From a Sears Boat-in-a-Box to a Galeon Sky Yacht

Marc Kushner’s love for boating started in the 1960’s with a $49 boat-in-a-box from Sears and Roebuck. Earlier this year, he and his wife Chris purchased a 2019 650 Galeon Sky christened the Light Hearted.

“As a kid, dad and I would fish on the shore of Lake Greenwood in Trenton,” said Kushner. “While we seldom caught anything, the guys in boats would pull up fish-after-fish. We didn’t have a lot of money so when my dad saw the Sears ad, he showed it to me and said – Look, we could get a boat. We spent the winter building it and that spring we were catching fish.”

Since that first fishing boat, Kushner has purchased 19 crafts. He saw the Galeon, a European brand new in the United States, at the Fort Lauderdale boat show in October and was at the helm by February. The Light Hearted, like most of Kushner’s boats was purchased from MarineMax. “They treat me right,” he said.

“Marc and Chris have been a staple at our Marina for 31 years,” said Tim Ryan, the manager at MarineMax Brick. “He spends almost every weekend on the dock and is always willing to host a gathering or invite people on board. Marc’s heart is as big as his boat.”

In September the couple took the party out to sea with an eight-day adventure to Newport with friends and fellow boaters Dan and Terri Balsamo.

The Galeon is a very quiet and efficient cruising vessel. Twin Volvo engines mean a comfortable 25-knot cruising speed. The stand up engine room is one of the cleanest and most organized of any custom yacht. But the mechanical feature the Kushner’s appreciate most is the SeaKeeper. The gyro stabilizes the boat taking 85-90 percent of the roll out; a welcome quality on the first evening of their adventure when they encountered weather and four to six foot seas.

“In Newport we had a great dock with a view of Bowen’s Wharf,” said Dan Balsamo. “We sat in the salon and watched the tour boats go by. They were sold out for a second night, but Marc sweet-talked the dock master into finding an open berth. The next evening we opened the top deck. The height of the bridge gave us amazing views of the mansions on the cliffs, and a gorgeous sunset.“

The retractable bridge is one of the most unique features of the Sky 650. With a push of a button, a carbon fiber sunroof pulls back to reveal a helm, three sport seats and a sun pad – enough space to seat 10 comfortably. When not in use, the top deck can be closed off completely.