Cruisers is an apt name for this builder that creates eminently livable cruising yachts. Case in point, its newest offering debuting in Fort Lauderdale: the 42 GLS (42’ LOA w/outboards, 13’ beam). From bow to stern innovations abound that promote comfort and hospitality. The cockpit features a U-shaped dinette that faces the galley, a raised wet bar with stools for easy conversation flow, and covered by a hydraulic sunroof that comes standard. Forward, the bow lounge with table converts into a sunpad, and aft are dual “beach doors” that lower at the press of a button to expand the swim platform. Below is six-foot, seven-inch headroom in the aft stateroom and salon with dinette that converts to a berth. Triple 350-hp or 400-hp Mercury Verados power the 42 GLS and made easy to drive with joystick piloting. cruisersyachts.com
Outboard cruisers are truly the best of both worlds. What are these boats like? It’s like speed and maneuverability met comfort and space to make the most useful of boats.
The first tryst resulted in a goldmine: larger-than-life center consoles. But their second rendezvous created something that seems like it should have been here all along: outboard cruisers. It’s a winning combination.
Outboard cruisers create more interior room and offer plenty of space for the coastal cruising family without sacrificing shoal accessibility or speed. It should come as a surprise to absolutely no one that this segment of the market is here. And it’s here to stay.
Whether out for an overnight or a week along the coast, here’s a “baker’s dozen” to consider.
Monterey developed a keeper in the outboard cruiser market with their Monterey 385SE (Super Express). The cockpit has plenty of space for entertaining and relaxing with wraparound, L-shape lounge seating (the transom seat can adjust into a sun lounger) and a fold-out seat in the starboard coaming.
A SureShade canopy is available that extends and stows electrically over the cockpit. A cupboard counter behind the helm seat has room for an optional grill, and a sink is set in the starboard passenger console with a refrigerator below. Under the passenger seat is a slide-out compartment for a cooler. The helm is well equipped and the split seat, each with a flip-up bolster, electrically adjusts fore and aft for legroom. A comfortable, double-wide berth and flat-panel TV is below deck on the starboard side, and a full head with shower is on the port side.
Sealine has designed a sporty, fun-to-drive, luxurious, and comfortable cruiser for the active family with their sport series Sealine S330v. The accommodations are first class with a double berth guest cabin, V-berth master cabin with three skylights (one that opens), a salon that includes an L-shaped sofa, galley with refrigerator, two-burner gas stove, microwave, sink with draining basin, a fully equipped head with handheld shower, and large hull windows.
On deck, the modular cockpit can transform into a full sun lounge or seating around the cockpit table. The Sealine S330V is powered by twin Mercury Verado 300-hp outboard engines, and the helm has a variety of navigation and power options including Mercury Joystick Piloting for Outboards that includes autopilot and Skyhook virtual anchoring.
Fill all your senses while boating in New Orleans.
“Off the beaten path” means different things to different people. For the cruiser tooling down the ICW or in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, New Orleans, Louisiana, easily lives up to its reputation as the “northernmost Caribbean town.” It’s also surprisingly accessible to go boating in New Orleans.
The city offers respite, adventure, and full-service marinas, and bangs out a welcome to boaters like a long traveling note from a trumpet reverberating off the pressed tin ceilings in some dark, candlelit jazz club. Here, boaters are welcome.
City of Tastes and Sounds
At first glance, New Orleans is an inland city surrounded by towns of fishermen and charter captains plying the most productive estuaries and marshes in North America. The reality is quite different. The large 633-square-mile Lake Pontchartrain that forms the city’s northern border isn’t really a lake at all but more of a brackish tidal basin fully accessible from the ICW and directly from the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi Sound. New Orleans is a natural harbor and destination for cruisers boating in New Orleans.
