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Boat Reviews
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New Retro Reward 17: A Fun, Soft Ride

The third week of October is pushing the boating season in Connecticut, but there we were, heading out of Mystic Harbor at about 35 mph in hull number one of the head-turning Reward 17, grinning from ear to ear. Even though we were going into a 15-knot or so headwind, with 3-foot seas, the Reward 17, driven by a 170-hp Rotax engine and a waterjet, the ride was soft and easy. To show the boat’s maneuverability, Chris Ashley, who designed it and built it, turned the wheel and put us into a jet-drive turn; an immediate turn. But still the…

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True North Launches New 34 Outboard Express

True North,  now owned by Catalina, just introduced its all-new 34 Outboard Express at the Annapolis show. The new 34 has a one-level open plan in the pilothouse and cockpit, with the galley up, and it’s driven by twin 300-hp outboards. With its Downeast lines, dating to an earlier lobster boat heritage, the True North 34 is a versatile cruiser with a spacious cockpit and a single cabin and head below. Its looks go back to the original True North, a 38, launched by the Pearson Marine Group, in 2001. The original True Norths were called the SUVs of the…

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Axopar Shows New 25 With a Cuddy Cabin

Axopar just had a pre-production showing of its new 25 Cross Bow boat at the Cannes Yachting Festival. It has a hardtop and a cuddy cabin with a toilet below, and Axopar’s slippery deep-V hull with twin steps. The beam is just 7’ 4”, so it can be trailered in the U.S. An innovative Finnish company, Axopar launched its first boat, a 28, in 2014, and then moved up to a 37 and 32 that became popular in the American market. Owners loved to drive them, they’re fun, and their signature low-profile, narrow-beam design created a lot of attention. Last…

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Silent-Yachts Sells First 100-Foot Solar Flagship

Silent-Yachts just sold the first Silent 100 Explorer catamaran, a 101-foot luxury yacht capable of crossing oceans under solar power. An Austrian company, Silent-Yachts says its new flagship, with a beam of 44’ 7”,  has the living space equivalent to that found in a monohull half again its size. Hull number one will be launched in 2023. Solar cells on the top of the four-deck Silent 100 Explorer provide up to 40kWp and feed a battery bank with a capacity of 800kWh. The yacht also has twin 340kW electric motors. It has an economical cruising speed of 6 to 8…

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Sweden’s Windy SR44 Luxury Cruiser Now in U.S.

Built in Sweden, the Windy SR44 is being introduced to the United States at the Fort Lauderdale boat show by Nautical Ventures, its distributor here. The Windy SR44 is already a success in Europe. Indeed, it was nominated for a European Boat of the Year Award last year. It’s easy to see why the Windy, a super-modern, high-performance, luxury sports yacht, is a standout that will turn heads on both sides of the Atlantic. With its precision handling, super-sized sun lounges and accommodations for four below, it is just as appealing for a weekend cruise in the Bahamas as it…

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Cruisers Will Launch New 34 GLS at Lauderdale

Cruisers Yachts will introduce its new 34 GLS at the Fort Lauderdale show, starting Oct. 27. The twin-outboard family boat is the first that Cruisers has made since MarineMax bought the 68-year-old Wisconsin company in May. Cruisers now has 16 models, from 33 to 60 feet. The GLS series is its entertainment-centered line. The new 34 joins a GLS 42 and GLS 38. The 34 GLS certainly has a social theme. There’s seating for eight in the bow, plus more in the cockpit (with Swiss Army knife-like seats that flip back and forth) and more in the helm deck. And…

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New Greenline 68: Largest Production Hybrid Yet

The Greenline 68 Oceanclass Hybrid, the largest production hybrid yacht ever built, will make its debut at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, starting Oct. 27. The new Greenline, the flagship of the Slovenian company’s fleet, can run on diesel or solar/electric power, giving an owner the option of operating a silent, emissions-free  vessel for up to 1,000 nm at 5 knots. The luxury yacht gets its green power from a 320kWh lithium battery bank paired to integrated solar panels on the hardtop over the flybridge. It can operate for as long as two days just on the batteries alone.…

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Beneteau Launches GT 45 Express Cruiser Flagship

Beneteau just introduced the new Gran Turismo 45, the flagship of it express cruiser line, at the Cannes Yachting Festival, and the boat is already available in the U.S. Powered by twin 440-hp Volvo IPS600 pod drives, the sleek and sporty two-cabin, two-head cruiser tops out at 33 knots. Beneteau’s express cruiser line already has a 32, a 36, and more recently a 41. Now, the 45 extends the brand and makes it more attractive to families or owners who want to cruise with, or entertain, a larger group. Relaxing and entertaining are certainly easy on the GT 45. The…

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MJM Building 46-foot Performance Cruiser

MJM just announced that it is launching a new high-tech performance 46-foot yacht named the 4z, and it’s already building hull number one of the outboard version; an inboard version will be ready for the 2024 model year. The company, now based in Washington, North Carolina, says the 4z is an evolution of the day yacht, but it can serve just as well as liveaboard cruiser, built in the Carolina Downeast style. With two cabins and one yacht-sized head below, and a fully protected helm deck up top, the 4z is a combination of the company’s new 3z day boat…

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Fountaine-Pajot Launches Upscale 67 Powercat

Fountaine-Pajot has launched its most luxurious powercat yet, a 67-foot flagship that even has a Jacuzzi on the foredeck. In keeping with the French builder’s reputation for creating comfortable, seaworthy and blue-water boats, the new 67 also has a cruising range of 1,700 nm powered by twin 435-hp straight-shaft Volvo diesels. Everything about the new Fountaine-Pajot is massive and impressive. The volume comes not only from the overall length but also the more than 32-foot beam that makes the salon seem like a living room in a seaside home and the foredeck and aft cockpit like spas and entertaining areas…

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