Innehållsförteckning för November 2020 från Yachting

THE VIKING YACHTS 38 Open Billfish evolved from the 38 Billfish flybridge. It’s an express boat built for diehard anglers. ¶ The 38’s centerline helm station allows for 360-degree visibility, thanks to a step-up platform, center windshield, curved corner glass and open aft space; Bimini curtains help to keep air conditioning in and heat out. The console has room for twin 17-inch Garmin multifunction displays, an engine monitor and speed/depth logs. A joystick controller should come in handy for close-quarters maneuvering with the twin 550 hp Cummins QSB6.7 diesels. ¶ A radio box to port of the Palm Beach-style helm pod (with bow-thruster buttons in the single-lever controls) houses the VHF radios and touch-button controls for the Seakeeper SK6 stabilizer. Behind a drop-down ceiling panel are recessed electric teaser reels.…

WITH A LINEUP of Down East-style express cruisers from 35 to 53 feet length overall in inboard and outboard configurations, MJM Yachts is now entering the dayboat market with its 35-foot 3z. ¶ Where the 3z differs from it siblings is in its dayboat functionality. The vessel is open from the stern to the bow with three entertaining and seating zones (see sidebar). Naval architect Doug Zurn says he expanded the width of the 3z’s windscreen out to the gunwales, increasing interior space to a volume one might see on a 40-footer. The design also provides 360-degree views from any point on board. With the three forward and two side slider windows open, the 3z has a center-console feel. If the weather gets snotty, button up the windows and roll…

HOW DOES ONE DEFINE outstanding luxury on a motoryacht? ¶ After all, you’d be hard-pressed to find a modern motoryacht that didn’t have a gorgeous interior, comfortable seating, climate-control zones and plush fabrics. Naturally, you’ll find all these things aboard the Summit Motoryachts 54. ¶ But the true nature of luxury aboard this yacht stays hidden until—and even after—you start the engines. I know this because my ears suddenly awakened to the fact that 1,084 rumbling diesel horses in the engine room were barely audible at the helm station. Or, for that matter, anywhere on the boat. ¶ I found this absence of racket both pleasing and curious, so I slid open the aft salon door and discovered that the engine room was so well-insulated via the 32 mm Pyrotek…

SECRET SOUNDS Fusion Entertainment’s Apollo WB670 hideaway stereo ($450) delivers great sound without taking up helm real estate. Control is via a compatible multifunction display or Fusion’s ERX400 wired remote ($230). The WB670 optimizes downstream speakers and amplifiers with digital-signal processing, and the PartyBus feature gives users control over what tunes are played and where. Fusion Entertainment, fusionentertainment.com FASTER GLASS Raymarine’s Axiom Plus multifunction displays have LCD screens with in-plane switching for wider viewing angles. Hydro-Touch nanocoating bolsters the screen’s impact resistance and eschews dirt. The units come in 7-(from $750), 9-(from $1,100) and 12-inch (from $2,500) sizes. Each model has improved GPS receivers, LightHouse cartography and the Dartmouth operating system. Raymarine, raymarine.com DATA GATEWAY Intellian’s V60E is an entry-level satcom option. The V60E ($29,000) operates on the Ku frequency…

Dixon Yacht Design in the UK has released initial images of its 180-foot Project 175. The sailing superyacht will have an all-aluminum hull and superstructure. The design firm says the yacht’s main deck will be set up like a motoryacht layout and the salon will be surrounded by glass, providing nearly 360-degree views. There will be a formal dining area on this deck too. The flybridge is designed to have twin helm stations, a hot tub and alfresco entertaining space. Belowdecks, there will be four guest staterooms and an owner’s stateroom with direct access to the transformer-style teak beach club. Project 175 will have hybrid propulsion that enables the propellers to generate electricity while sailing. READER FEEDBACK Looking for photos and yacht news? Get social with Yachting: visit facebook.com/yachtingmagazine By email: letters@yachtingmagazine.com…

THERE IS SOME GOOD news from the Bahamas when it comes to crewed-yacht charter, which all but ground to a halt worldwide when the COVID-19 pandemic struck this past spring. Charters have resumed in the aquamarine paradise within cruising distance of South Florida, albeit with some fits and starts that are likely to continue throughout this fall and winter. As long as clients are willing to be flexible about the charter experience, a getaway can still happen. ¶ A little recent history makes clear why charter is resuming—and why it isn’t quite the same as most fans of the Bahamas may remember it. The Bahamas first closed itself off from the world in late March, with an announcement of four cases in its capital city of Nassau. To protect the…

