate. The swim platform has two transom doors leading to the cockpit with a barbecue, a fridge/freezer, a wet bar and an ice maker. Forward, there is a settee on either side, with a folding teak table to port and the option to place a TV in the forward portside corner. ¶ The 46’s interior space is set up to serve guests easily too.…

• A powerful combination of design elements come together aboard the Fountaine Pajot Power 67 Catamaran to make the yacht equally suited for long-distance passages, weekend cruises or dayboating. The yacht’s foredeck is made for relaxation with a hot tub to port, and an L-shaped lounge and a bench seat to starboard. Other alfresco spaces include the 753-square-foot cockpit with a dining table to port for eight to 10 guests under the hardtop, a transom bench seat, and a sofa for three or more guests to starboard. The yacht has upper and lower helm stations. • Propulsion for the Power 67 Catamaran is standard twin 300 hp diesels or optional twin 480 hp diesels. With a fuel capacity of 1,057 gallons, the yacht has a maximum range of 1,700 nautical…

• Pushing boundaries is the theme of the Prestige Yachts M8. The swim platform is more than 14 feet wide and nearly 5 feet deep. It rises flush with the 344-square-foot cockpit. Open the glass transom gate on centerline, and the platform becomes part of the cockpit. This layout is open to owner personalization with sofas, chaise longues, settees, side tables and more. This customizable, modular furniture setup also applies to the 511-square-foot salon. The M8 has a modern, yet warm interior, aided by neutral tones and natural light via nearly 360 degrees of glass. In total, the M8 has about 3,000 square feet of usable real estate. • Accommodations can be four or five staterooms with a nearly full-beam master stateroom and an option for a VIP suite in…

• Power for the 80 Sunreef Power Eco is a 990 kWh battery bank that the builder says is about 30 percent lighter than other batteries, enhancing efficiency. Integrated solar panels covering 2,150 square feet of exterior space provide a regeneration rate of 36 kWp to help the yacht achieve what Sunreef says is a nearly 300-nautical-mile range. Twin 360 kW engines provide propulsion. • Layout on board the 80 Sunreef Power Eco includes four staterooms. The galley and staterooms are belowdecks, with the master to starboard. Two staterooms are forward in the port and starboard hulls, with a third stateroom amidships in the port hull. • Guests can relax on the foredeck, which has a hot tub and an L-shaped lounge with additional lounge space farther forward for catching…

• Outside guest space on the Leopard 40PC includes the cockpit aft, the flybridge and forward sunbathing areas that are accessible through the side decks or directly via a forward salon door. On the flybridge, guests can relax at a bench seat to port or a U-shaped settee and table to starboard, set just abaft the helm, all while waiting for lunch to finish cooking on the optional grill. In the salon, owners can entertain guests at an L-shaped settee and a coffee table, or everyone can head aft to the cockpit, past the galley, which has a sink, a stovetop, an oven and a refrigerator. When it’s time to turn in, there are three staterooms belowdecks. Two of them are to port, sharing a head between them, and another…

AROMAS FROM SIZZLING STEAK, local lobster and freshly caught mahimahi wafted through the air as an inflatable Santa ballooned on the flybridge of Mark and Janeen Traylor’s Horizon Power Catamarans 52. The Georgia-based couple was in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, preparing for one of their most memorable family Christmas dinners. ¶ Coker and Cathy Price of South Carolina also had what they described as their “best family vacation ever” aboard a catamaran—an Aquila 48 they chartered in the British Virgin Islands. ¶ These are just two examples of boaters who have joined the shift toward catamarans in the past decade or so. While a catamaran or two used to be an anomaly at a marina, an increasing number of boaters are embracing the volume and efficiencies that catamarans offer. Marinas along…

• Experienced is a good word to describe Horizon Power Catamarans, which has designed and built its power cats for 38 years. The Horizon PC60 can be ordered with an enclosed or open flybridge that measures 22 feet wide by nearly 45 feet long. Construction is resin-infused fiberglass via the SCRIMP system. • Power is twin 705 hp Cummins QSM11s, giving the PC60 a reported 24-knot speed with a 20-knot cruise. Twin MAN diesels up to 850 hp are optional and increase that top-end speed to about 27 knots. With a 1,000-gallon fuel capacity, this cat has a 540-nautical-mile range at 18 knots and up to 1,500 nautical miles at 9 knots, according to the builder. • Design elements include panoramic windows in the main-deck master stateroom. The salon’s L-shaped…

