Indholdsfortegnelse for April 2016 i Yachting

WHEN I FIRST saw the Custom Line 108 resting along the quay in Cannes, France, I was struck by her shadow-inducing size juxtaposed with what was a relatively low profile, enhanced by glass. Lots of it. Glass is used extensively on the 108 to help connect those on board with the salt. For instance, the high-impact-resistant, rectangular hullside ocean-view windows in the four VIP cabins measure about 18 square feet apiece. The main-deck master’s windows have a curious eyebrow look, also providing stunning saltwater vistas. After giving her a good look from the dock, I walked across the passerelle onto a deck of warm, welcoming teak. A bevy of international journalists were mingling, marveling, pointing and staring wide-eyed. This bright-white-hulled Custom Line was contemporary yet cozy; opulent, but not ostentatious;…

LET’S FACE IT: Yacht toys are fun, but they’re not without challenges. Some require cranes to launch, or WaveRunners to use, or a crew of three to inflate and deploy. And when the fun in the sun is done, they eat a monster-size chomp of lazarette space. All of which is why kiteboarding kits are showing up on yachts from the Caribbean to the South Pacific. No launch equipment is needed, the only power required is wind, and the gear is designed for a single person to handle. Perhaps best of all is that the space needed for stowage is akin to a wakeboard and a hefty backpack — that is, if you can limit yourself to just one kit after you learn how to harness the wind. “There is…

THE NAVETTA IS AN ITALIAN DESIGN that has been adapted to suit the world’s yachtsmen during the past 30 years. The United States has trawlers, but navettas tend to have longer, more elegant lines, with topsides designed around functional simplicity. Navetta translates from Italian into “little ship,” but the name also implies that the owner’s comfort should be right up there alongside seaworthiness. These displacement-hull designs usually range from 75 to 90 feet. Absolute has moved in the opposite direction with its Navetta 52, concentrating the liveaboard lifestyle into a smaller, faster planing hull. INITIAL IMPRESSION The first thing I noticed was a flip-up panel at the transom with an electric grill and sink. This option might seem over the top, but it showed how Absolute focused on every inch…

THE ASTONDOA SHIPYARD WAS FOUNDED IN SPAIN A CENTURY AGO and has grown into a boatbuilding empire that remains familyowned and managed — a rarity in today’s corporate world. While Astondoa yachts are regular features at major European boat shows in places like Cannes and London, the builder is still growing brand awareness in the Americas. Its 80 GLX should help that cause. EYE- CATCHING VERSATILITY The Astondoa 80 GLX can be tailored to the needs of her owner, even though she is labeled a production yacht. My test 80 GLX was a European-style craft with an enclosed galley set between the pilothouse and her formal dining room. European chefs are rarely seen, while American families tend to open up the galley. In this case, the owner doesn’t cook, so…

THEY BUILT SOME of the first roads leading to Lexington Market by following the ruts and tracks that horse-drawn wagons left in the grass and dirt. Butter, eggs and vegetables came from nearby farms, and delicacies like sugar arrived in the hands of couriers from ships about a mile away in the harbor. The young city of Baltimore at the turn of the 19th century was building its profits on, among other things, being a granary. Plantations on Jamaica, Martinique and other Caribbean islands grew the sweet stuff, and Baltimore processed and distributed it in bags to homes and restaurants alike. A lot of people got their sugar fix at Lexington Market, which, founded in 1782, was born pretty much right alongside the United States itself. Cruising into the harbor…

VANQUISH YACHTS rewrote day-boating rules with the 50. Instead of squeezing a tender onto the swim platform, the Dutch builder designed a starboard midsection garage where the master suite usually is. The opening, which is the perfect size for a Williams 325 Turbojet RIB, measures 4 feet 1 inch by 6 feet 10 inches. Vanquish builds custom aluminum boats with attitudes, and they were able to accommodate the owner’s request for a day boat with no compromises aft. Designed by Guido de Groot, the 50 is completely open from the helm station to the swim platform. Moving the tender stowage amidships meant designing a smart garage. Its frame is welded to the hull to retain structural integrity, sealing tight when the door is closed. When it’s open, the tender slides…

EVER WONDER what the dawn of our obsession was like? Was Cleopatra’s barge a yacht, as some archaeologists suggest? She used it to bed Mark Antony. Was it for work or pleasure? Before fiberglass, nature had its way with much of yachting’s past. Most find the bones of old fiberglass boats an eyesore, but my pal, Nick, sees it differently. He has embraced his passion for old off shore race boats like Indiana Jones embraced the Ark of the Covenant. I recently inspected Nick’s new-old ride: a rare 1969, 31-foot Bertram race boat. She’s a time capsule thanks to Nick’s hard work and investment. Contrary to the brochures, a fiberglass boat’s decomposition begins the day it touches the water, continuing until its last owner can take no more. Its exoskeleton…

PALMER JOHNSON is embracing European style after announcing in September that it was taking over the Holland Jachtbouw yard in the Netherlands. This beauty is called Niniette, designed in cooperation with renowned European brand Bugatti to bring a bit of sports-car styling to the sea. The Niniette line will include three models: 42, 63 and 88 feet. Each combines the Palmer Johnson SuperSport hull shape with design elements from classic Bugatti cars. Carbon fiber will be the primary construction material, with titanium and wood in the mix. The 63 is expected to have a top speed of 38 knots — a bit slower than the 253 mph Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse, but still a good clip. Entry-level price for the 42 is about $2.2 million. Take the next…

LIFE IS AT its best when all your choices are good ones, which means life is at its best with the Fairline Targa 53GT. Buyers of this express cruiser are treated to a number of choices, all of which are good. Take, for example, the galley. The standard arrangement has the galley-down in a sunny atrium, but I know at least one wife — mine — who wants the galley-up in the salon. Galley-down gives you great counter space, while galley-up gives you a U-shaped setup tucked behind the helm seats. The trade-off? With up, you get a day-head opposite the portside twin guest cabin, plus a utility area, which means laundry to me. This day-head (with shower) also gives the VIP cabin forward a private en suite head. With…

POWER CONSERVATION Generators are fantastic at powering onboard systems and devices, but they can get overwhelmed. IMED’s IME-LCM6 ($1,298) load-control system is designed to ameliorate overloading worries by monitoring the yacht’s main electrical system and employing user-created settings to depower less-critical systems and devices during high power-draw situations. The IME-LCM6 repowers these devices when the overall power supply allows. It has six load-control outputs and two alarmed, auxiliary-control outputs; vessel and systems depending, it can also allow you to spec a smaller-size generator capable of satisfying the yacht’s average load, rather than its peak. IMED, imed.co.nz NOWHERE TO HIDE Garmin’s latest Panoptix transducer — the PS21 ($999) — is designed to be used on a trolling motor, allowing you to add forward-looking sonar capabilities without needing to install another through-hull…