Boat Reviews

Horizon Unveils New 68 Power Cat

By Peter Janssen on July 2, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Horizon Power Catamarans just unveiled plans for a new Horizon PC68, a four-stateroom, four-head cruiser with an open salon, an innovative Portuguese bridge deck, and various options for its massive flybridge up top. Horizon says it’s celebrating a record-breaking year, reaching a milestone of 50 boats sold. The 68 will be the newest of the company’s range of power cats that now has a PC52, PC60 and a flagship PC74. Horizon is offering buyers several options for the PC68, all taking advantage of the big cat’s 24’ 6” beam. Up top, the company offers an option of an open bridge…

New Sirena 78: Lots of Choices

By Peter Janssen on June 30, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Sirena Yachts just announced that it’s building a new 78 cruiser with the Turkish builder’s elegant, modern-European lines and a lot of options for a new owner. The 78 will debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September. The new 78 is designed to be run by an owner-operator or by a crew. It’s in the middle of the Sirena lineup that already has a 58, 66, and 88. And it has Sirena’s plumb bow, a long, low hardtop over the flybridge and an aft deck that’s protected by the overhang from the boat deck above. It also has the…

XO Boats Unveils Rugged New DFNDR 8

By Peter Janssen on June 28, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

XO Boats, the relatively new builder in Finland, just announced that it’s starting work on a 26-foot DFNDR 8 go-anywhere, all-purpose boat that will top out at 50 knots with twin outboards. The new DFNDR 8, like other XO boats, has a rugged aluminum deep-V hull with a 23-degree deadrise at the transom. XO says it uses military-grade aluminum because it’s sturdy, sustainable, and easy to maintain. The DFNDR 8 is designed for owners who want to be able to go out in less-than-ideal conditions, and it will be fun to drive. Indeed, Erkki Talvela, the CEO of XO Boats,…

Wayne Gretzky Builds 34-Foot Mahogany Boat

By Peter Janssen on June 27, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Wayne Gretzky, probably the greatest hockey player of all time, and his wife, Janet, are now cruising on Lake Coeur d’Alene in Idaho on their new 340 HT Steinway mahogany boat from Coeur Custom there. The Gretzkys actually took delivery of the boat last September, but then used it for just two days before closing their vacation house in Coeur d’Alene and heading south. This summer they’ll enter it at the Coeur d’Alene Antique and Classic Boat Festival, starting August 13. The boat took 12 months to build, and it’s made of Sapele wood with 16 coats of varnish, white…

Rosborough 246: A No-Frills Pocket Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on June 27, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The Rosborough 246, a no-frills pocket cruiser built by Eastern Boats in Milton, New Hampshire, almost cries out, “Great Loop.” With its protected cabin, V-berth for two, enclosed head and single-outboard power, the Rosborough is fully capable of tackling the Great Loop, or almost any other coastal cruising destination. Indeed, John Hauck, an 82-year-old retired Special Forces major, has completed the Great Loop twice on his 2003 Rosborough 246. Rosboroughs were originally made as commercial fishing boats in Nova Scotia, where they earned a reputation as salty and reliable performers. Rosborough sold the molds to the 246 to Eastern Boats…

Leopard Building New 40 Power Cat

By Peter Janssen on June 21, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Leopard is building an all-new 40 powercat in its factory in Cape Town, South Africa. It will launch the cat there at the end of the year, and then hold a world premiere at the Miami show in February. The new 40 is the smallest entry in the Leopard powercat fleet, which now has a 46 and a 53. The company says the 40 will have all the comfort and seaworthiness of its larger siblings, but in a smaller package. The company says the flybridge on the 40 is the largest in its size range. It has an upper helm…

Altena 53: Sturdy, Steel, Blue-Water Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on June 14, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

With the current trend for long-range cruising and expedition yachts, you might want to take a look at the Dutch-built Altena 53 Blue Water Trawler, a sturdy, safe, steel-hulled cruiser. Altena has been building custom canal and blue-water explorer yachts since 1969. The 53 is one of five models in the 48- to 58-foot size range of blue-water cruisers. You can order it with one or two engines, but the standard 215-hp Cat 3306 diesel produces a top speed of 9 knots. At 5 knots, the boat has a range of 5,000 nm. If you order the single engine, you…

Vicem Building New Cold-Molded 93

By Peter Janssen on June 13, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Vicem, the high-end Turkish builder, just announced that it’s building an all-new, cold-molded Vicem 93, the start of a new series, for an Australian couple. The new Vicem, scheduled for delivery next spring, will have four staterooms on the accommodations deck, and quarters for three crew aft. With a semi-displacement hull, the 93 will cruise at 14 knots and to out at 18 knots. The 93 is a bit of a departure for Vicem, which has concentrated in the 46- to 65-foot range in the past few years. Signifying the move to larger yachts, it delivered hull number one of…

Sunseeker Launches Manhattan 68 Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on June 6, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Sunseeker has launched its new Manhattan 68, a luxurious cruiser with a 300-nm range, an open salon, and large areas of space on the aft deck, the beach club, and up on the flybridge. The new 68 is the latest entry in Sunseeker’s prize-winning Manhattan lineup, and it has the contemporary European lines that make the company’s boats so popular. It’s a four-stateroom, three-head cruiser, with relaxing and entertaining spaces throughout, inside and out. There are sunbathing areas on the foredeck and in the cockpit, for example, as well as on the flybridge, which is protected by an integrated hardtop.…

Cormorant Building 780 Long-Range Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on June 5, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Cormorant Yachts is a relatively new player in the long-distance cruiser market, but they’ve already launched a 55 and a 69. Now they’re building the Cormorant 780, and they say it will have a range of 6,550 nm at 7.2 knots. Built in Gdansk, Poland, Cormorants are reliable modern-day displacement trawlers with advanced engineering and highly skilled workmanship. The idea is that their boats are built to spend weeks at sea while providing all the comforts of home. The new 780 can be built with two configurations. One has a closed galley, open bar area, and smaller pilothouse; this one…

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