• Eco-conscious cruisers are the intended audience for the Silent-Yachts 60. The yacht is covered in 42 solar panels, giving it trans-Atlantic capability without fossil fuel. The Silent 60’s motor and battery combinations are called cruiser, e-power and e-power+. The packages range from twin 50 kW e-motors and 143 kWh of battery capacity to twin 340 kW e-motors and 286 kWh of battery capacity, with reported top-end speeds starting at 11 knots for the cruiser option, 13 to 14 knots with e-power, and 13 to 20 knots with the e-power+ combination. The Silent 60 we got aboard had the largest power option, and the yacht cruised easily at 8 knots. A kite sail is available and lets owners harness wind power when desired. Accommodations are flexible, allowing up to six…

• Fishing is at the heart of the Aquila 47 Molokai, the latest—and largest—center-console from Aquila Power Catamarans. This boat is a design-and-build collaboration between Sino Eagle Yachts and Peart Yacht Design. The cat’s double-step hull form has a resin-infused fiberglass hull and deck, with carbon-fiber main bulkheads forward and aft, reducing weight and enhancing strength. The boat’s secondary bulkheads are resin-infused fiberglass. There is 360 degrees of angler-friendly walkaround space, a single-level deck, two 42.5-gallon transom livewells, 510-gallon mid-deck fish-box capacity, 100-gallon aft-deck fish-box capacity, and 148-gallon forward coffin-box capacity. Elongated windows in the hull sides provide water views. • Power options are twin 600 hp or quad 400 hp Mercury Verado outboards. The 47 Molokai has a 1,048-gallon fuel capacity. Given the longer distances this boat is capable…

DAVE JIRIKOVIC OF HMY YACHTS WAS ON a quest. The sales broker was looking for the meanest, nastiest patch of Gulf Stream he could find to show a potential client what the Two Oceans 555 power cat could handle. ¶ “There,” he said, pointing ahead. “A series of solid 4-footers.” The Gulf Stream was roiled from several days of 20-plus-knot northern winds running against the northbound current. ¶ And just as he had intended to show us, the broad-shouldered power cat didn’t even notice. He even dropped the single-lever throttles back to idle and left the 25-foot-wide Two Oceans 555 beam-on to another set of square-edged seas. The 55-footer brushed that off too. Jirikovic tried quartering into the seas—never a happy angle for catamarans—and the yacht drowsed through them. ¶…

IN JUNE 2022, I HELPED SOME friends deliver a high-performance sailboat from Ketchikan, Alaska, to Seattle. Our crew was experienced, so we opted to sail west of Vancouver Island. Those waters are frigid, and the shorelines are desolate, so I carried two personal locator beacons. ¶ The first PLB, an Ocean Signal MOB1, was rigged inside my Spinlock Deckvest 6D life jacket, ready to self-activate and transmit my position via the automatic identification system if the jacket inflated. The second PLB, a McMurdo FastFind 220, resided in a case on my jacket. If manually activated, it would transmit 406-megahertz satellite signals to the international Cospas-Sarsat program, for routing to search-and-rescue authorities. ¶ Back then, this two-PLB setup was the gold standard, but it used only GPS (not the entire global…

IN 2004, HATTERAS YACHTS AIMED HIGH with the release of its 80 Motor Yacht, committing to its new—at the time—convex hull design. This yacht has a full-beam master stateroom, with the forepeak stateroom also feeling spacious, thanks to the vessel’s hull form. There are two more guest staterooms. ¶ The 80 Motor Yacht was penned to accommodate power packages up to twin 2,000 hp MTU 16V 2000s, though twin Caterpillar C30s or C32s were optional. ¶ At press time, there were seven Hatteras 80 Motor Yachts available, ranging from $1.89 million to $4.39 million. 80' LENGTH OVERALL 21'3" MAXIMUM BEAM FROM THE ARCHIVE “The helm station, forward, made me feel as though I were piloting a sport cruiser, albeit a large one. I ran the 80 from the lower helm…