Boat Reviews

New Walker Bay 325 Light Console RIB Holds 5 Passengers, Provides Dry Ride

By Peter Janssen on March 26, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Here’s a small, lightweight RIB that can hold up to five passengers and that promises a comfortable, fun and dry ride even in a chop. The new Walker Bay Supertender 325 Light Console is 10’ 8” long and weighs just 244 pounds and has a deep-V fiberglass hull for performance. Its hard chines provide traction in turns, and its wide bow is designed to block spray so you’ll have a dry ride in most conditions. The center console has room for a 7” screen; it also has a stainless-steel helm and handrail, two cupholders and padding on the port side…

New Hylas M44: Lots of Light, Classic Looks and Cruising Comfort

By Peter Janssen on March 21, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

With its low profile, long straight sheer and more than a hint of clean, classic Down East lines, the new Hylas M44 was just introduced to the United States at the Palm Beach show. Hylas collaborated with the New Zealand builder Salthouse for the new high-end, two-stateroom cruiser, designed for maximum comfort, seakeeping ability and functional use of space. Inside, the new Hylas is filled with light, with large side and front windows, two long overhead sliding hatches in the salon, and a large glass door that separates the salon from the cockpit. The galley is aft, on the port…

New Carbon Delta 60 Open: Smart, Sophisticated and Sunny Swedish Import

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

You probably aren’t going to take a new carbon fiber Delta 60 up the Inside Passage (although I once drove a 35-foot Donzi from Seattle to Juneau, Alaska, and back), but it certainly would be nice to cruise down to the Florida Keys over to the Bahamas on one. You – and a lot of your friends – will be comfortable enough on board. The Delta 60 has three staterooms and two heads below, and there’s room for a crowd up on the main deck with sunning and lounge areas that seem to go on forever. And you can carry…

New Greek-Made TECHNOHULL 23-Foot RIB Tops Out at 50 Knots

By Peter Janssen on March 13, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

TECHNOHULL, the Greek yard that’s been making high-performance RIBs since 2005, has just introduced a new T688 model, it’s smallest yet at 23’ 6”. Powered by a 250-hp outboard, the new RIB tops out at 50 knots, and can be used as a tender to a larger boat or as a fun sportboat in its own right. The T688 is designed with a center console with an optional T-top; the passageways mean you can walk from bow to stern on either side. The driver and a guest sit in two wrap-around, shock-absorbing seats, while another seat is built into the…

Award-Winning Azimut S7: Lots of Innovation, Performance and Luxurious Italian Style. See the Video

By Peter Janssen on March 13, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new, highly creative 70-foot, four-cabin Azimut S7 won the “European Power Boat of the Year” for over 45-foot yachts at the Dusseldorf show in January, recognizing its innovative features inside and out. Azimut used a lot of carbon in the S7, particularly in the superstructure, to keep the weight – and the CG – down, while triple Volvo IPS1050 pod drives propel the luxury-filled Italian-built cruiser to a 36-knot top speed. The exterior styling, by Stafano Reghii, gives the boat an aggressive low profile with a raked front windshield, aft-set flybridge, and diamond-shaped deckhouse windows that showcase the play…

New Foiler Hits 40 Knots 5 Feet Over the Water, Provides a Smooth Ride

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

Hydrofoils aren’t exactly new (think America’s Cup boats, high-speed ferries), but we haven’t seen one like this before. Take a look at the new 31-foot, 40-knot Foiler just introduced at the Dubai International Boat Show. It’s made by Enata Marine in Sharjah, UAE, and it’s said to deliver a super-smooth ride while soaring five feet above the water on its retractable carbon-fiber hydrofoils. Powered by two 320-hp BMW diesels, the Foiler goes through the water like a normal boat until the foils are deployed at about 18 knots. Then, with a reduced wetted surface and drag, it takes off. The…

New, Sophisticated, Streamlined Prestige 680 S: A French-Built Luxury Cruiser

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

The new flagship of Prestige’s line of luxury yachts, the sleek, Euro-styled, streamlined 680 S comes with three or four staterooms below and a sophisticated, light-filled salon that makes cruising easy and enticing anywhere in the world. A new large sliding-glass sunroof that opens over the salon is particularly striking and is also unusual on a flybridge yacht. But the flybridge on the Prestige 680 S, with a low-profile, extremely-raked radar arch, is located farther aft than usual to accommodate the sunroof, adding to the sense that the boat is moving forward even when it is standing still. An owner…

New Horizon 74 Power Cat: Luxury, Space and Cruising Comfort

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

The flagship of the Horizon Power Catamaran fleet, the new Horizon 74 PC is an owner-operated luxurious cruising yacht with four staterooms, all with en suite heads, plus dining, entertaining and relaxing areas that take full advantage of the boat’s massive 28’ 3” beam. The Horizon 74 PC just made its debut at the Miami Yacht Show, and it will be displayed at the Palm Beach International Boat Show starting on March 22. The Horizon’s easy living starts on the main deck, where the aft deck, salon and master stateroom forward are all on the same level. The salon has…

New, Unique, Arcadia Sherpa: Bring All Your Friends

By Peter Janssen on February 21, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

You can’t say this about many boats, but the new Arcadia Sherpa is truly unique. When I stepped aboard at the Miami Yachts Show with my Cruising Odyssey colleague Scott Akerman, we both stopped and said some version of Holy Smoke. And it’s a happy-making boat. When you step on board, you want to take off, to head for parts unknown. And you want to take a whole lot of your friends with you. Take a look at the Sherpa’s open main deck; a whole lot of your friends will fit there, and if they all don’t have a great…

New Fountaine Pajot 37 MY: A Seakindly French Cat with Lots of Smart Space

By Peter Janssen on February 19, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Fountaine Pajot 37 MY, the company’s entry-level cruiser, is a combination of many things, all of them good. It has all the space inherent in a catamaran design, making for comfortable living and entertaining on board. It has the easy seakeeping ability also inherent in a cat, where the boat’s widely spaced hulls seem to glide over the water. And it has the modern, French esthetic that makes the boat stand out in a harbor anywhere in the world. Fountaine Pajot has a wealth of experience building cats, and the new 37 joins a 40 and a…

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