I don't remember the last time Canadian Yachting reported on a big yacht that was just in the development stages but that's exactly what our QuadZeus.com test boat is – an experiment by the Cummins MerCruiser people to showcase a Quad Zeus installation. It features four Cummins QSC 8.3 600 HP high tech diesel engines with ZF Zeus pod drives that push this big sport fishing yacht.

The brand new Azimut 53 Sedan Bridge is a yacht for entertaining. The owner of our test boat, Tony Romanelli of RCC Media has made his new Azimut 53 the centerpiece of his lifestyle. His young family includes a preschooler; their home is a downtown waterfront condominium, within walking distance of the marina. On a summer morning, he can walk to the boat to check it out, enjoy some coffee plan his day, set up meetings and even use it as a floating boardroom. His physical company offices are north of the city so this represents significant time saving.

Darned clever those Beneteau people! Rather than just showing their Swift 34 at boat shows or in ads, the company rigged out a boat, named it “The Greatest Loop” and sent it on a 5,137 nautical mile journey of nearly four months traveling the circumnavigation of the Eastern U.S. and Canada commonly referred to as the “Great Loop”. This was no vacation though. According to Laurent Fabre, president of Beneteau in North America, “The success of The Greatest Loop’s adventure is quite remarkable especially given her achievement of such an ambitious schedule which began on May 15, 2012 and successfully concluded on September 6, 2012.

Your Personal Ship. The Beneteau Swift 52 feels more like your own personal ship than a boat. It’s very high, wide and looks solid from every angle. Approaching from the stern, you step onto a big swim platform, through a real transom door designed to hold out the sea; you walk over real teak trim everywhere. The aft deck is protected by the bridge overhang with a nice port side seat. A glass cabin bulkhead gives a view astern.

I have a surprise for you. You probably think that to commission a custom built yacht to your specifications would be vastly more expensive than purchasing a boat produced by one of the large volume builders. Well, that's not always the case.

For example, I recently spent some time onboard a new 36-foot express cruiser from one of the big volume builders; it was a gorgeous boat that most owners would be very proud of.

Imagine driving this boat! I know from firsthand experience that when you pull up to the dock in a classic mahogany speedboat with varnished decking and gleaming chrome, people always sit up and take notice. Mine is 49 years old and I love it, although keeping up the wood takes effort and engines from the ‘50’s are another issue totally. If you're over 30, wooden boats would probably have been at least some small part of your youth. Seeing a wooden boat often brings back a flood of memories for people; it can be difficult to get away from the dock without spending quite a bit of time in conversation! Further testimony to the popularity of wooden boats is that the Toronto Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society holds what may well be...