March 29, 2021

New Model: Absolute Navetta 64

The already-complete Navetta range has expanded with a tangible expression of generous and open-minded engineering. All of Absolute’s best features have been implemented as well as some amazing onboard innovations. The Navetta 64, The Absolute Pathfinder, like her siblings has the Navetta DNA and it easy to see why. The wide and uninterrupted side-glass window, which runs from the aft mirror to the windshield, outlines her exterior shapes. These are characterized by the significant enlargement of the bow windows and the opening of the side gunwales in the cockpit in the Beach Club version, the transom can be turned from a large storage space into an actual double cabin at the water’s surface sealed tight with a fully-glazed, certified watertight access door. Beach Club by day and VIP cabin with an en-suite head by night: this alchemy is made possible thanks to the placing of the crew cabin, with two berths directly accessible from the second starboard-side door.  Aboard the Navetta 64, all spaces are designed to offer the maximum enjoyment of each cabin, always panoramic and bright, thanks to unprecedented-sized windows. In addition, the spaces are furnished and refined with everything you need to feel just like at home, without any sacrifices. The flybridge has a far greater width than found on any other nineteen meter yacht. On the main deck, the salon is surrounded by frameless glass windows, offering breath-taking panoramas. The comfortable sofas, the large table, the entertainment area, and the galley easily connect to the cockpit. The entire main deck is overlooked by a raised helm and a massive windshield of over three meters, curved and frameless for absolute visibility. Below deck, the master cabin is placed in the bow with a king-size berth, large side windows, and a full-beam head. The VIP suite really stands out: its liveability is astounding and the materials selected are simply exquisite. Furthermore, the third cabin is a double stateroom with single beds. Absolute Navetta 64 is powered by twin Volvo 900hp and or optional 1000hp engines, with IPS pod drives.
Technical Data:
LOA - 19.63 m (64.4ft)
Beam - 5.53 m
Draft - 1.78 m loaded and including propellers
Displacement -  49.4 t loaded 
Fuel Capacity - 3600 l
Water Capacity - 910 l
Max Persons - 16
Accommodation - eight guest berths in four cabins, one crew in one cabin
Engines - 2 x Volvo D13 900hp, D13 1000hp
Propulsion - Volvo forward looking dual propeller IPS1200/1350 pod drives
Speed - 27 knots max 21 knots cruise with Volvo 1000hp
Range - 275 nm at 21 knots
Project - Absolute Research Lab
Certification - CE B

March 27, 2021

Project: Cheoy Lee 118 Tradition

Cheoy Lee is going into 2021 with full confidence and some interesting new projects.  One of the recent projects presented is the Overing designed new 118 Tradition.  The triple decked Cheoy Lee 118 Tradition offers a very conservative exterior calling out to some of the late nineties design.  The interior designed by Westhoff offers accommodation for ten guests in five cabins, including an owners stateroom on the main deck.  Located in the forward part of the lower deck will be the crew accommodation for six persons in three cabins, and a lobby with galley and saloon. Another crew cabin with two bunk berths is to be located aft by the beach area.  The Cheoy Lee 118 Tradition is to be powered by twin Cats 1600hp engines which will allow for top speeds up to 26 knots.

March 25, 2021

New Model: Princess S62

Princess present the new S62, a powerful yet elegant sport yacht with sport bridge.  The S62 sleek exterior styling presents a dynamic, agile stance, while an optimised hull form powered by twin Man 1200hp engines will manage speeds up to 38 knots. The S62 also features an electro-hydraulic bathing platform which offers a convenient launch system for tenders, a jet ski, or simply a secluded swimming platform. The Princess S62 offers a galley aft arrangement and an open-plan dining area with sliding doors and a fully opening window leading out to the cockpit. Below deck, six guests are comfortably accommodated across an en-suite full-beam owner’s stateroom and two further guest cabins with the option of an additional crew cabin aft.
Technical Data:
LOA - 19.17 m (62.9ft) with pulpit
LOA - 18.9 m
Beam - 4.87 m
Draft - 1.46 m
Displacement - 28857 kg medium load
Fuel Capacity - 3250 l
Water Capacity - 603 l
Accommodation - six guest berths in three cabins, optional one crew cabin berth
Engines - 2 x Man V12 1200hp
Propulsion - line shaft
Speed - 38 knots max
Project - Olesinski

