Boat Reviews

On Heels of 35Z with Two Outboards, MJM Plans New 43Z, with Three Outboards

By Peter Janssen on July 4, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

You can’t say the people at MJM Yachts aren’t thinking ahead. They just launched their new MJM 35Z, with two outboards, and now they’re announcing the development of a new 43Z, with three. MJM says it has created the 43Z in response to requests from owners, particularly in the Carolinas and Florida, who want outboard-powered cruising boats. Outboards have indeed become more popular in the past few years as they have become more technologically advanced, offering fuel-efficient, high-speed and low-noise-level performance. An outboard boat also has obvious advantages when running in shallow water, or in areas with lots of lobster…

Outer Reef Classic 630 MY: New Comfortable, Contemporary Cruising Yacht. See Video

By Peter Janssen on June 26, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Scheduled for an introduction at the Cannes yacht show in September, the new Outer Reef Classic 630 MY represents a contemporary version of a large, comfortable cruising yacht that would stand out at ports around the world. With three staterooms, two heads, a large salon, and a traditional pilothouse (with a centered helm for the captain and a raised, L-shaped settee with a table for guests), the Outer Reef 630 is set up both for safe, extended cruising for a family and friends or for entertaining a crowd closer to home. Starting aft, the Outer Reef 630 has a large…

New, Long-Range Greenline 65 with Cruising Comforts and Euro Styling

By Peter Janssen on June 22, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Greenline Ocean Class 65 is a long-range, blue-water serious cruising boat with contemporary European lines and styling. The latest addition to Greenline’s Open Class of large cruising boats from 57 to 70 feet, the new 65 will be launched at the Cannes yacht show in September. The company’s smaller hybrid 36, using a combination of electric and diesel power, was introduced to the U.S. last fall. With three staterooms and three en suite heads, the new Greenline 65 is a comfortable cruising boat; the salon is particularly inviting with lots of light coming in from large side, front…

Fountaine Pajot Launches New Luxurious 44-foot Cat. See Video

By Peter Janssen on June 19, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Fountaine Pajot just launched a new luxurious, spacious three-stateroom, three-head 44-foot catamaran that will make cruising a delight. In this latest design from the famed French builder, there’s room for everyone, inside and out; in fact, there’s room to spare. And as you can see in the video, the boat handles well, running at its cruising speed or maneuvering around the docks, controlled by Volvo’s IPS joystick. The new 44 will be introduced to the U.S. at the Fort Lauderdale boat show next fall. For interior spaces, the salon has a long, inviting L-shaped sofa along the port side, with…

Sirena To Show Two New Boat in Cannes and Announce Plans for Another

By Peter Janssen on June 13, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Sirena Marine just keeps growing. Last year the high-class Turkish builder started its new powerboat line (officially called Sirena Yachts) with a 64-foot long-range cruiser, first shown at the Dusseldorf show, followed by a 56-foot version introduced at the Miami show. Now it will have both of those models in the water at the Cannes show in September, where Ipek Kirac, the company’s CEO, will announce plans for an even larger yacht. Both the 56 and 64 are impressive cruising boats with clean, contemporary European lines and curved wraparound pilothouse windows. They come with an impeccable pedigree. German Frers, one…

New Aquila 36 Cat with Twin 300-hp Outboards: A Fast and Roomy Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on June 7, 2017 Boat Reviews, Charter, Cruising Life

At first glance, it’s easy to see why the new Aquila 36 power cat is getting a lot of attention. After all, two big 300-hp Mercury Verado outboards are hanging off the stern. But look again, and you’ll probably want to climb on board for a test run. The boat has an enormous amount of space, inside and out. The cockpit alone can hold 24 adults, while the two staterooms below, one per sponson, are not only large but also come with extra headroom, lots of light (from long side windows), and an en suite head. The new Aquila is…

New 49-foot Kodiak Mini-Expedition Yacht from Stephens Waring

By Peter Janssen on June 5, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Stephens Waring Yacht Design, the custom naval architecture and engineering firm in Belfast, Maine, doesn’t exactly follow the crowd. If you’re interested in a plastic floating condo that holds 12 for drinks, is top-heavy and gets 0.6 nm per gallon, you probably don’t need to go there. But if you love classic designs and old-world craftsmanship, combined with modern materials and technology, then you’ve found the right place. Their latest, which they write about after extolling the virtues of expedition yachts (business-like, seaworthy and serious), is a 49-foot mini-expedition yacht called Kodiak, which they say “speaks to the adventurer in…

New, Innovative, Fun and Fast Walker Bay Generation 525. See Review and Video

By Peter Janssen on May 23, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

It’s hard to fit the new Walker Bay Generation 525 into a narrow boat category, because this new, luxurious 17-footer offers so much: It’s a RIB, certainly, but it also can be a sport boat, a day boat, a tow boat, a runabout or even a megayacht tender. It would be fun to have the 525 just to zip around a harbor by yourself, or to take a crowd – the boat’s rated for ten passengers. A California company (located in Fairfield, about half-way between San Francisco and Sacramento), Walker Bay is known for its innovation and creative design. Indeed,…

Sabre 66 Flybridge Sea Trial Video: 29.2 Knots WOT

By Peter Janssen on May 22, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Even with its flybridge, the Sabre 66 Dirigo maintains a sleek, low profile, and the Maine-built beauty also performs on the water. We’ve written about the boat before, and I cruised on hull number one in northern Florida more than a year ago, but now Sabre has released a video of the flybridge boat’s initial sea trials in Penobscot Bay. The flagship of the Sabre fleet, the flybridge 66 cruises at 24.6 knots, and is a quiet boat, registering only 68 dB(A) at the helm; at its top speed of 29.2 knots, it registers only 70 dB(A). On board the…

New 2018 Ranger Tugs 27 with 300-hp Yamaha Outboard Power

By Peter Janssen on May 22, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

As more evidence of the increasing move to outboard power, Ranger Tugs just introduced its 2018 R-27 with a single Yamaha F300 outboard, opening up the cockpit a bit, adding to the boat’s overall length, and certainly producing a bump up in speed. We don’t have any performance details yet, but we do know that the shift to an outboard will appeal to a portion of Ranger’s potential market that wanted some more juice. The Kent, Washington-based company will still offer the popular R-27 with a standard 200-hp Volvo D3 diesel. Over the years, I’ve cruised on Ranger Tugs in…

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