Table of contents for September 2024 in PassageMaker

I use music to set the mood in my office. One recent morning, I decided to tackle the folder on my desktop labeled “Tales from the Dark Side.” It’s a hackneyed reference to the throngs of boaters who, after decades as sailors, became trawler owners. Then, I heard The Velvet Underground singer Lou Reed croon, “Well, I’m beginning to see the light.” About that whole dark side thing: I had a mini epiphany. Since taking the helm chair at Passagemaker, I’ve met more than my share of sailors who spent decades shuddering at the thought of becoming power cruisers, only to become the most vocal supporters of the trawler life. I have encountered them at boat shows and on the docks at our Trawlerfest events, and have been treated to…

Cormorant Yachts has launched an 80-foot, CE-A class, oceangoing cruiser from its Gdańsk, Poland, shipyard. Hull No. 1 of the COR780 is a fast-di placement model with a ballasted keel and a pair of 1,200-hp MAN diesels that the owner requested. They return a reported top speed of 21 knots. The semicustom yard, which gives buyers a wide berth in choosing options, finished her interior in book-matched American walnut. The owner is a seasoned yachtsman who also chose a larger hydraulic swim platform to accommodate personal water-craft or a dinghy (the flybridge deck can handle a tender up to 16 feet); a Victron Energy system with a two inverters, two isolation transformers and a LiFePO4 battery bank; a 5-kW solar array fixed to the hardtop to power hotel loads, linked…

Every year, I look forward to the time after Labor Day for someof the best boating weather and thin crowds. From my home port in Brielle, N.J., we have enjoyed many September and October runs to Montauk, N.Y., to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, and to Block Island, R.I. These prime cruising areas offer solitude and make a wonderful background for creating boating memories during second summer. Being able to enjoy second summer means you have to treat your vessel to some TLC now. When boat usage falls off, idle systems and equipment can rapidly develop issues. You can overlook this if a winter haulout is in your plans, but seaworthiness remains critical if you want to use the boat until the leaves turn yellow, or perhaps head south…

WITH THE N51, NORDHAVN CREATED A TURNKEY PRODUCTION BOAT FOR LONG-DISTANCE CRUISING. THE OWNERS OF HULL NO. 1 ARE THE PERFECT COUPLETOTESTTHE CONCEPT. Mark and Fiona Rammell spent a lot of years doing what people tend to think of as the right things. He was a pilot for Air New Zealand for more than three decades, flying the long hauls to Los Angeles. She was a primary-school teacher who went on to specialize in mathematics. They raised four children: three boys and one girl. They also built their own business, managing 14 acres of beautifully manicured gardens that draw about 30,000 visitors each year to see the cherry blossoms and more in New Zealand’s capital city. But these next 10 years? According to Mark, “We’re going to be selfish.” He’s…

A friend died. And this wasn’t just any friend. The death of Bruce Kessler should be of interest to everyone with even a droplet of passagemaking in their blood. He was, in a way, like a butterfly that flapped its wings in Ecuador’s Oriente rainforest, alerting us all to events on the Mongolian steppe. Bruce changed our world just by existing. I met Bruce when we were both racing sports cars. He was already a legend, winning the Sebring Grand Prix in 1958 and the International Grand Prix at Riverside in one of Lance Reventlow’s (heir to the Woolworth fortune) Scarabs. Bruce crashed in flames in the Ferrari he was co-driving with Dan Gurney one rainy night at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He stopped racing after a couple…

PIM DIJKSMAN RIVER TENDER 42 COLUMNIST After an award-winning career at Vripack Yacht Design, Pim Dijksman struck out on his own in 2022 with Dyksman Yacht Design. He utilizes his passion for traditional design “to understand where we came from and where we need to go” with today’s vessels. He is based in Sneek, the Netherlands. LUUK VAN KAATHOVEN SPECIAL EDITION PHOTOGRAPHER Luuk van Kaathoven is a commercial and editorial photographer in the automotive space. The Netherlands-based shooter’s clients include BMW Nederland, Carros, Great British Cars, Octane, Playboy and Puur Porsche. His photos of the Mulder Favorite 1700 were originally published in the Dutch magazine Motorboot. BRANDT PEMBERTON EMBRACING THE NEW PHOTOGRAPHER Brandt Pemberton is a yacht photographer and video-grapher based in Northern California. He has worked on more than 1,000…