March 23, 2021

Project: Nordhavn N625

Nordhavn Pacific Asian Enterprises, is excited to announce a new model addition in its line-up of passage-making yachts. The Nordhavn 625 will be a twist on the current Nordhavn 60 hull. What helps keep Nordhavn at the top of its game is the continual push to move its designs forward. We have seen this in the past with the N52 from the N47, the N60 and 63 from the N55, the N68 from the N64, the N76 from the N72, and the N96 from the 86. By refreshing existing hulls, it allows the company to efficiently introduce updated, modern offerings. The N625 will be a combination of what’s working incredibly well for Nordhavn right now: the new model is based on the very popular Nordhavn 60 and will employ some of the same bulk production techniques being used with the N41 and 51 builds. Despite a number of Nordhavn 60 orders on the books, Nordhavn co-owner and Chief of Design Jeff Leishman saw an opportunity to further improvise the model’s proven hull. It has sustained extraordinary success beginning with the Nordhavn 55, and is also used as the basis of the Nordhavn 63. More than 100 of the hull’s three iterations combined have been sold.  The result is a fresh, modern exterior that’s in keeping with the sleeker feel Leishman has been injecting into his latest models. The Nordhavn 625 will maintain the same footprint as the N60, but will also feel entirely different, said Leishman. As a result of his “cleaning up the lines”, the flybridge is slightly bigger, the windows in the cabins will be bigger, and some seating has been added to the foredeck. Like the N60 and N63 before her, the N625 will have three cabins, two below and one behind the wheelhouse. The N625 also takes a nod from the Turkish built N41 and N51 designs, utilizing a production boat-approach to ordering. She will have more equipment and features as standard which equates to a more resourceful buy. The spec won’t be as strict as her smaller sisters but certainly the boat won’t be as customizable as the 60 and 63. The boat will be built by Nordhavn’s partner factory, South Coast, at their brand new Taiwanese facility. South Coast, which also builds the N60, ventured into Taiwan in part to combat the Chinese tariff. The N625 will lay up in May, the first boat to be built at the Taiwan location. It is expected to complete by the end of 2021. Current availability is for hull number three. 

March 21, 2021

Tornado New Web Site

Italian Rome boat builder Tornado presents it's new World wide web showroom.  Tornado was founded by Carlo Marchiolo in 1968 building his 35 feet powerboat inspired to the US Cigarette's design. This boat will take Marchiolo to a Class 3 title just a few months later in 1969, and is followed with more Tornado wins in the seventies, of which the most significant is the Wills Trophy with Italian driver Vincenzo Balestrieri on the helm. The success on the race circuits makes Tornado produce boats for those desiring good sea handling, high performance, and comfort combined with a classic no frills lines. In 1977 during the Genoa boat show Marchiolo meets with renowned designer Tom Fexas, to whom Tornado commissions six new projects. The Fexas design works for Tornado are a 35 for the racing circuits, 36 Hawk, 39 Hawk, Eleven, 44 Express, and the 45. The nineties are followed by more winning success for Tornado, with famous offshore driver Adrianno Panatta taking the 1991 Venezia Monte Carlo with the 38, and again in 1997 with a 45. In 2007 after competition from various bank institutions, and three months of negotiations Michele Prestipino takes over Tornado. Prestipino era is marked by comfort improvements to the top selling 38 and the launch of a 50 model, and a 60 project which has not seen the light. In 2016 Tornado finds a new ownership with Daniele Parisi, three generations boat builder, and founder of the Parisi yard as the new owner. The ownership change continues the Tornado natural evolution of the brand and style and its over four hundred delivered boats. Today's current Tornado line offers five models from 38, to the upcoming 54.  Tornado latest model is the T-Rib 48 launched in the fall of 2020.  The new Tornado web site is available only in Italian language and takes you around with the following buttons; About Us, Models, Services, Tornado Club, Partners, and Contacts.  Tornado is also present in social media with a link at the bottom of the page taking you to its YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Linkedin pages.
Production History;
38 1985-
44 Express 1991-94
45 1995-2012
38 Cruising 2010-15
50 2010-16
50 2018-
T-Rib 48 2020-
45s 2022-
50sr 2023-

March 19, 2021

Project: Raffaelli Shamal 40 HT

Raffaelli present the project for the Shamal 40 HT.  This is the third version of the Shamal which was born in year 2000, in 2006 the model was updated into the Evo version with a new two cabins two head interior cabin layout, and a revised cockpit deck with a spacious exterior galley to port side.  The Evo version also featured FPT 370hp engines, the most powerful engines on the model so far which allowed her to reach top speeds up to 33 knots.  The new Shamal HT will keep the same interior of the Shamal Evo, with the changes coming for a hard top and new large vertical panoramic window in the cabin area.  The Raffaelli Shamal following its launch has been a success story in the Italian used boat market in recent years, due to it being one of the few sport cruisers of twelve meters in length with shaft drive propulsion and a CE A certification.