There’s a running joke by locals and natives of how every visitor’s story of traveling to New Orleans can be concisely summed up with some version of these words in no particular order, “Gumbo. Gumbo. Mardi Gras. Gumbo. Étouffée. Bourbon Street. Gumbo.” Perhaps that’s why most travelogues recommend making friends with a local over a beer and po’boy, which is solid advice, but cruisers and salty wanderers to New Orleans never have this problem, for the city’s marina district of West End is awash in the real deal.
A city of neighborhoods that hold their own distinct accents, one of the oldest is the West End. Built on reclaimed land from the lake in the 1830s, New Orleans’ West End is one of the most historical recreational and commercial boating districts in North America. The area comprises two public marinas, expansive parks, boathouses, and yacht clubs hosting nearly 1,000 slips for vessels capable of handling a nearly uniform depth of 12 feet in the lake. West End is an easy shot from the deepwater Rigolets Pass for transient cruisers.
Home to Southern Yacht Club—the second oldest yacht club in the western hemisphere—as well as the legacies of Jimmy Buffet hanging at pier parties in the 1970s and mercenary plots to conquer Caribbean island nations in the 1980s, New Orleans’ West End still holds its romanticism and connection to the past. The city’s largest marina, Municipal Harbor, is currently undergoing a massive $22 million reconstruction.
Along her quay, the city’s first-ever community sailing center is rising and will be home to Tulane, Loyola, and the University of New Orleans sailing teams as well as a bustling headquarters for multiple high school sailing teams all ready to add their sails to this legacy. On any given day, the National World War II Museum’s fully restored PT-305 can be seen slicing just off and along the seawalls and giving museum-goers a much more tactile experience and connection to that period of history.
Historic Haunts
The neighboring marina in Bucktown is home port for a fleet of shrimpers and crabbers. The proximity allows West End to host a legendary array of seafood restaurants, including the 140-year-old Bruning’s that was among those lost to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Today, the seafood restaurants have returned to the marinas, and the raft-ups at their docks have again become a standard scene filled with the city’s characters and liveaboards holding court at the bars.
During parades and festivals, the porches of the building are filled with eager spectators.
It wouldn’t be New Orleans without some impromptu jazz in the streets.
Coffee and beignets, a true New Orleans treat.
If your own boat isn’t enough, you can take a river cruise in New Orleans.
You can’t have gumbo without crawfish!
Charming homes line the streets in the Garden District and beyond.
The French Quarter’s legendary Felix’s Oyster Bar recently expanded to the lakefront and offers unparalleled views with your cold adult beverage and a salty dozen right off the boat. Sala serves a cool wine bar and small plate vibe mere steps from Orleans Marina. For the consummate New Orleans experience, simply grab a snowball. That’s a cup full of finely shaved ice laced with sweet syrup offered in a variety of flavors. Add a few pounds of boiled crawfish, and take in the views from the miles of seawall lining the lake filled with picnickers, rollerbladers, and joggers.
Surrounded by million-dollar condominiums and a resurgent middle-class neighborhood, West End is infinitely walkable. Get to groceries, coffee shops, sail lofts, haul-outs, and ship’s chandleries, all of which call the lakeshore home. Further east on the Industrial Canal are more full-service boatyards and the Pontchartrain Landing. That’s a unique marina, villa and RV park that’s evolved into a gated resort.
However, New Orleans is primarily known for the French Quarter with its seemingly unending array of bars and fine dining. The West End is a quick $15 Uber away or even cheaper bus fare. However, New Orleans is so much more than the French Quarter. Tourists rarely visit some of the best areas and neighborhoods. Ride the streetcars down St. Charles Avenue and marvel at the miles of mansions built when the city was the wealthiest in the nation. Stroll Magazine Street for its endless boutique shopping and quaint eateries housed in 19th-century shotguns and sidehall cottages.
Additionally, the city is gentrifying rapidly. There are too many restored historic neighborhoods to stroll or bike during a long weekend. Not long ago Marigny, Bywater, and Mid-City were dilapidated neighborhoods. Now, they’re teeming with young transplants renovating homes built more than a century and a half ago. New Orleans has been quietly booming and the national media is finally catching on.
