Power And Motoryacht | PMY - Power&Motoryacht

Author Articles

by Capt. Bill Pike

PMY Senior Editor:
Bill’s career incorporates a wide range of experience in both journalism and boating. He began his writing career in 1972 as a general-assignment reporter and columnist for the Watertown Daily Times in Watertown, New York. Later he went on to work as a feature writer and reporter for the St. Petersburg Times. Read more here...

Robert Moss interview

By Capt. Bill Pike | Posted August 2012 | Add a Comment

Capt. Bill Pike interviews Princess V72 owner, Robert Moss

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Princess V72

By Capt. Bill Pike | Posted August 2012

Power & Motoryacht's boat test of the Princess V72. With responsive control and plenty of horsepower, this Princess V72 gives an experienced owner the confidence to run her on his own.

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How to Tie a Bowline

By Capt. Bill Pike | Posted June 2012 | Add a Comment

Chapman doesn't properly illustrate how to quickly and efficiently tie a bowline. Forget about that "rabbit and the hole," this video will show you the proper way to tie a bowline—tug-boat fashion.

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Marquis 630 Sport Yacht

By Capt. Bill Pike Photos by Neil ... | Posted June 2012

The Marquis 630 Sport Yacht is a punchy combination of volvo joystick control and the most powerful IPS available. The Marquis 630 Sport Yacht is a well-engineered, expertly crafted, and elegantly designed performance cruiser, with plenty of get-up-and-go. Power & Motoryacht's boat test of the Marquis 630 Sport Yacht, including review, specifications, layout plans, final boat test numbers, and photographs.

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Sea Ray 410 Sundancer

By Capt. Bill Pike | Posted June 2012

Our Executive Editor cuts a rug onboard Sea Ray’s latest sport yacht, the 410 Sundancer, and finds plenty to like—if you’re into fun. Boat test of the Sea Ray 410 Sundancer. Back in the day, thanks to what they call bonne chance in southern Louisiana, I crossed trails with a fabulous old Cajun by the name of Justin Wilson. He had a popular cooking show on TV at the time and a bunch of books, cookbooks, and videos on the market. And because we hit it off from the start, he kindly offered to help me with a story I was doing about Louisiana-built boats, Cajun restaurants, and whatever else I could dream up...

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Why Did the Megayacht Yogi Sink?

By Capt. Bill Pike | Posted May 2012 | Add a Comment

The boating industry was stunned when Yogi—a virtually brand-new, $39 million megayacht—sank in the Aegean Sea. The incident raised questions. Lots of them.

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A Daring Rescue of a Tsunami-Swept Yacht

By Capt. Bill Pike | Posted April 2012 | Add a Comment

When the tsunami hit northeast Japan in 2011, a Bertram 57 was washed out to sea. Her owner rescued her. Takayuki Nozawa. When I met him for the first time at this year’s Miami Boat Show, I was already somewhat familiar with how he’d saved his beloved Bertram 57 Golden Bay from oblivion after the 2011 tsunami in Japan. I’d seen video footage of his jump from the helicopter. And we’d talked on the phone, him in the office of his Yasuda Shipyard in Tokyo, me in my office in the Florida Panhandle...

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Recreating A Boat's Helm

By Capt. Bill Pike | Posted April 2012 | Add a Comment

Tired of those old electronics? Why not give your boat a whole new helm? Here’s how one boater recreated his boat's helm. With mounting frustration, Pasquale Didonato eased his 48-foot Sea Ray Sedan Bridge out of the C&D canal toward the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay. It was well after dark, and a raster-scan radar screen gave his countenance a spooky glow as he leaned to the right in a half-crouch to check his lineup on an upcoming set of buoys...

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Carver 44 Sojourn

By Capt. Bill Pike | Posted April 2012

We test two radically roomy, pod-equipped Carver cruisers, one with gas power and the other with diesel. Coming up with this test report on Carver Yachts’ 44 Sojourn required two separate wringouts. I did the first on Georgia’s Lake Lanier last year, using a model fielded by Carver dealer Singleton Marine Group and outfitted with twin 400-hp Volvo Penta IPS550Gs, the only gasoline-powered pod propulsion package Volvo was selling at the time...

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AquaLens Underwater Viewing System

By Capt. Bill Pike | Posted April 2012 | Add a Comment

If a remote-controlled submarine’s too pricey for your budget, try a submersible on a stick. For weeks, I’d been anticipating the arrival of an AquaLens (an underwater viewing system that mounts on an extendable boathook) from the folks at Aquabotix. While I have no trouble checking on the health of the transom zincs on my boat by simply lying prone on her swim platform and reaching underwater, checking the condition of the deeper, way-less-accessible propshaft zinc (as well as the prop itself) in wintertime North Florida is a chilly, virtually impossible task, unless you happen to own a wet suit and a scuba rig. So was a remote, waterproof video camera—a sort of miniature submarine on a stick—gonna be cool or what?

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