March 17, 2021

36th Americas Cup - Emirates Team New Zealand Successful Defence

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Emirates Team New Zealand have successfully defended the Americas Cup as they have won a spirited Luna Rossa Pirelli Challenge with a 7-3 score line.  This fourth win makes the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron the most successful in the Americas Cup modern era which started following Australia II win in 1983, as Team New Zealand now make it a quadruple of wins; 1995, 2000, 2017, and this 2021. 
The 36th edition of the Americas Cup was held for the third time in the famous Hauraki Gulf off Auckland, with the final starting on tenth March after a four days delay due to Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in New Zealand, and then ending today Wednesday seventeen March, after six days, and ten races in a best of thirteen first to seven format.  For the 36th Americas Cup Team New Zealand also introduced the new fast foiling mono-hulls type AC75 boats.  Each boat was required to be build in the Teams Country, with a team allowed to construct up to two boats.
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli under the Circolo della Vela Sicilia club won the right to challenge the cup after winning the 2021 Prada Cup Challenger series held between January fifteen to February fifteen.  
Three teams competed in the challenger series; NYYC American Magic from the New York Yacht Club, INEOS Team UK from the Royal Yacht Squadron, and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli from the Circolo della Vela Sicilia which was also Challenger of Record for the 36th Americas Cup.  A four round robin series was held, this won and dominated by the INEOS Team UK who won all six races and with this entered straight into the Challenger final.  Luna Rossa had a 3-3 score line, and American Magic lost all six and retired for the third and fourth round robins after they damaged their boat Patriot during a Round Robin two race.  With this result Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli had to challenge American Magic in the semi final winning it in a convincing 4-0 on the first two race days held on January 29 and 30.  The Prada Cup challenger final was held between February thirteen and 21 in four match days and eight races. Skippered by Max Sirena, Luna Rossa dominated Sir Ben Ainslie Britannia with a convincing 7-1 score line, as the Italian Red-Moon made it for the second time in the Americas Cup final, after 21 years and its first year 2000 campaign with ITA45. 
The 36th Americas Cup final was much of a close tie until the third racing day.  The opening race day on ten March ended in a draw as Emirates Team New Zealand won the first race, and Luna Rossa clawing one back on the second.  Day race two on twelfth March followed the same script in reverse, and saw the parity between the challenger and defender repeat itself, something which will continue between the two teams till the third day on March thirteen, as Luna Rossa win again the first match but lose again the second.  Unfortunately for the challenger this was the last win as Te Rehutai skippered by Peter Burling showed everyone what she was all about and won all remaining races in dominating fashion with the exception of race eight.  For many this race eight was the turning point of the final as bouncy light wind conditions will give a four minute plus advantage to Luna Rossa till the third gate, as Team New Zealand will fall off its foils only for the opposite to happen in the final three gates to the challenger.
The fastest boat always wins the cup and Te Rehutai was the faster machine, although this time it was close, especially upwind as challenger and defending boats showed similar speeds against the wind, with Team New Zealand being more spirited down wind with an extra half a knot of Velocity Made Good speed.
Their is no second but for Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli this fifth campaign and second Americas Cup final was the most successful to date also in light of the 7-3 result and the performance of the boat.  Founded in 1997 first as Prada Challenge the Patrizio Bertelli team has competed in five editions of the Americas Cup; 2000 reaching the final with ITA45 then white washed 5-0 by NZL60, 2003 reaching semi-final in the challenger series, 2007 finalist in the challenger series, and 2013 were it again reached the final of the challenger series.