Boating in New Orleans
At its heart, though, New Orleans is a maritime city. Home to one of the busiest ports in the nation, massive cranes serving freighters and container ships seem to hover above these historic neighborhoods along the Mississippi River. Innumerable charter captains also call this area home in between their commutes down to Venice and Hopedale where they make a living running sportsmen out by the offshore oil rigs.
For recreational boaters, West End is the epicenter and cruisers will feel right at home. On any given day, Olympic sailors can be found hobnobbing with sailmakers over local rums at the yacht clubs. Or over coffee, one can eavesdrop on an America’s Cup sailor’s tale to local U.S. Coast Guard men and women. New Orleans is defined and shaped by water, as have the generations who have called her home. Cruisers in search of their next off-the-beaten port should pull out their charts and pencil future NOLA memories into their logbooks.
The new Cruisers 42 Cantius (43’2″ LOA, 13’8″ beam) is a coupe-style yacht crafted in the USA. The main deck is designed on a single level to have the cockpit, galley and salon become one when the large sliding door is open. The barbecue/wet bar area is situated at the transom to allow for a full-beam cockpit area with L-shaped seating.
At the helm, 360-degree visibility is excellent. The accommodations deck features two open (master-like) staterooms. Each has a spacious, private head with stall shower. Standard power in the 42 Cantius is Volvo Penta IPS 500 with the option to upgrade to IPS 600. Top speed with IPS 500 engines is 30 knots.
The seventh addition to Cruisers’ Cantius line is packed with the features that make this series so livable and stylish. The new Cantius 42 ’s (43′ LOA, 13′ 8″ beam) salon is crowned with an opening sunroof. With the wide salon door open, the space flows into the ample L-shaped cockpit seating. At the bow, the foredeck sunpad features a chaise lounge that converts to a seating area with table, and aft offers a barbecue at the transom. The two-stateroom, two-head cabin includes a master with a private head. All of this is powered by Volvo Penta IPS 500 drives.
Good things really do come in small packages. This has never been truer than with the Regal 19 Surf.
Who knew that so many features could be packed into just 19 feet? Summer’s never been sweeter. Be it tubing, cruising, surfing, or just enjoying a day out with friends, the small and mighty Regal 19 Surf could be the right boat for you.
The Regal 19 Surf is the only 19′ boat on the water with the versatility to raise your adrenaline levels and comfortably cruise to your favorite sand bar. The RegalVue display and Surf System provide the ultimate tool for both the casual and serious surfers while the FasTrac hull allows for faster speeds, better fuel efficiency, and a smooth ride, even in chop. At this extraordinary value, the 19 Surf will change the way you think about surf boats.
Based on the award-winning 37- and 38-foot models, the Wajer 55 is a perfect balance of beauty and performance. Comfortable seats will keep the pilot and passengers secure when running in big seas. When lounging in the intracoastal, Wajer provides large sunpads aft and near the transom. The swimming platform on the Wager 55 can also be used as a swimming ladder or gangway. Built-in steps with teak decking make getting in and out of the water easy. Below-deck, Wajer will customize the cabin but most buyers of the smaller models opt for a small cabin for the family to get out of the sun. wajer.nl
Volvo Penta pairs their new D11 diesel engine with IPS950 pod drives for a perfect combination.
Green and clean may have a fuddy-duddy reputation to some people—good for the environment but some say not much fun—however, Volvo Penta is changing that with its new D11 725-hp diesel engine. When paired with the company’s new IPS950 pod drives, the robust powerplant is more fuel efficient and pollutes less.
