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2 months ago | 
boats.com | Zuzana Prochazka |Zuzana has cruised
I’ve always been a fan of Catalina designs. They’re durable, practical and clever. Walking through the neatly designed plumbing and electrical systems with former designer Gerry Douglas was always eye-opening in terms of the thought that went into every detail. Gerry has moved on, but Catalina Yachts perseveres as one of the few U.S. production sailboat builders still operating. They’ve introduced a refresh of their line that they’ve named the 6 Series and it warrants examination.
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Jan 13, 2025 | 
boats.com | Zuzana Prochazka |Zuzana has cruised
In their 10th anniversary year, Finnish boatbuilder Axopar is making serious waves. At this past Fort Lauderdale Boat Show (FLIBS), the company unveiled their latest U.S. premier, the Axopar 29, a successor to their original 28-footer. She nestles into the mid-range of their 22-45-foot model offering and like her siblings, shape shifts from fishing boat to weekender to day boat depending on your preferences. I tested the Axoar 29 in France over the summer and was quite taken with it.
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Nov 21, 2024 | 
boats.com | Zuzana Prochazka |Zuzana has cruised
Yachts have a way of turning heads and the bigger they are the larger the wow factor. That said, small boats can be infinitely more intriguing and when designed well, become engineering marvels because they must accomplish the same mission in much less space. The new Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 350 is such a yacht. It’s a pocket cruiser that feels big, sails large, and packs in features that make her every bit as yachty as her four bigger sisters in the Sun Odyssey line.
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Nov 12, 2024 | 
boats.com | Zuzana Prochazka |Zuzana has cruised
Plastic reindeer and Black Friday ads were starting to haunt my dreams so it was an ideal time to get out of town. Our group booked a 45-catamaran with The Moorings in relatively remote Belize and were more than a little ready to escape yet another rendition of Jingle Bell Rock. The Moorings: Our Charter Jump-OffThe Moorings/Sunsail charter base is at Laru Beya Marina on Placencia Peninsula, a short puddle jump flight south from Belize City.
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Nov 8, 2024 | 
boats.com | Zuzana Prochazka |Zuzana has cruised
Hurricane Deck Boats just introduced a new flagship and with it, signaled that it’s growing out of their traditional market, reaching up to cabin cruiser territory. With their new SunDeck 3200, you can weekend on the Great Lakes or even go near-coastal cruising in Florida with all the amenities of a large yacht. Model OverviewThe Hurricane SunDeck 3200 is 32’ LOA and carries a 10‘6” beam. It weighs around 15,000 pounds dry so it’s no lightweight.
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Aug 28, 2024 | 
boats.com | Zuzana Prochazka |Zuzana has cruised
I’ve been busy testing a few products and I’ve found four that are great summer essentials for boaters. From blankets to wearables to bandages for you medical kit, here are some must-haves that also make perfect gifts. Rumpl Original Puffy BlanketBlankets on boats can be necessary evils. It’s great to have something to toss over you in the cockpit but the chances of it getting wet, smelly or blown off the deck are pretty high.
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Jul 29, 2024 | 
boats.com | Zuzana Prochazka |Zuzana has cruised
The Windelo 50 was first launched in 2021 by a new French yard looking to build something different. Not only were they focused on sustainability, the company also focused on designing a cat that would build confidence in anyone wishing to go offshore with a shorthanded crew. Their enclosed forward cockpit did the trick. SustainabilityWindelo focused on two aspects that would give their boats a smaller carbon footprint and make it more eco-friendly.
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Jul 1, 2024 | 
boats.com | Zuzana Prochazka |Zuzana has cruised
These days, borrowing is increasingly necessary to buy a boat as sticker prices have grown more and more expensive. The average new boat loan grew in size by over 13-percent in 2023, and in 2024 rates averaged seven- to 10-percent on amounts ranging from $10,000 to $4 million. That said, smaller loans are getting plenty of attention since national and local banks, financial services firms, and credit unions are all playing roles in marine lending these days.
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May 13, 2024 | 
boats.com | Zuzana Prochazka |Zuzana has cruised
All eyes were on Bermuda over the first weekend of May as the US boat capsized, sending its racers tumbling into the foil. All crew were unharmed but since this happened on a practice race and the boat couldn’t be repaired in time, it did knock the United States out of this stopover. The cause for the capsize of the F50 was user error when trimmer, Victor Diaz de Leon, pressed a button which inverted the wing (mainsail) by accident.
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May 13, 2024 | 
boats.com | Zuzana Prochazka |Zuzana has cruised
Multihulls have been making deep inroads into the offshore cruising market and while catamarans still reign, large trimarans are proving they have additional benefits even over cats. Trimarans are stable platforms that won’t roll at anchor robbing you of sleep and they offer lots of living space, much of which is above the waterline. But like a monohull, tris do a better job of pointing and sailing to weather than cats and that makes them versatile as well as more familiar to traditional sailors.
