Richard Thiel's Blog

Build Me, Launch Me, Fly me

richard_thiel — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:58:00 GMT

For a lot of visitors to the recent Miami Boat Show, the most memorable display on Collins Avenue wasn't a yacht but an airplane on top of yacht. A number of things about this rig drew spectators' attention, not the least of which was the single-engine aircraft's bright-yellow paint job. Then there was the fact that the plane's wings folded back alongside its fuselage, making it practical to carry it aboard the relatively small (at least for carrying a fixed-wing aircraft) Tricon Argos G92

The combo certainly got my attention, especially since it was moored right outside my hotel window. So I did a little research, and things got even more interesting. The airplane is a Glasair Sportsman 2 + 2 with optional floats that contain landing gear so it can land basically anywhere. It's apparently a real workhorse. According to the company website (www.glasairaviation.com), "with 2 pilots and full fuel, the Sportsman will not only haul over 300 pounds of gear, cargo, or extra passengers, it will easily handle all of the bulky stuff you never thought you’d take with you in your airplane: two sets of golf clubs, snow skis, nine-foot fishing rods and reels, folding tables, chairs, aluminum-frame backpacks, all kinds of camping, hiking and scuba gear." And apparently, even with all this stuff packed aboard, you can fly 600 miles in four hours and still have a half-hour fuel reserve.

Something else I found very attractive about this plane is its light weight: just 1,350 pounds empty. That means that most boats will be able to lift the Sportsman aboard with a conventional davit, after installing a lifting bridle on the aircraft. And it's likely no reinforcement will be necessary on your aft deck, although you should obviously check with your boat's manufacturer to be sure.

But I've saved the best aspect of the Sportsman for last: You build it yourself from a kit. And according to the company it's a pretty simple process that you can do without a lot of special tools, in as little as two weeks. Check out the brochure on line for pricing.

And by the way, I also got aboard the Argos. It was almost as cool!

The photos you see here are courtesy of our favorite photographer, Jim Raycroft.

Cracking Ice

richard_thiel — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:43:00 GMT

Looking for a boat with gobs of style and more speed than you'll probably ever use? Try the newest launch from the Italian sportboat builder, Performance. She's call Cracking Ice, and thanks to her triple 662-hp supercharged MerCruiser gasoline V-8s, she can reportedly hit a top speed of 63 knots (72.5 mph). Rather remarkably, the builder claims that due to the boat's unique hull design, she also "consumes significantly less fuel than most comparable competitors," although it doesn't name those competitors,

What is not in dispute is the fact that this is a very attractive boat. As you can see in the running shot below, she has a slighty elevated foredeck, which provides enough room below for two relatively comforable cabins, a workable galley, and a large head with enclosed shower.

Here's a look at her interior. Not terribly large by motoryacht standards but roomy for her type. And besdes, who really sleeps in these things anywaay?

If you really want to be impressed, take a look at Cracking Ice's helm. Three engines makes for a whole lotta gauges and a fistfull of throttles.

No price given.

Maine-ly a Rip-off

richard_thiel — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:45:00 GMT

Pretty much everyone in the boating industry thinks of Maine as one of the most boater-friendly states, but after a recent court case, The Pine Tree State may be in danger of loosing that reputation. At least Tom Toye III thinks so. A former Maine resident and retired Maine businessman who now lives in Florida, he took his 72-footer to Portland, Maine, to have upwards of $100,000 worth of work done on her. Unfortunately, he was unaware of a Maine law that allows the state to levy a five-percent use tax on any boat that was purchased in a state that does nor levy a use tax (in this case Florida) and comes into Maine for any reason—even to patronize its shipyards or cruise its waters—for 30 days or more. Toye challenged the tax in Maine Superior Court and lost. Unfortunately by the time he received a judgement, the original fine of $60,000 had balooned to about double that.

Toye is far from the only victime of this aggressive reading of the law. Not only have many other visiting boaters found themselves tagged with a tax bill for overstaying their welcome, the state also goes after aircraft and RV owners—bacially anyone they can make a buck off of.

To be fair, Maine isn't the only state with a program to track down nautical vsitors in an effort to squeeze money out of them. Connecticut and Maryland are both notorious for sending tax agents to boatyards, marinas, and other likely spots trying to find anyone who has been in state beyond the one-month limit.

