Boat Reviews

New Vanquish 26: A Fast, Stable, Premium Center Console with a Downeast Look

By Peter Janssen on November 28, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Vanquish 26 Center Console is a user-friendly, hand-crafted, all-purpose boat with a Downeast look and a fast, fuel-efficient and stable hull, all designed by Doug Zurn, one of the best in the business today. It has a long, straight sheerline, bow flare, generous tumblehome and enough teak accents to keep a purist happy, while its 53-plus mph top speed, driven by a state-of-the-art 250-hp Mercury Verado outboard, will give an adrenaline rush to even the most jaded boat owner. In its new 2019 model, Vanquish has added a modest forward cabin to the 26, making it a center-console-plus.…

Ocean Alexander Building Totally New Line, Divergence, a 45-Foot Luxury Sport Boat with Four 350-hp Outboards

By Peter Janssen on November 25, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Ocean Alexander is stepping way outside its box and is building a totally new line, called Divergence, a 45-foot luxury outboard powered by four 350-hp Mercury Verados. The new boat, being built at the old Sea Ray factory on Merritt Island, Florida, will be ready for the Miami show in February. So far, Ocean Alexander has earned a reputation for quality and customer service in the large yacht and megayacht worlds. Its existing lineup stretches from 70 to 155 feet. But the 40-to-50-foot segment is hot now, as is the outboard market. The new Divergence fits into both of those…

On Watch

By Peter Janssen on November 20, 2018 Boat Reviews, On Watch with Peter Janssen

Sabre Moves Up. Here’s Much More About Its Big New 58 Salon Express, a 31-Knot Downeast Cruiser with State-of-the-Art Systems By Peter A. Janssen Sabre just started production of its newest model, the 58 Salon Express, a three-cabin, 31-knot cruiser that keeps the Maine builder’s traditional Downeast lines while adding state-of-the-art power and ship-control systems. The 58, which fits between Sabre’s 48 and flagship Dirigo 66, is scheduled to be launched late next year. The new Sabre has all the salty lines that have made the brand so popular in recent years: a clean, long sheerline, low profile and near-to-perfect…

New Vicem 65 IPS Classic: A Cold-Molded Turkish Beauty with Downeast Looks

By Peter Janssen on November 18, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The cold-molded, all-mahogany Vicem 65 IPS Classic, just displayed at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, is a Turkish-built beauty with Downeast lines powered by twin 800-hp Volvo Penta IPS1050 pod drives for superior performance and ease of maneuvering around a dock. It’s the largest Vicem to be fitted with IPS, and it has a cruising speed of 23 knots and a top speed of 26 knots. The optional 1,000-hp Volvo Penta IPS1350 drives add a few knots to the top speed. The long sheerline, low profile and beautiful tumblehome of the Vicem 65 all mark it as a timeless…

On Watch

By Peter Janssen on November 15, 2018 Boat Reviews, On Watch with Peter Janssen

Beneteau Launches New Swift Trawler 47, Plans Major Expansion in U.S. By Peter A. Janssen Beneteau just launched its new Swift Trawler 47, a three-cabin, 25-knot, user-friendly family cruiser at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, where the French company also announced a major expansion in the U.S. market. It plans to build more outboard-powered pocket cruisers, as well as more of its Jeanneau cruisers, in its Michigan factory. But it was the new Swift Trawler that caught my eye, particularly since I had spent a week on board a Swift Trawler 34 a few years ago as part of…

Silent Yachts Introduces New 79-foot, Solar-Powered, Long-Range Catamaran

By Peter Janssen on November 14, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Silent Yachts is building its new ocean-going Silent 79 solar-powered catamaran, a long-range cruiser with unlimited range at 6 or 7 knots and a top speed of 20 knots. The luxurious cat with a minimalist design is Silent’s largest solar yacht yet, and is designed after the Silent 55, which made its debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival this past September. An Austrian company, Silent is building its first three 79s at an Italian yard in Marotta, near the major shipbuilding town of Ancona on the Adriatic. The first is scheduled to be launched in 2020. The standard Silent 79…

New German Frers-Designed Sirena 58 Makes U.S. Debut: A 25-Knot Comfortable Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on November 12, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Sirena just introduced its first 58 designed for the U.S. market at the recent Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, a German Frers-designed semi-displacement cruiser built for performance and easy living. The interior, by Tommaso Spadolini, is filled with natural light from large windows; the main deck is on one level to make moving around easy. Explaining the appeal of the Turkish-built yacht, Constantinos Constantinou, the head of Sirena’s North American operations, said, “We’ve seen that the priorities of U.S. yacht owners have changed in recent years. Build quality is considered a given, but yacht owners are now putting much more…

New Horizon 65 Power Cat: A Blend of Luxury, Space and Performance

By Peter Janssen on November 7, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

I thought I’d take a quick tour of the new Horizon 65 Power Catamaran during the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, where it was just launched. Then I realized there’s no such thing as a quick tour of this boat. It’s huge. It’s luxurious. It has beautiful woodwork – as in the curved railing on the stairs from the salon to the skylounge; it’s like a work of art. You don’t just glance at it and look away. You want to get up close and personal. I forgot about the quick tour and settled in to enjoy this new cat,…

Zeelander Building New Z72, a 40-knot Dutch Cruiser with a Down-East Touch

By Peter Janssen on November 6, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Zeelander, the Dutch company that builds boats reminiscent of the classic 1930’s commuter yachts on Long Island Sound, is working on a new 72 flagship that will be launched early next year. Leonardo van den Berg, Zeelander’s commercial director, says the new 72 carries “a sportier look” than the company’s existing 55- and 44-foot models. The bow is a bit more prominent than in previous boats, but the new 72 carries the company’s signature low profile, long sheerline, reverse transom and suggestive tumblehome that have marked the earlier models. Zeelanders have always looked a bit more Down East than Dutch.…

New Grand Banks 52: A Long-Range, Smooth-Running, High-Tech Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on November 5, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Grand Banks just announced that they are building a new 52, a long-range cruiser with a high-tech, slippery, 30-knot hull that will be launched at the Newport, Rhode Island, boat show next September. The GB 52 will be the latest in the newly reinvigorated Grand Banks lineup, coming after the Grand Banks 60 and Grand Banks 60 Skylounge. Mark Richards, the company’s president and CEO, made the announcement at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. “The 52 will combine weight reduction, strength and a low vertical center of gravity,” he said. “Of course, efficiency doesn’t matter without comfort, so we…

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