The Future of Self-Driving Boats
July 26, 2017
Will boating follow the shipping industry down the road of autonomous driving? For better or worse, it just might.
Will boating follow the shipping industry down the road of autonomous driving? For better or worse, it just might.
Virtual reality is already here: and it’s transforming the yacht building—and buying—process.
From the driver’s seat of my rental car, Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, glimmered like the Emerald City as I neared the drawbridge that connects the barrier island with the mainland. With its well-manicured, cedar-shingle homes and gorgeous beach, the island is indeed a jewel, but as I reached the bridge’s apex, I realized the radiance was the sun’s reflection off tuna towers and outriggers
Here at PMY, we’re fortunate to enjoy the use of a different boat each summer, which we take out for product testing, entertaining clients, and of course, our leisure. Last summer’s Cruisers Yachts 447 Sport Sedan provided my first chance to actually weekend aboard a boat from this
Singer Island, Florida’s Sailfish Marina restaurant was in aprs-fish mode when I arrived around 6 p.m. At its outdoor tables and bar, salty types—mixed among snowbirds and coeds—sported Guy Harvey T-shirts and deep tans as they unwound after a day of chasing a reported hot sailfish bite. From a dock hard by the restaurant’s entrance, a father and son tossed bread to a school of jacks
All things happen for a reason, right? After a recent sea trial—actually two sea trials, as I will explain—aboard the PC 62 (previously known as the VG 60), an Italian-built catamaran from Ancona’s V.G. Shipyard, I was beginning to see the light behind this oft-used and seldom-understood adage.My first test started uneventfully. BRB Yachts, the 62’s U.S. distributor, had the
The slick exteriors and restrained yet contemporary interiors of Azimut’s flying-bridge models, courtesy of the dynamic design duo of Carlo Galeazzi and Stefano Righini, have succeeded where others have failed: executing striking design across a line of flying-bridge cruisers. And while they are now available in sizes ranging from 39 to 116 feet, the builder felt it needed to offer more than just
During the wintertime in Manhattan, I often forget that I’m on an island. Sure, I’m aware the Hudson and East Rivers are chockablock with ferries, tugs, Coast Guard vessels, and myriad commercial boat traffic, but walking along the skyscraper-walled canyon of Madison Avenue tends to skew one’s perspective.Spring can’t arrive soon enough. In late May the PMY crew starts spending
When Riviera Yachts announced plans to premiere a 36-foot sport cruiser at last year’s Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, I didn’t know what to expect. Because of the success Riviera has enjoyed stateside with its convertibles, I was keen on investigating what direction the Aussies would take to contend in a hotly contested cruiser field. So when I got an invitation from Riviera’s director
I love catching up with old friends. But it’s gotten to be a challenge, as many of us are scattered up and down the East and West Coasts. When the holidays approach it gets easier, as we return to our hometown, although now instead of congregating at a local bar, we meet at various homes, surrounded by children, spouses, and parents. Many of my friends’ parents are long-time powerboaters, and for
From the 50-square-foot cockpit, it’s one step up to the 34’s seriously windowed pilothouse, where her owners will likely spend the bulk of their time…
Grumman Aerospace was once Long Island, New York’s largest employer. Indeed, it was once said that everyone on the island either worked there or knew someone who did. After the huge facility near the junction of the island’s North and South Forks closed nearly two decades ago, it sat vacant until being purchased by the town of Calverton for $1. Thus began the story of Hustler
I’m almost there. My route to Jacques Cartier Park’s marina, Rue Wellington Street, avoids Ottawa’s business district and allows me to skirt traffic snarls while taking in stunning views of the midnight-blue Ottawa River. Lined along the banks of the waterway that the explorer Cartier once sailed en route from Canada’s Maritime Provinces to Montreal are the capital city’s Gothic Revival
So when the second-largest-ever boat in the line, the 60 Sundancer, premiered earlier this year at the Miami International Boat Show, I expected a near riot on the quays. Fortunately there was plenty of room for a dozen at a time to tour a vessel that’s the essence of a successful three-decade run. Take the 41/2-foot-wide standard hydraulic swim platform, well-suited for a PWC or RIB. “We
I believe in love at first sight. But why are the Italians always involved? To be fair, it’s Italian design that holds a special place in my heart, from the sculpted sheet metal of fire-breathing Ferraris and Lamborghinis to the hip home furnishings of Cassina that would transform my apartment into the ideal set for a Stanley Kubrick film. And I admire the bold lines and gorgeous accommodations
Will boating follow the shipping industry down the road of autonomous driving? For better or worse, it just might.