The genisis of these program is, of course, those part- and full-time residents who purchase their boats (and aircraft and RVs, etc.) in states where there is no use tax and then try to bring them back as out-of-state visitors. Since use tax typically runs five percent and often more, a move like that can theoretically save a buyer a nice piece of change on a half-million-dollar purchase. As long as he or she remembers the immortal words of Thomas Wolfe: "You can't go home again."

Rocket Man Returns to Earth

richard_thiel — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:12:00 GMT

Does the name John Staluppi ring a bell? If it does, it's no doubt because of the string of very high-perfomance yachts he built, some of which held world speed records and all of which were named after James Bond movies. Let's see, there was the 139-foot The World is Not Enough, which was said to be able to sustain speeds of "65 to 70 knots," plus the nearly-as-fast Moonraker and Octopussy. But there was also his 163-foot Christensen Casino Royale, which topped out at 18 knots. You could say Mr. Staluppi has eclectic tastes when it comes to his yachts.

So what did he choose for the one after Casino Royale? Rather surprisingly, a 171-foot full-displacement Benetti, Quantum of Solace (ex-Midlandia, ex-Alfa). And that apparently has led to his next vessel, for which he just signed the contract. She's another Benetti, and at 180 feet, she'll be his largest yacht ever. There's no mystery why he went back to Benetti. Speaking of Quantum of Solace, Staluppi says, "It's the best-riding, quietest boat I've ever been in. Once you ride in a Benetti, it's like dying and going to heaven." And what will he name her? Well, he's run out of Bond movies, but since build time will be around three years, there's plenty of time for a new flick. In the meantime, she'll just go by the very unBond-like FB247.

Here's a rendering:

A New Cat in Town

richard_thiel — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:39:00 GMT

If you're one of those boaters who prefers two hulls to one, you'll want to keep your eye out for a new catamaran that will debut at the upcoming Miami Boat Show in February, a 70-footer from the Polish builder, Sunreef. I was aboard her when she debuted in Cannes last summer, and I was impressed. The fit and finsh is beautiful, and the layout manages to avoid the tunnel-like staterooms that characterize so many boats of this ilk. Her displacement-style hullform with wave-piercing foresections (see photo below, shot in Tahiti by the way) emphasizes fuel efficiency and range; this 47-ton composite yacht is pushed to her cruising speed--none is given but I'm guessing 15 to 18 knots--by just a couple of 873-hp diesels.

Good range is assured (the boat in the photo above made to Tahiti on her own bottom) by a 2,100-gallon fuel capacity. Since she's a semicustom design, you shouldn't be surprised to learn that six layouts are available, with as many as five double staterooms. Not surprising is the fact that many 70's are bound for charter in the Bahamas through Sunreef Yachts Charter.

Here's a shot of the enormous main-deck area. Cehc out the beautiful woodwork.

Take a look at the pilothouse. Is the settee not a great place for a long passage?

And how about this bridge deck? The only way you get get this kind of space in a 70-footer is if she's a beamy cat.

And last, the master stateroom. Does this look anything like those typical "tunnels" you see on most cats?

For more photos, go to Sunreef's Web site: www.sunreef-yachts.com.

No prices have been give yet for U.S.-spec models.

A Hybrid Feadship?

richard_thiel — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:45:00 GMT

I just received a press release from a Dutch company called Imtech, which describes itself as "a global technical services provider." The subject was the copmany's announcement that it has been commissioned to supply the "green technical infrastructure" on board the new Greenpeace flagship, Rainbow Warrior III (below).

As you can see, Rainbow Warrior III is a sailing vessel. Apparently Imtech's system will provide auxilary propulsion power for times when the wind is of insufficinent strength, as well as powering things like hot water and general electrical supply. Few details of the system were included, although there was a photo, presumably of the system (below).

It's pretty hard to glean anything meaningful from this image, but that wasn't what grabbed my attention anyway. What did was this sentence tucked away farther along in the release: "Together with Feadship and MTU, Imtech is working on a study of the options to realise (sic) 'green' luxury (mega) yachts."

Although one would assume that any forward-looking company today would be investigating alternative energy sources, I was unaware of an active research program involving MTU and/or Feadship. Making the whole thing more interesting is the fact that SenterNovem, an agency of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Dutch researcch institutes TNO and MARIN are also involved. Clearly the Dutch are very serious about hybrid propulsion.

