Twenty two years ago, Italian Olympic sailor and yacht designer Luca Satella had a vision for starting a boat building enterprise that would break all the old molds and disrupt the conventions of European yachting. The result was Bluegame Yachts. In partnership with naval architect Lou Codega, Bluegame created a series of day boats, express cruisers and motor yachts that were unlike anything on the market and, in way, set the stage for the modern trends in European yacht design. The new BG 64 that was launched this year carries all the DNA that has set Bluegame apart from the…

Yacht designer Doug Zurn and his team over the last 30 years have designed some of the most iconic power boats, express cruisers and motor yachts on the market. One of their key partnerships is with the venerable builder Hinckley Yachts of Portsmouth, Rhode Island which announced recently that they are introducing the new Zurn-designed Hinckely 41. The new boat follows on the successful launch in 2025 of the Hinckley 39, the company’s first family day boat and weekender with a forward cockpit. The 39 was an immediate hit and Hinckley took 25 orders before the first boat was launched.…

British Pearl Yachts, which began making boats in Shakespeare’s home town of Stratford-on-Avon 1998, has replaced its popular 72 with an all new Bill Dixon designed 73. The new boat will have its coming out party Cannes’ Festival of Yachting in September. The new 73 is sleeker and more modern than the 72 and will have more get up and go. With twin Man 1,400-horespower engines, it will have a top speed near 35 knots and a fast cruising speed in the mid-20s. The design is notable for its dedication to water sports which is made possible by the huge…

Northman is a brand from a Polish builder that has been making boats for the European market for a couple of decades but has not had a real presence in North America. They now have a dealer in Miami Beach, Florida, Performance Yachts, that will elevate the brand’s visibility. That’s a good thing since Northman builds high quality boats, both power and sail, that combine thoughtful designs with fine yacht construction. The new Northman 1300 is their latest trawler-style family cruise and has a lot going for it. At 42 feet overall the new design packs a ton of social…

The new Pioneer 60 solar-powered cruising cat is the brainchild of German engineer and entrepreneur Mike Frank. He founded Pioneer Yachts earlier this year and hull number one –Pioneer One—will be launched in July. The inspiration for the all-solar power cat came for what Frank calls “a gap in the market.” He was looking for a fully sustainable power cat for his personal use but could not find what he wanted and required from any of the existing builders. An engineer by training and a entrepreneur by vocation, he saw the opportunity to create a state of the art boat…

At only 37 feet, the new Parker Monaco 110 Fly from the huge Polish builder Parker Yachts, is only one of a handful of cruisers under 40 feet to sport a flybridge and it does so with grace and good looks. A twin outboard, two-cabin, one-head family cruiser, the Monaco Fly was designed in collaboration with the famed Tony Castro Design firm. The hull is Euro-modern in styling and has a sharp entry and a modified-V form underwater. The flybridge sits atop the salon fairly discreetly so the boat doesn’t look like a wedding cake. Instead of a hard top,…

When it came time for Groupe Beneteau to update and reinvent their Gran Tourismo line, they started afresh and went back to the essence of what a GT sport express cruiser has always been about, sleek simple lines, a low curvaceous cabin top and plenty of open space on deck. For naval architecture they turned to the Bill Dixon Design group which delivered a thoroughly modern planing, deep-V hull with plenty of volume but a simple and streamlined look. For styling they went with the Andreani Design team who created living spaces that are warm, spacious and modern. For guidance…

The German builder Fjord was one of the earliest adopters of the aggressively modern styling, the straight sheer, plumb bow and large hull glazing that is so popular today, particularly in Europe. And, while the brand has many competitors in the Sport Cruising market, they certainly have not lost their edge. The new 490 Sport underlines that fact with a big black Sharpie. Driven by three 600-horsepower Mercury Verado outboards, the new design rides on a hull with a stepped, deep-V design. It will have a top end speed of over 40 knots and its ride through the chop will…