PMY - Power&Motoryacht

Sunreef Yachts has established its first office in the United States by opening a new facility in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Poland-based boatbuilder, known for its custom catamarans and mega-yachts, opened the office on SE 17th Street—a short walk from Pier 66 Marina. “Establishing a U.S. headquarters for Sunreef Yachts has been instrumental in developing its global brand and meeting the international demand for luxury power and sail catamarans in the Americas,” said Martha Lukasik, president of Sunreef Yachts Charter.

My holidays, like many people's holidays, involved a trip home to Wisconsin. One afternoon, I was sent to the basement to sort through boxes that contained the abandoned remnants of my childhood. In a box of books, I found my old boaters' safety cards and study guides.

In 2011 I hit 11 boat shows, both domestically and abroad. And trust me, 11 was enough.

I know many of you look forward to boat shows, and actually I do too—at least at the beginning of the season. I just think there are too many of them. Admittedly as a journalist my motivation for going to them is different from yours: You shop and buy (hopefully); I do research. Still I question whether seemingly every city and sizable town in the world needs its own boat show—or maybe two—each presenting essentially the same boats
and information.

An angry wife who took out her frustrations on her husband’s boat will have nine months in prison for reflection. Police say Mandy Fleming of Kent, England, staged a life-threatening attack on her husband’s 39-foot cruiser when she discovered he’d bought a new flatscreen TV for the vessel after claiming he was broke. The 47-year-old woman went to the docks with a cordless drill and drilled three holes in the hull of the $150,000 Double Dragon. She then opened all the gas burners on the stove in an attempt to blow it up.

Funny thing about sunsets, a naturally groovy phenomenon you tend to see a lot of while traveling onboard a boat like my relatively slow, leave-at-dawn-arrive-sometime-after-the-moon-comes-up  trawler Betty Jane. On the one hand, there's a certain similarity amongst most of them I suppose, but on the other, most all have their unique characteristics, their foibles.

Six years after introducing its IPS engine-drive package, Volvo Penta announced that it had shipped its 4,000th unit this summer. The engine manufacturer says its IPS package has replaced shaft-and-strut propulsion on thousands of boats, making them more maneuverable, fuel efficient, quieter, cleaner, and easier to drive. “Volvo Penta IPS fundamentally changed the marine marketplace,” said Clint Moore, CEO of Volvo Penta of the Americas. “For the first time in my experience, consumers start the boat-show buying experience at our booth, asking us which boat brands are available with Volvo Penta IPS. [IPS] owners report significantly higher overall satisfaction than owners of cruisers with traditional inboard propulsion.” The 4,000th IPS unit was installed in a Cruisers 48 Cantius.