A Mega-Megayard Will Disappear From the Megayacht Business

richard_thiel — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:43:00 GMT

Take a look at the latest PMY 100, and you'll see two names that appear frequently as builders of really big megayachtis Lurssen and Blom & Voss, which collaborated on the vessel that currently tops the list, the 531'5" Dubai. Elsewhere in this blog you'll find photos from a tour I took of Lurssen's five yards. However you won't find any details or photos of that other German mega-megayard, even though Blom & Voss did the refit on Number 5, Savarona (408') and launched Number 7, the 390'4" A and Number 14, the 344' Lady Moura. That's because this yard has traditionally been shrouded in secrecy due in large part to its military and commercial work. It built the Queen Mary 2.) And now, B&V has announced it is pulling out of the megayacht market altogether, even though it is finishing up worl on a number of yacht projects, including the 525-foot Eclipse. Like Lurssen, Blom & Voss actually has a number of yards, some of which it plans to sell. The yard in Emden is one; the Sweedish firm that is buying it plans to build wind-turbines there.

More on Magellano

richard_thiel — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:00:00 GMT

As promised, here are some photos I took of Azimut's new cruising boat, the Magellano, at the Genoa Boat Show in Italy in early October. Admittedly they're not of professional quality but given the equipment I had (always blame the equipment) they're not bad and should give you a better mental picture of this unusual vessel.

Here's the view from the upper helm. (There's a lower helm, too.) Besides the unusual color scheme, which is carried througout the boat, notice the great sightlines. You feel like you're sitting up unusually high here, and you have a complete view of the foredeck. Also note the unusually high forward bulwarks, a must on a real bluewater cruiser.

Here you see a closer look at those bulwarks and the expansive foredeck area. But what's really neat is that anchor roller. It juts way out to make sure the anchor clears the shiny copper-colored hull, which is key since this boat has a plumb bow. But that's not a problem because when you're done anchoring, the entire assembly tilts back and stows under the foredeck. It's one of those ideas that someone should have thought of long ago.

Here you get another good look at the bulwarks and at the Magellano's broad walkaround sidedecks, which are also so important on a cruising boat. Note too the handrail that runs along the bottom of the windshield atthe right of the photo. It extends all the way around the front, so as soon as you leave the cockpit, you always have something safe and secure to hang on to.

Finally, can you guess what this is? It's the new control panel for the Seakeeper gyro--in this case the two Seakeepers that should keep the Magellano rock-steady in all but the worst conditions, without the appendage drag and potential for damage inherent in fin-type stabilizers.

All in all, a well thought-out boat that looks to be safe and seaworthy. Look for it next fal in Fort Lauderdale or at the 2011 Miami Boat Show

A New Kind of Azimut

richard_thiel — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:46:00 GMT

It's always interesting to see what the Italians are up to, and no better place to do that than the annual Genoa Boat Show, which I have just returned from. There weren't a lot of new models--not surprising give the state of the economy. But one builder bucking that trend was Azimut, which introduced eight new models--quite an accomplishment. Eventually all will make their way to the United States, but probably not until next year's fall shows. They span the builder's entire range, starting with a new entry-level 38, then going to a 40, 53, 72, 78, 88, and culimnating with the 100 Leonardo. Here's the 38

the 40S

the 53

the 72S

the 88

and the 100

Azimut does like colored hulls, don't they? All these are obviously beautiful boats, and each has a lot of new and noteworthy features. But at the end of the day they look pretty much like--well, Azimuts. But that's only seven boats; as I said, there are eight...

And the eighth offering definitely does not bear any family resemblence. Check it out

Yes, it's a rendering, but I was on the actual boat and can confirm that it looks just like this, right down to the copper-colored hull. Dubbed the Magellano 74, she is Azimut's first foray into the realm of long-range cruisers--what the Italians call navettas. The hullform is technically a semi-displacement, although the builder says it's unlike any such design we've seen before. Note the very un-Italian plumb bow, designed to stretch the waterline length for maximum displacement-speed efficiency. Claimed range is 1,100 nautical miles at 12 knots, although the boat can make up to 24 knots, albeit at much reduced efficiency. Stability is ensured by the use of two large Seakeeper gyros, one fore and the other aft--the fist such installation. The interior plan, below

features three cabins plus crew quarters and is very open, and the boat is designed to be operated by a couple.

I took a number of photos of the boat's interior in Genoa, which I'll post here shortly. The Magellano probably won't come to the United States until the fall of 2010.

So You Want To Be a Yacht Captain...

richard_thiel — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:23:00 GMT

Are you tired of life in a cube? Had enough with starting at a computer screen and the back of that same head every day? Does that constantly blinking voicemail light drive you right up a wall?

