First Female Port Commissioner
At last November’s ballot, the constituents of Jefferson County, Washington, made history by voting into office Pam Petranek, 59, the first female port commissioner in the 95-year history of the… Read more »
Rovings
Eight Bells: Duncan Lethbridge
Iconic South African boatbuilder and founder of St Francis Marine (now St Francis Catamarans) Duncan Lethbridge, 76, died during an armed robbery and assault at his home in St Francis… Read more »
Piotr Zin’s New Electric Runabout
Following the lead of European builders such as SAY Yachts (see “a = F/m,” PBB No.180) venturing into high-speed electric runabouts by combining advanced carbon construction with powerful motors and… Read more »
Short Cuts 184
On October 28, 2019, the iconic naval architecture and yacht brokerage firm Sparkman & Stephens celebrated its 90th anniversary. Founded in 1929 by Drake Sparkman, James Sparkman, Jason Murray, Rod… Read more »
Schaefer Yachts Eliminates Steering Wheel
Schaefer Yachts, a Brazilian builder of 30‘–86‘ (9.1m–26m) motoryachts, recently launched a 58‘ (17.8m) model without a wheel at the main helm. Control is with a Volvo Penta joystick; propulsion… Read more »
Zephyrwerks Expands Sheaves Lineup
Artisan craftsman and knife maker Ed Louchard of Port Townsend, Washington, who also runs his Zephyrwerks block business, has expanded his product line to a variety of boat equipment. Notably… Read more »
Pakayak Bluefin: Portability in Six Parts
The Pakayak Bluefin is a 14‘ (4.3m) six-part nesting kayak made of rotomolded polyethylene with silicone gaskets and 300-psi clamps that its maker says can be assembled by anyone in… Read more »
DCMC Delves Into 3D-Printed Tooling
Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is emerging as a viable alternative to the now-popular subtractive process employing 3- and 5-axis milling machines/routers to make tools for parts as large as… Read more »
Olaf Harken: 1939-2019
A hard-working, innovative leader in the sailing world died October 21, 2019, in his longtime home of Pewaukee, Wisconsin. Olaf Harken was 80. With older brother Peter the two began… Read more »
Gunboat is Back
Actually, this builder of high-performance luxury cruising-catamaran sailing yachts has been back since 2016, the year Grand Large Yachts (parent of Allures, Garcia, and Outremer) bought the assets of… Read more »