The D11 engine’s innovative technology creates an optimized air and fuel pressure ratio, which increases combustion efficiency. After-cooling provides more engine power, and on the exhaust end it simply emits less particulate pollution. That’s because the new D11 engine must comply with the world’s most stringent environmental legislation, U.S. EPA Tier 3, which comes into force this year. The particulate emissions requirements are 40 percent lower when compared with the old Tier 2 levels.
“The IPS800 and 950 are matched with the new 625- and 725-horsepower D11 diesel engines, providing a perfect combination of torque, speed and maneuverability for 40- to 60-foot flybridge yachts and sports cruisers,” says Marcia Kull, Vice President, Marine Sales North America, Volvo Penta of the Americas. “The result is two new and reliable drive packages both with a unique high torque.”
At the 2013 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show last fall, the Tiara 50 Coupe was equipped with the D11-IPS950 package. In fact, the boat builder designed the 50 Coupe specifically to utilize the new engine. “Tiara has enjoyed a very successful engineering and working relationship with Volvo Penta from the beginning of the IPS system in 2005 in North America,” says David Glenn, marketing director for Tiara Yachts. Tiara was one of the first manufacturers to incorporate that entire IPS system in a boat, which was the 40 Sovereign at that time. “With the Tiara 50 we took the same approach,” Glenn continues. “We designed the hull around the D11 engine to take advantage of the higher fuel efficiency and the EPA ratings. The IPS950 drive line gives you less drag, and we positioned the engines and drives accordingly to take advantage of the CG (center of gravity) and loads. It runs well and is very nimble around the docks.” On the all-new Tiara 50, the technologically advanced D11-IPS950 power package in a twin application is matched to a successful ocean proven hull. This delivers a solid ride whether enjoying a calm day cruise or pushing the vessel to island getaways far offshore.
Cruisers Yachts is developing new 50- to 58-foot coupe and bridge models for 2015 utilizing the D11 engines and IPS950 drives. “We are closely tied with Volvo Penta on this project,” offers Jon Viestenz, Cruisers’ regional sales and product development manager. “It’s exciting and the engines and drives offer a wide range of performance options.”
Offered in three power classes—625, 670 and 725 horsepower—the D11 engines also provide more powerful torque, improved drivability and reduced noise levels compared to other engines in these horsepower classes. “The new D11 series is based on the latest technology within the Volvo Group, and has been optimized for marine use,” Kull adds. “The result is a compact, powerful engine series with new and improved basic design. In addition to a wider range of power classes, the in-line, six-cylinder diesel engines are enhanced with a large number of technical upgrades.”
The engines use the latest generation of the Volvo Penta electronic platform, the Electronic Vessel Control (EVC). The latest generation of EVC enables an additional number of features for increased security and control, and improved functionality.
“We have further enhanced our twin-entry turbo where each exhaust pulse maximizes charging pressure,” explains Thomas Lantz, Chief Product Manager at Volvo Penta. “This gives an extremely powerful torque already at low RPM. The engine responds instantly to operator commands and provides improved drivability with stronger acceleration.”
Pairing the D11 engine with the new IPS800 and 950 drive packages provides higher torque, better drivability and significantly less noise. With steerable drive units and double forward-facing propellers, the Volvo Penta IPS system provides about 30 percent lower fuel consumption and 20 percent higher top speed compared with traditional shaft installations.
Inside the IPS unit the mechanical compressor increases the charging pressure directly from low RPMs and creates an even more powerful low-speed torque. Together with the double forward-facing and counter-rotating propellers the boat operator enjoys an extremely good grip in the water. “The drive packages are more responsive to commands and together with the joystick control, the result is significantly improved maneuverability,” Lantz adds.
The D11 series and the new IPS models are based on the same installation dimensions as before, which could help reduce costs for boat builders. All fuel and oil filters, oil dipstick and oil filler are gathered in the back of the engine where they are easily accessible for servicing, which allows for easier maintenance. The IPS installation is delivered in a complete package from Volvo Penta. In comparison to a setup with shaft drives, the installation time is reduced by more than 50 percent.