What you need is an outdoor job! But not just any outdoor job. You need one that puts you in proximity to boats and the water. You could be a commercial fisherman, but the life is hard and the pay spotty. You could be a charter captain, but you'd have to know how to find fish and deal with disgruntled, and occasionally drunken, anglers. If you're young you could join the Coast Guard or Navy, but talk about working your way up from the bottom...

No, what you really want to be is a yacht captain. The "office" is way better than that cube you're in, although the sleeping accommodations might be about the same size. The view is--well, let's put it this way: There is a view. Iinstead of a bunch of equally unhappy aliens, your co-workers will be people who share your passion for boats and the water. And your room and board just may be paid for, which means you can save a lot of money very fast. But maybe best of all in today's economy, there's actually a shortage of qualified applicants, so your chances of landing a good job with excellent pay and benefits are quite good.

Ah, but money--that's the rub. Just how much does a yacht captain make? For a long time that was a matter of speculation and a pretty well-guarded secret. But the September issue of Superyacht Business went a long way towards lifting that veil of secrecy when it published the findings of a recent poll. The results may surprise you, depending on your expectations. As you might imagine, pay is a direct function of vessel size. That captain of a 100-foot or smaller yacht with two to six crew can expect to make a little more than $60,000 annually. For yachts 100 to roughly 150 feet and crew of five to 11, captain's pay jumps to around $96,000. Step up to a vessel of 150 to 200 feet with a crew of eight to 18, and you're talking around $120,000. And if you make it to the big leagues--200 to about 275 feet with a crew of 12 to 25--you can expect to pull down a cool $130,000. Not bad for running a boat, eh? And the cool uniform is free.

But note that even this stratospheric world is affected by global economic maladies. Overall, yacht captain salaried actually fell in the period from 2006 to 2008. Surprisingly (at least to me), the bigger the yacht, the greater the decrease. Captains of yachts 100 feet and less saw about a two-percent drop, while those commanding the largest vessels took an average 20-percent hit.

Even at its worst though, being a yacht captain sure beats the heck out of sitting in a cube.

A Really New Thruster

richard_thiel — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:52:00 GMT

While I was touring one of the Lurssen yards, I happened to spot an interesting port on the underside of one of the new builds. A little research and I discovered it was a Schottel Pump-Jet thruster, and the more I learned about it, the more intrigues I was. Essentially, this is a pump that draws water from the center of its port and expells it through vanes around the ports perimeter. The intriguiing feature is that the entire port is full azimuthing--it can rotate through 360 degrees, so a vessel using one (or two, one forward one aft) has far greater maneuverability than it would with a conventional thruster that provides thrust only perpendicular to the vessel's keel. Here's a cutaway drawing of a typical Pump-Jet.

You cannot see the pump's inlet as it's on the bottom of the unit, but one of the outlet ports is clearly visible. Naturally the size of the unit depends on the size of the vessel, but i'd estime that the unit I saw was about a foot in diameter, this on a vessel of about 124.4 meters or 408 feet. Lurssen installed a similar-size unit on its 110-meter (360'9") Dilbar, which launched this year and debut at No. 12 onThe PMY 100. and not only is the unit compact, it is basically flush with the hull exterior and so produces little, if any, hydrodynamic drag, as you can see in this picture of an installed Pump-Jet.

But the most interesting aspect of this device is that it can actually be used, alone or in combination with other Pump-Jets, to provide propulsion. In the case of Lurssen's new build, the yard expects that electrically powered fore and aft Pump-Jets will be able to propel the vessel up to 4 knots on the gensets alone, which means a yacht can move short distance without disturbing guests or other yachts by starting her main. Exhaust emissions will also be significantly reduced in this short-range mode where large main engines never really come up to operating speed.

For more information on the Pump-Jet, go to www.schottel.de.

A Trip to the Mega Yard(s)

richard_thiel — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:23:00 GMT

Just got back from a whirlwind tour of the Lurssen yards in Genrmany. I say "whirlwind" because I flew out on a Sunday night and back on a Wednesday morning on an airplane configured to cram as many people as possible into the smallest imaginable space. (Ever heard of Air Berlin?) And I say "yards" because Lurssen has five of them based in northern Germany, of which I was able to see four. Now I've toured a lot of shipyards in my time, but these were really impressive for a number of reasons, including the fact that Lurssen builds very large yachts--as in Nos. 2, 3, and 4 on this year's PMY 100. So the scale of these sites were pretty impressive.