New Model: Palm Beach GT60

Palm Beach Motor Yachts launched their next flagship, the high-performance, high-tech GT60. This new second Palm Beach GT series comes from the mind of yacht designer and CEO Mark Richards, which follows the GT50 in offering a high performance sport yacht platform with high efficiency.  In the first sea trials near the company’s U.S. headquarters in Stuart, Florida, the new GT60 reached speeds exceeding 40 knots at wide open throttle on its twin Volvo 1000hp IPS propulsion engines. Where the GT60 truly shines is in fuel efficiency which allows for a calculated range to travel from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas, in just over 5 hours, burning less than 42% of the total fuel reserves.  The material choices, and their placement in the GT60’s construction means that the boat has a naturally low centre of gravity to aid performance, while the warped semi-displacement hull design takes cues from racing yachts to deliver a soft and stable ride at all speeds. Palm Beach then takes engineering several steps further to ensure perfect balance, running carbon fiber jackshafts from the pods to the mid-mounted engines, ensuring the bulk weight of the blocks are cantered and low.  The GT60 features an enormous single-piece curved glass windshield, large electric side and aft windows in the salon, and full-beam entertaining spaces in both the salon and cockpit. The layouts are practical and modern, while still retaining the true nautical feel of a cruising yacht.  As with all Palm Beach Motor Yachts, customers can expect to enjoy the ability to customize the layouts and available options to ensure their high-performance GT60 is perfectly tailored to their individual needs and desires
Technical Data:
LOA - 19.5 m (64ft)
Hull Length - 17.4 m
Beam - 5.2 m
Draft - 1.14 m
Displacement - 21500 kg
Fuel Capacity - 3200 l
Water Capacity - 1000 l
Accommodation -  four berths in two cabins
Engines - 2 x Volvo D11 725hp, D13 1000hp
Propulsion - Volvo IPS950m or IPS1350 forward looking pod drives
Speed - forty knots 35 cruise with Volvo 1000hp, 31 knots cruise with 725hp
Hull Shape - warped semi displacement
Construction - resin infusion with Vinilester resin, and Carbon Fiber reinforcements
Project - Mark Richards

March 16, 2021

Two Classic Boats Burn Down in Oceanside Harbor

Two classic motor yachts of about fifteen meters in length went ablaze in a marina in Oceanside, just off the 200 Block in South Harbor Drive, California for a fire which started on 16:10 hours of Monday fifteen March.  Oceanside Fire Battalion responded to the fire to the two unattended boats, with the fire starting from the yacht further outside to the pier, and then jumping to a similar classic yacht on its starboard side.  No one was injured in the fire as both yachts were unattended, with the cause of the fire being under investigation.
The classic yacht in this fire is a Tollycraft 50ft Discoverer as produced from 1965 to 67.  Tollycraft was founded in 1936 as a wooden boat builder by Robert Merland Tollefson. In 1962 Tollycraft started to switch its boat production to fiberglass. Tollefson sold the company in 1987, and it was bankrupt by 1993, although it did continue to operate up till 1997 before it went totally out of business.

March 15, 2021

Project: Back Cove 372

Introducing the updated Back Cove 372.  The Back Cove 37 was launched in 2009 and has enjoyed an eleven-plus-year uninterrupted run resulting in more than two hundred hulls. When the production moulds for the Back Cove 37 finally gave out in 2020 due to boatbuilding wear-and-tear, the design team seized the opportunity to re-examine the 37 with over a decade of owner feedback and recent design advancements in mind. The result was a boat full of fresh details that earned its own designation, enter the newly redesigned Back Cove 372.  The Back Cove 372 is full of fresh details that are tailored to today’s cruising and boating lifestyles, yet it retains the classic character and heart of a proven winner. The highlights include: a more efficient 24V DC electrical system with less copper weight, resulting in both a lighter boat and increased run time on the bow and optional stern thrusters.  Cummins 600hp diesel engine as standard and a Volvo an option. This adjustment is the direct result of owner preference, with more than 95% of Back Cove 37 owners opting for a larger-than-standard engine since 2009.  Black windshield liner and an upholstered helm pod reduce dangerous and distracting glare at the helm. Further updates to the helm pod include new materials for better durability and stain resistance, increased space for navigation electronics.  Fixed-glazed pilothouse windows replace difficult-to-operate sliding windows, offer enhanced sightlines, and are complemented by a center-opening windshield with opening appliances for smoother operation.  A new aft-facing cockpit seat to starboard, complete with a folding armrest and drink holder, paired with a new salon door to port with a bi-fold window to starboard (above the aft-facing seat). A reconfigured head with expanded medicine cabinet, sizeable over-sink mirror, and redesigned shower stall.