The first trip with a new boat is many times the most memorable, and this was certainly the case for Bluewater customer Kevin Boutin when he took delivery of his 2024 Elling E4 in the winter of 2025. His first outing was not the typical shakedown cruise to get familiar with a new boat, but was instead a 28-day voyage beginning in Annapolis, Maryland and ending on Pickwick Lake in northeastern Mississippi. The 2,000 mile trek comprised nearly a third of the famous Great Loop, crossing through eight states and multiple waterways, bays, and rivers throughout the journey. Kevin’s search for a new boat began several years earlier, when he and his wife, Liliana, began looking for a full displacement trawler to replace their 39’ Kadey-Krogen. While searching, they came across the Elling brand, and heard about their reputation for building solid, quality boats, but decided it was not quite what they were looking for at the time. After a few years of deliberation, Kevin and Liliana ultimately concluded that they needed something faster than what was available in the full displacement marketplace, especially at their home port on the Tennessee River, where currents can surpass three knots and effectively bring a slow trawler to a nearstandstill. That is when the couple widened their search to semi-displacement boats and recalled their brief introduction to Elling. Built in the Netherlands, Elling builds a range of motoryachts from 45 to 65 feet, all of which meet ocean-going Category A standards for safety and stability. The brand also advertises their ability to selfright when capsized, giving owners peace of mind on extended offshore trips. The E4 features a cockpit with walkaround decks, a spacious pilot house, and a salon, galley, three staterooms and two heads below. Add an 18-knot top speed, and this was exactly what Kevin and Liliana were looking for in their next boat. Their search eventually led the couple to Bluewater Sales Professional Scott MacDonald, who had an Elling E4 listed in Stuart, Florida. Although this was not ultimately the boat for them, it introduced them to Scott and Elling's U.S. Representative Jack Bolel, who eventually helped locate a practically new 2024 model located in Annapolis. Kevin and Liliana, with the help of Scott and Jack, had found the exact boat that they were looking for, and closed on it on New Year’s Eve. In addition to the many standard features on the E4, their boat came with an upgraded 600hp Cummins engine, a 30hp Volvo backup engine, bow and stern thrusters, remote docking controls, and a set of Raymarine chartplotters. The boat even came with heated floors, which were especially useful when taking delivery in the dead of winter on Chesapeake Bay! BLUEWATER ASSISTS IN MOTORYACHT DELIVERY FROM MARYLAND TO THE TENNESSEE RIVER Weather Woes: EOS encountered heavy fog in Florida and snow in North Carolina 36 BLUEWATER
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