Holland-based Trimm Design bills itself as a one-stop shop in interior and exterior yacht design, naval architecture and engineering. Founded in 2008, its clients include the Dutch brands Altena, Boarnstream and Holterman, all of which have built models off Trimm’s concepts. Trimm’s latest project is the Pacific Omega 78, a long-range passage-maker from Pacific Shipyards, also in the Netherlands. When I caught up with Trimm Design principals Warren Parry and Siep Keizer, they had just returned from Pacific’s Waspik facility, where the steel hull was flipped. (The superstructure will be aluminum.) The duo had debriefed the boat’s hands-on owner, who is planning a five-year circumnavigation following the vessel’s debut at the 2025 Cannes Yachting Festival. The CE-A class vessel looks to be an ideal steed for a half decade on…

Nick Mulder is standing at the entrance to Mulder Marina in Warmond, Netherlands. It’s a spot where the 36-year-old feels entirely comfortable. His grandfather founded Mulder Shipyard in 1938, and Nick has been at the helm since his father, Dick, died in 2022. “He involved me in all matters concerning the company from a young age,” Nick says, adding that he and his father shared an office for 14 years. “From conversations with customers and the bank to the construction of halls, I was allowed to be everywhere. That was educational.” Everything he has learned went into the Favorite 1700 Anniversary Edition Summer. “This is a special boat for me because it is the first one that I built without my father,” he says. “We wanted to show that the…

During the summer, it’s a tradition in my family to gather at my Uncle Frank’s home for summertime barbecues. A big part of the ritual is for me to join him when he fires up the grill. Our chats inevitably turn to boats, our shared passion and occupations. Recently, as we kept a watchful eye on the chops, Frank (who co-runs Bootwerk, an outfit that specializes in yacht interiors) said he had heard from a former client who sold his big, steel Doggersbank and was looking for a different kind of boat to suit his new adventures. The client wanted to keep the work in our family. My grandfather, who was Frank’s father, had built his boat some three decades back. My team got in contact soon after. We listened…

It wasn’t too long ago that cruise control was considered a luxury feature in an automobile. Today, not only do most basic cars have it, but they also likely have the more advanced adaptive cruise control. This is the path technology frequently takes: Items that were once cutting edge become commonplace. In that process, what you may have once considered helpful but not really a necessity grows to be considered indispensable. Recreational boating is part of this march of progress. Outboard engines gained power-tilt and trim. Manually weighing an anchor gave way to electric or hydraulic windlasses. The challenge of close-quarters maneuvering eased with bow and stern thrusters. I’m fairly certain that not a single boater I know would give up any of these features today. Still, I’m surprised when…

I studied the nearly nonexistent wake from the comfort of the salon settee as Grato, a Selene 60 Ocean Explorer, made 8 knots in a favorable current and 1,000 feet of cobalt water. Owners Frank and Mindy Crucil were ensconced in the Stidd captain’s chair and amidships galley, respectively, as I spoke with Howard Chen, CEO of Selene Yachts, on what I was seeing and not seeing. At one point, Chen—who is a naval architect—asked for my notebook. He then began to sketch the displacement hull running surface, explaining as he drew. The Selene’s design, he told me, “starts with a bulbous bow, which is also in a very special shape. It’s actually like an egg shape. There’s a hard chine in the back that merges into the full-displacement, round…

For Andy Stewart and his father, Roger, the steel-hull William Garden design Nightfall serves as a bond over a shared passion for salty boats. “We really liked commercial boats and had this idea of maybe one day we’ll convert a boat ourselves,” Andy says. “We also liked single-screw, displacement-hull, efficient trawlers.” His two kids, who are 6 and 8, were also a consideration for Andy and his wife. “We just want everyone to have a good experience and get there safely and comfortably. This is kind of the right fit for us.” Nightfall originally launched as Askov, built by Waterline Yachts of Canada for architect Harlan Pedersen. She’s a single-screw, 38-foot tank with a steel hull that comes in at more than 40,000 pounds. The deck is three-quarter-inch steel with…