ONCE UPON A TIME, SPORT-FISHING BOATS were sized to meet lesser demands. Ernest Hemingway’s Pilar was 38 feet, which was large enough to get him into the Gulf Stream to chase marlin and the occasional U-boat during World War II. The first Rybovich, Miss Chevy II, was just 34 feet long, while the first Hatteras convertible sport-fisher, Knit Wits, pushed the length-overall envelope at 41 feet some 60 years ago. ¶ Today, sport-fishers have soared past the 90-plus-foot mark with regularity, ranging up to the 144-foot Trinity Bad Company (originally Marlena) that carries a dozen guests and a half-dozen crew on adventures to far-flung fishing grounds. ¶ For years, both production and custom-built sport-fishers have grown. Owners demanded vessels that were bigger and more comfortable for running on their own…

CHRIS WHEELER WAS AWAITING GUESTS in the Bahamas aboard his 67-foot Outer Reef Classic Motoryacht, Private Idaho, when one of his batteries went down. “It was harming the performance of the whole house bank,” he says. “These things weigh like 150 pounds. It’s a massive battery. They’re also hard to get.” ¶ He knew a guy who had one in Jupiter, Florida, and he knew of a sailboat sitting about 100 miles away from there in Key Biscayne, waiting for a weather window to sail across to the islands. Needing help from afar, Wheeler called Capt. Randy Ives, who manages service projects and more for Outer Reef. ¶ “I asked if there was any way he could get this battery and put it aboard this sailboat that’s coming to the…

THE HITS KEEP COMING—a phrase that is all too accurate for what usually would be a bustling fall boat-show season, but instead is seeing yet more cancellations due to COVID-19. ¶ So, we’re choosing to look at the phrase differently this year. Because the truth is that the hits—as in star-quality creations that leave us grinning—also keep coming from builders unveiling and launching new models filled with innovation and beauty. ¶ Indeed, the good stuff is now arriving in all market segments, from motoryachts to power catamarans to bluewater-ready fishing machines and re-imagined classics. No matter what form of yachting suits your fancy, there’s a new model out there that’s ready to get you on the water in style. The following pages offer a look at some offerings from builders…

THIS PAST SUMMER, A HANDFUL OF CRANES lifted the massive aluminum superstructure for Project Cosmos into the air at Heesen Yachts, in preparation for joining the superstructure with the aluminum hull. The 1,700-gross-ton 262-footer is the largest yacht by volume and length in the Dutch shipyard’s history. ¶ As exciting as the moment was for those reasons, it was arguably more exciting for the builder’s team because of Project Cosmos’ challenging construction and engineering. Incorporating a shipyard-patented hull component, the yacht is poised to cruise upward of 20 knots and top out at 30 knots. ¶ The excitement in the air may have been reminiscent of a similar scene in 1979, when the 66-foot Amigo launched. Amigo was by far the largest yacht that a Dutch entrepreneur, Frans Heesen, had…

THE FIRST LESSON I learned about Pacific Northwest sailing after moving here in 2009 was that Puget Sound doesn’t get much breeze in the summer. The second lesson was that it’s crucial to keep a constant vigil for logs, large branches and deadheads, which are logs or entire trees (and root balls) that have taken on so much water, they float vertically, often revealing only a few inches of freeboard. These deadheads can wreak havoc on hulls. Eleven years in, I’ve had numerous close calls, and I try not to think about the near misses that undoubtedly unfurled outside of my awareness bubble. ¶ A lot more people these days are experiencing those near misses because the things people are doing with modern vessels involve faster speeds, often in places…

THE FAIRLINE TARGA 62 GT has sweeping lines and a rakish superstructure. A sunroof opens over the helm and salon for fresh air and locks down with pneumatic seals to keep it rattle-free. ¶ The yacht has a Bernard Olesinski hull form with a fine entry and 18-degree transom deadrise. ¶ Accommodations are in three staterooms. The forepeak master has an athwartships berth, and the other guest staterooms have double berths. ¶ At press time, there were three Fairline Targa 62 GTs on the market, ranging from $885,000 to $999,000. FROM THE ARCHIVE “With an average top speed of 33.4 knots on test day, the Targa 62 offers inspired performance that should be plenty for those wanting excitement. Come down to a cruising speed of about 25 knots, and this…