Yachting April 2018

My crew singled up lines at Manhattan’s Chelsea Piers, and I idled the 40-foot convertible out of her slip and into the Hudson River. Our destination was Long Island’s South Shore for a few days of fun on the salt. It was June, and the afternoon sky was gray. The air was warm, but the water temperature hovered somewhere around penguin-friendly. When I first entered the river, I could almost make out the New Jersey side, but as I headed toward the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and to open water, visibility deteriorated to hand-in-front-of-your-face. Gray skies plus warm air plus cold water equals fog. It never bothered me much when I was a kid, but fog always weighed on my mind after I became a captain. Give me wind. Give me waves.…

DESPITE ALL THE DESTRUCTION that Hurricanes Irma, Jose and Maria wrought in the British Virgin Islands, the archipelago remains the most-requested destination among bareboaters who book through The Moorings. In fact, if those autumn 2017 storms hadn’t wrecked so many boats, even more bareboaters would’ve been in the islands this past winter. ¶ “We literally can’t build the boats fast enough for people who want to go,” says Ian Pedersen, marketing manager of the Americas for The Moorings, which lost about a third of its Tortola fleet in the storms. “As soon as we can get more of the boats in, everything will be back to normal.” ¶ MarineMax Vacations also was reporting surprisingly high demand soon after the cleanup began. New Year’s was sold out, with a near-normal level…

01. AZIMUT ATLANTIS 51 This sexy Italian import can hit 35 knots thanks to her twin 600 hpVolvo Penta IPS800 engines. She has three staterooms for six overnight guests. 02. GRAND BANKS 60 SKYLOUNGE This yacht adds an enclosed flybridge to the original Grand Banks 60 model. Owners can choose the main deck layout too, with the galley forward or aft. 03. HORIZON PC74 The PC74 is Horizon’s new flagship model. Its 28-foot-4-inch beam allows for wide entertaining spaces. Range is 930 nautical miles at 11 knots.…

THE 3D PRINTING MACHINE in the rendering above is going to stand about 13 feet by 6½ feet by 5 feet — big enough to make sizable parts that can be used to build yachts and other vessels. That’s one reason the Dutch company CEAD is building it, with hopes that it will be fully operational this summer. The machine’s composite technology reinforces the printed parts, meaning it could turn out hot tubs, piping, housings and more — not just for mock-ups, but for real-life use at sea. ¶ The idea is to make it financially feasible for shipyards to print, say, one complex-design part for a custom superyacht without needing to create a mold. Imagine the ability to order custom parts at print-on-demand speed. That’s the promise.…

LOA 78'5" MAX BEAM 19'6" AKOYA PEARLS ARE prize stones, cultured in salt water and known for their brilliant off white color, pink overtones and near-perfect spherical shape. An akoya is ideally engineered to thrive in its saltwater environment. The Pearl 80, a yacht with an off white tone, has a design that should see it thrive at sea as well. ¶ Produced across the pond with lines by naval architect Bill Dixon — who has designed everything from superyachts to sailboats — the yacht has a fine entry that dares the sea to try its luck. Her aggressive look continues aft, with the foredeck’s visual grit blending seamlessly into a sweptback, glassfilled, contemporary superstructure, all tied into a stern section that appears determined to move in one direction: forward.…

LOA 30'9" TOP SPEED 45 KNOTS WHILE IGUANAS are classified as lizards and not amphibians, anyone who has ever seen one paddle across a South Florida canal can attest to their prowess both in the water and on terra firma. That’s why Iguana is such an appropriate name for this builder. Its 45-knot, carbon-fiber Commuter (available in limo and sport models) has tanklike treads that allow it to climb onto beaches and other terrain for easy disembarkation and a novel way to explore a destination. • Whom It’s For: The Iguana Commuter is an ideal tender for someone who views the world just a little bit differently. She sees no real reason to delineate between earth and sea. It’s all hers to discover. She’s probably already dreaming up wings. • Picture…