The first yard on my agenda was in Rendsburg, which builds mainly yachts from 60 to 90 meters. (This is the yard that launched Madsummer, which PMY featured in August.) Here's an aerial view:

As you can see, this yard has two drydocks, one of which housed the 75-meter Project Scout, which will be christened Northern Star later this year, and the other J-24, which at 85 meters, will launch in April 2010. In the shed to the right in the picture, just in front of the docked yacht, is Lurssen's only slipway. At the time of my visit, it was occupied by Firebird, which at 85 meters, extended well beyond the shed itself. Another structure, the "building shed," held the hull and superstructure of Hermitage, a 67-meter project that will launch at the end of next year. In all, this yard was operating at full build capacity.

The other three yards I toured are all around the town of Bremen on the river Weser. The Aumund yard, shown here

occupies part of the old Bremer Vulkan shipyard. It once employed some 22,000 workers and launched a number of supertankers before going bankrupt in 1997. (If you look closely at the photo below, you can see the old Bremer Vulkan gantry still standing.) Not surprisingly, Lurssen Aumund is dedicated to really big projects, thanks to that floating dry dock you see at the right, which is 220 meters long and which during my visit held the sistership to Dilbar ( No. 12 on this year's PMY 100), the 110-meter Darius. Behind it is a graving dock (basically a build shed that can be flooded for launches), which can accommodate projects to 150 meters and at the time of my visit held a top-secret 124-plus-meter project.

On the other side of the river, I visited the Lemwerder yard. You see it pictured below on the left (south) side of the Weser River with the Aumund yard in the background, across the river. That's the the 933-meter Eos dockside, the only sailing yacht Lurssen has built.

Here I was also able to see the 85-meter German Frers project Josi, which will launch at the end of next year, and one of the 130-meter corvettes that the yard is building for the German navy. This is one of Lurssen's busier refit yards, haviing recently completed work on the 72-meter Coral island, the 139-meter Al Salamah, and the 47-meter Shergar.

I ended up a bit downriver at the Bardenfleth yard, which focuses on "small" yachts--that is, up to "only" 60 meters. (Sorry, no photo available.) This yard is also devoted to "small" projects--yachts up to 60 meters. Work was just finishing on Arkley, a 60-meter project that will be shown in a few weeks at the Monaco Yacht Show. Two other 60-meter projects were underway, but for me, the highlight was a shed full of mock-ups of the interiors of some of Lurssen's famous and not-so-famous recent launches. Since these are identical to what is actually in each yacht, it was like a mini-tour of vessels that I will surely never actually be able to step aboard. Unless Larry Ellison happens to invite me.

As frenetic as the pace of this two-day extravaganza was, it was surely time well spent and a real learning experience--it's amazing to see shipbuilding on such a massive scale and yet with such efficiency. I've never seen anything like the scale of these yards, and I was gratified to see that despite the economy, the yard is pretty much operating at full capacity, although it is currently aggressively searching for new projects.

Thanks for the rare glimpse of mega-scale yachtbuilding, Lurssan.

Nordhavn 75

richard_thiel — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:23:00 GMT

It’s hard to convey a proper impression of a boat as complex and exhaustively engineered as the Nordhavn 75 (“No Comparison," June 2009) in just six pages. Here are a few detail shots I took of the boat during the test that will help give you some idea of the thought that went into this boat. Cockpit controls are nothing unusual, especially on a sportfishing boat, but the 75 also sports engine room controls (1), both for maintenance and repair purposes but also as a back up. Another commonality among sportfishing boats is the fact that there always seem to be more anglers than there are berths, which can be a real problem on a boat that will be at sea for extended periods. The 75’s solution is this nifty pull out berth in the port-side guest stateroom. It’s invisible most of the time (2) but when you need it, it pulls out of the wall like a window shade (3). And ever wonder what you’d do on your boat if the steering system malfunctioned. On this boat, you’d just go down to the lazarette and remove this giant tiller (4) from its resting place and attach it to one of the rudder posts. Admittedly not the most comfortable place to seer from but a whole lot better than drifting aimlessly. And finally, every good captain want to have clear sightlines to his cockpit when the action gets hot and heavy. On the 75, all he has to do is turn around from his flying-bridge helm seat and he’s got this view (5), right over the second-level observation platform.

Cockpit controls are nothing unusual, especially on a sportfishing boat, but the Nordhavn 75 also sports engine room controls.

The Nordhavn 75’s nifty pull out berth comes out of the wall like a window shade.

If the steering system malfunctions, go down to the lazarette and remove this giant tiller from its resting place and attach it to one of the rudder posts.