Virtual reality is already here: and it’s transforming the yacht building—and buying—process.
From the driver’s seat of my rental car, Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, glimmered like the Emerald City as I neared the drawbridge that connects the barrier island with the mainland. With its well-manicured, cedar-shingle homes and gorgeous beach, the island is indeed a jewel, but as I reached the bridge’s apex, I realized the radiance was the sun’s reflection off tuna towers and outriggers
Here at PMY, we’re fortunate to enjoy the use of a different boat each summer, which we take out for product testing, entertaining clients, and of course, our leisure. Last summer’s Cruisers Yachts 447 Sport Sedan provided my first chance to actually weekend aboard a boat from this
Singer Island, Florida’s Sailfish Marina restaurant was in aprs-fish mode when I arrived around 6 p.m. At its outdoor tables and bar, salty types—mixed among snowbirds and coeds—sported Guy Harvey T-shirts and deep tans as they unwound after a day of chasing a reported hot sailfish bite. From a dock hard by the restaurant’s entrance, a father and son tossed bread to a school of jacks
All things happen for a reason, right? After a recent sea trial—actually two sea trials, as I will explain—aboard the PC 62 (previously known as the VG 60), an Italian-built catamaran from Ancona’s V.G. Shipyard, I was beginning to see the light behind this oft-used and seldom-understood adage.My first test started uneventfully. BRB Yachts, the 62’s U.S. distributor, had the
The slick exteriors and restrained yet contemporary interiors of Azimut’s flying-bridge models, courtesy of the dynamic design duo of Carlo Galeazzi and Stefano Righini, have succeeded where others have failed: executing striking design across a line of flying-bridge cruisers. And while they are now available in sizes ranging from 39 to 116 feet, the builder felt it needed to offer more than just
During the wintertime in Manhattan, I often forget that I’m on an island. Sure, I’m aware the Hudson and East Rivers are chockablock with ferries, tugs, Coast Guard vessels, and myriad commercial boat traffic, but walking along the skyscraper-walled canyon of Madison Avenue tends to skew one’s perspective.Spring can’t arrive soon enough. In late May the PMY crew starts spending
When Riviera Yachts announced plans to premiere a 36-foot sport cruiser at last year’s Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, I didn’t know what to expect. Because of the success Riviera has enjoyed stateside with its convertibles, I was keen on investigating what direction the Aussies would take to contend in a hotly contested cruiser field. So when I got an invitation from Riviera’s director
I love catching up with old friends. But it’s gotten to be a challenge, as many of us are scattered up and down the East and West Coasts. When the holidays approach it gets easier, as we return to our hometown, although now instead of congregating at a local bar, we meet at various homes, surrounded by children, spouses, and parents. Many of my friends’ parents are long-time powerboaters, and for
From the 50-square-foot cockpit, it’s one step up to the 34’s seriously windowed pilothouse, where her owners will likely spend the bulk of their time…
Grumman Aerospace was once Long Island, New York’s largest employer. Indeed, it was once said that everyone on the island either worked there or knew someone who did. After the huge facility near the junction of the island’s North and South Forks closed nearly two decades ago, it sat vacant until being purchased by the town of Calverton for $1. Thus began the story of Hustler
I’m almost there. My route to Jacques Cartier Park’s marina, Rue Wellington Street, avoids Ottawa’s business district and allows me to skirt traffic snarls while taking in stunning views of the midnight-blue Ottawa River. Lined along the banks of the waterway that the explorer Cartier once sailed en route from Canada’s Maritime Provinces to Montreal are the capital city’s Gothic Revival
So when the second-largest-ever boat in the line, the 60 Sundancer, premiered earlier this year at the Miami International Boat Show, I expected a near riot on the quays. Fortunately there was plenty of room for a dozen at a time to tour a vessel that’s the essence of a successful three-decade run. Take the 41/2-foot-wide standard hydraulic swim platform, well-suited for a PWC or RIB. “We
I believe in love at first sight. But why are the Italians always involved? To be fair, it’s Italian design that holds a special place in my heart, from the sculpted sheet metal of fire-breathing Ferraris and Lamborghinis to the hip home furnishings of Cassina that would transform my apartment into the ideal set for a Stanley Kubrick film. And I admire the bold lines and gorgeous accommodations
