Boat Reviews

Safehaven’s Sea Trial in a Storm

By Peter Janssen on April 17, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Don’t try this at home. But Frank Kowalski, the head of Safehaven Marine, wanted to give his new Voyager T-2000 70-foot explorer yacht a good sea trial, so he took it straight out of Cork Harbour in Ireland in a storm with 70-mph winds and 13-foot waves (see the video below). The Voyager, and Kowalski, escaped unscathed, and returned safely to the factory. The idea was to give the Voyager, a recreational vessel, the same real-world testing that Safehaven gives its commercial, military and search-and-rescue craft. Founded in 1998, Safehaven has made more than 160 vessels so far. The Voyager…

Maserati Unveils New All-Electric Tridente

By Peter Janssen on April 17, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Maserati, the Italian luxury car builder, just announced that it’s making a new 34-foot, electric-powered day boat with low, elegant lines and a matte rose-gold paint job. Maserati introduced the new boat, called Tridente, at a company event in Rimini, on the Adriatic, where it also unveiled a new electric convertible, the GranCabro Folgore, with a matching color scheme. For the Tridente, Maserati teamed up with Vita Power in England for a state-of-the-art electric drivetrain. The Tridente was built by Hodgdon Yachts in East Boothbay, Maine. Hodgdon, a 200-year-old family company, worked with Vita last year to make its revolutionary…

New Galeon 450 HTC Family Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on April 16, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Galeon 450 HTC (Hard Top Cruiser) is a comfortable family cruiser with a full-length glass roof and a “beach mode” aft with large terraces that fold out of the bulwarks. Powered by twin 480-hp Volvo diesels with straight shafts, the Galeon tops out at 28 knots. It’s easy for a couple, or even a solo captain, to handle, and a door next to the helm opens to the starboard side deck so the captain can help with docking. The railings open on both sides for easy boarding from a dock. The Galeon’s salon has panoramic windows that are…

Sunseeker Building New Predator 55

By Peter Janssen on April 16, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Sunseeker, the major British builder, just unveiled a new Predator 55 with a low-profile and aggressively sloping hardtop that tops out at 36 knots. Meanwhile. Bloomberg reports that the same Miami holding company that bought Cigarette three years ago is now in the process of buying Sunseeker. Sunseeker says the new Predator 55 is a blend of luxury and performance. It certainly has all the latest bells and whistles, including Garmin’s high-tech Surround View that has six cameras built into the hull to provide 360-degree views and computerized assistance in docking. And an optional gyro stabilizer will keep everyone on…

Silent Launches First 62 Tri-Deck

By Peter Janssen on April 10, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Silent Yachts, the creative Austrian builder, just launched its first 62 solar/electric tri-deck at its yard in Fano, Italy. The blue-water catamaran, with a CE A certification, has a trans-oceanic range at its cruising speed of 6 to 8 knots. The new Silent 62 is based on the company’s well-received 60, which won a Multihull of the Year Award and a Best of Boats Award when it was launched in 2021. It’s two feet longer, of course, but it has the third upper deck, giving it something of a superyacht flair. The new Silent has a reverse bow and a…

Pershing Launches Sporty GTX80

By Peter Janssen on April 9, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Pershing, the luxury performance brand from the Ferretti Group, just launched its sporty new GTX80, with a unique blend of Italian-styled indoor and outdoor spaces, at its factory in Fano on the Adriatic. The new 80 has two decks and a sportbidge, and can sleep eight guests in four cabins; there’s also a crew cabin with two berths. Standard power comes from three 1,000-hp Volvo IPS1350 pod drives, delivering a top speed of 34 knots and a cruising speed of 28 knots. Without stanchions to clutter the design, the Pershing GTX80 has a clean, aggressive, modern look with an almost…

Aquila Unveils New 50 Power Cat

By Peter Janssen on April 9, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Aquila just announced that it’s building a new 50 Power Yacht Catamaran that will make its public debut at the Fort Lauderdale show in October. The 50 replaces the now-retired Aquila 48, which was the very first power cat that Aquila made in partnership with MarineMax 12 years ago to supply boats to MarineMax Vacations’ growing charter fleet. Aquilas are made in China by Sino Eagle and sold in the U.S. by MarineMax, the largest powerboat dealer in the world with more than 60 retail locations. The new Aquila will measure 52’ 2” overall with a beam of 25’ 6”;…

Aspen L107 CLX: A Family-Friendly Cat

By Peter Janssen on April 3, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Larry Graf, the founder and “chief adventurer” of Aspen Power Catamarans, has launched an updated version of the 36-foot Aspen L107 that he ran 1,200 miles up the Mackenzie River in Canada’s Northwest Territories to the Arctic Circle – and back – in 2019. Now, Graf has launched the L107 CLX, a new and improved version of his Arctic Circe boat with enough amenities to make it much more family friendly than the original. The CLX version stays true to the original design, but it now can be used as much more than an adventure or day boat. Indeed, it…

SACs Rebel 50: A Luxurious RIB

By Peter Janssen on April 2, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The SACS Rebel 50, recently introduced to the U.S. at the Palm Beach show, just may be the most luxurious RIB in the world. It’s certainly one of the most good looking, and it comes with the fit and finish of a five-star motoryacht. Actually, the Italian-built Rebel 50 isn’t a traditional RIB at all; it’s somewhat in its own category. Its RIB credentials come from foam-filed collars (instead of inflatable tubes) that are mounted around the bulwarks; they are D-shaped fenders that do the same job as inflatable tubes, but they don’t take up as much room, leaving more…

Riviera Belize 54 Daybridge: High-End Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on April 2, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Belize 54 Daybridge motoryacht from Riviera manages to have some retro design appeal combined with all the elements that make a high-end family cruiser so appealing. With three staterooms and two heads and a blue-water hull, the Belize 54 can hold a family of six or a group of friends for an overnight excursion or a long cruise. A convertible dinette in the salon can sleep two more. Standard power comes from twin 725-hp Volvo IPS950 pod drives, delivering a top speed of 33 knots, and a range of 370 nm at its cruising speed of 20 knots.…

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