Boat Reviews

New 50-mph Cutwater 302 Pocket Cruiser: Innovations and Speed. See Video

By Peter Janssen on May 16, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

We first wrote about the new Cutwater 302 when it was launched (last Dec. 14), but now the boat’s in the water, with a video, and it’s even more impressive than we had thought. Indeed, its 50-mph speed, driven by twin 300-hp Yamaha outboards and Cutwater’s double-stepped hull, is eye-opening, and its overall creative engineering and out-of-the-box thinking offer more living and entertaining space on board than you can find on much larger boats. The largest in the Cutwater fleet, the new 302 is a two-cabin, one-head pocket cruiser that actually can sleep six (with two on the convertible dinette).…

New 78-foot Luxury Flagship for Lagoon Power Cat Fleet

By Peter Janssen on May 15, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The flagship of the Lagoon motor yacht fleet, the new, luxurious, long-range Lagoon Seventy 8 will be introduced at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September and then shown in the U.S. later in the year. The company says the idea behind the massive 78-foot-long cruiser with a 36-foot beam is to compete in the top end of the world-wide motor yacht market. The Seventy 8 will emphasize comfort, luxury and seaworthiness. The cat’s twin hulls provide stability and space, while the three-foot draft gives the boat access to shallow bays and coves around the world. We don’t have details yet,…

First Look at New, Impressive Grand Banks 60 in the Water: Video

By Peter Janssen on May 8, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Here’s a first look at the much-awaited Grand Banks 60 in the water, before it is unveiled at the Sanctuary Cove boat show in Australia later this month. The running shots are great; this is a pretty boat (majestic, even), with a good attitude. Its first showing in the U.S. will be at the Newport, Rhode Island, show in September. A three-stateroom, two-head long distance cruiser, the new 60 will be the flagship of the Grand Banks Heritage fleet, powered by twin 900-hp Volvo diesels and topping out at about 32 knots. As we have written here before, it will…

Jock Williams’ Super-Traditional, Built-in-Maine Stanley 38 Lobster Yacht

By Peter Janssen on May 3, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

They don’t come much more traditional than the Stanley 38, built on the shores of Somes Sound, just up from Southwest Harbor, Maine, by the John Williams Boat Company. With its lobster boat heritage, graceful sheerline and hint of tumblehome, the Stanley 38 has enough visible wood to keep the most ardent of purists happy. A year ago, John (Jock) Williams worked with Doug Zurn, the Marblehead, Mass., designer, to build a special Stanley 38, with a high-tech hull laid up with vinylester resin, stitched e-glass and Corecell construction and powered by twin Volvo IPS 600 pod drives; it topped…

American Tugs Designs New Large Stateroom for Owner of 395. See Pictures

By Peter Janssen on May 3, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Most American Tugs 395 models have two staterooms forward, a master in the bow with a walk around queen bed and lots of storage, and a guest a bit aft with a single upper and double lower berth. But the LaConner, Washington-based company also specializes in building what an owner wants, and here’s a case where the owner wanted just one extra-large stateroom. Take a look at the results below. We previously published a story about the American Tugs 395, calling it a sturdy cruiser, with its raised-pilothouse design, comfortable salon, and 15-knot cruising speed with a single 380-hp Cummins…

New Prestige 460: French Lines with Lots of Light, Space and Zip. Plus Video

By Peter Janssen on April 27, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Just launched at the Yachts Miami Beach show in February, the new Prestige 460 flybridge has the same French lines, creative use of space and large amounts of natural light that have become the company’s hallmarks. Nick Harvey, president of Prestige America, says the two-cabin, two-head cruiser “is the perfect size with outstanding performance and exceptional accommodations.” Prestige makes five flybridge boats, from 42 to 56 feet, all using Garroni Design with engineering from JP Concepts. Part of the powerhouse Beneteau Group, Prestige was created more than 20 years ago. Since then, it has sold more than 2,500 yachts worldwide.…

New Tiara C39: A Solid Top-End Cruiser or Day Boat

By Peter Janssen on April 25, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

It’s hard to tell whether the new Tiara C39, the smallest in the company’s coupe series, is a solid couple’s cruiser or a big, fast day boat with enough entertaining space for a small crowd. But in reality, you don’t need to choose: This new Tiara is both. Designed on the same lines as the earlier 50 and 44 coupes, the new 39 has a thoroughly modern interior and the high-tech performance associated with its twin Volvo IPS 500 pod drives with fingertip joystick controls. The boat cruises at 26 knots and tops out at 35 knots, fast enough to…

Horizon PC74: Combination of Space, Luxury and Cruising Comfort

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

Now being completed in Taiwan, the new Horizon PC74 is a combination of lots of space, performance and luxury. The company says it is both the “ideal entertaining platform” and “the ultimate cruising yacht” with “the interior of a superyacht.” A lot going on there. The 74 will be the flagship of Horizon’s power cat fleet, which now has 52- and a 60-foot models, and is designed to be a larger version of the 60. For the PC74, large is the operative word. Everything on the boat is writ large – the four staterooms, all with en suite heads, are…

Aspen Power Cats Launches New 28-Footer With Same Proven Proa Hull

By Peter Janssen on April 18, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The latest from Aspen Power Catamarans is something different: Not a cruising boat, but a 28-footer that can serve as a tender, a second boat, or a fun primary boat for running around and having fun. Whatever you do with it, the new L90 LX does have the same creative proa hull that Larry Graf created for all his larger, Aspen cruising cats, a hull that has proven be stable, fuel-efficient and seaworthy. As a tender, the L90 LX is easy to tow; it’s light in weight, only 5,800 pounds, and the twin hulls make it unusually safe and steady.…

Bruckmann Plans New Abaco 47: As Elegant as the Abaco 40, but Bigger

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

Based on the performance and popularity of the Bruckmann Abaco 40, the Toronto-based builder is now planning a larger version, the Bruckmann Abaco 47, with more accommodations and space for long-range cruising and living aboard. The new 47, like the 40, is designed by Mark Ellis, and it still has the classic Downeast lines, straight-forward, traditional interior and fuel-efficient hull of the smaller boat. The Abaco 47’s hull is designed to perform well throughout the speed range; the boat comes up on plane at 12 knots. It can be powered by a single or twin diesels. With a single 1136-hp…

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