Boat Reviews

New, Fast, Eclipse 605 Shadow Express

By Peter Janssen on January 24, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Eclipse, the South African luxury express cruiser that’s sold in the US by HMY, is now making a 605 Shadow that’s powered by four 600-hp Mercury V12 outboards. The regular Eclipse 605, with just three of the same outboards, tops out at more than 60 mph, so the new Shadow should gain at least another 5 mph or so, making it a very fast cruiser indeed. The new Eclipse is designed by Michael Peters, the prolific Sarasota designer, who most recently has drawn hulls for Summit, Outback and Hinckley, among many others. The Eclipse 605 has Peters’ patented SVVT (Stepped…

Pardo To Build New GT65 with IPS1350s

By Peter Janssen on January 22, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Cantiere del Pardo, the large Italian builder, just announced at the Düsseldorf show that it’s planning a new Pardo GT65 cruiser with a walkaround deck, flexible layout, and Volvo IPS power. The 65 will be the third model in Pardo’s GT series, falling between the existing 52 and the 75 that’s coming later this year. The new GT65 will carry all of Pardo’s signature lines, with its reverse bow and low profile. It has wraparound glazing, a folding aft window in the salon that opens to the cockpit, a sliding glass sun roof in the salon, and large windows and…

Bolide 80: 73 Knots, Loro Piana Interior

By Peter Janssen on January 22, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

You probably won’t want to take the new Bolide 80 on a trip around the Great Loop, but it sure would be fun for a run over to Bimini, or Key West, or Catalina. One thing’s for sure: It would get a lot of attention, wherever it goes. The Bolide 80 looks fast and it is fast. Powered by three 2,000-hp MANs, that are staggered in the engine compartment, the Bolide 80 tops out at 73 knots. The long, low, aerodynamic hull has steps for efficiency; the Bolide has a range of 240 nm at 50 knots (not that it’s…

New Schaefer 660: A Winner from Brazil

By Peter Janssen on January 18, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Today, when we think of larger, luxurious motoryachts, Brazil probably isn’t the first place that comes to mind. But Schaefer has built more than 3,500 yachts there in the past 31 years; it’s now Brazil’s largest builder, with models from 33 to 82 feet, and U.S. headquarters in Fort Lauderdale. The new Schaefer 66 flybridge motoryacht compares well with other builders around the world. The 66 has modern lines that won’t go out of style but that are appealing to the eye. And the 66, with four cabins and three heads below, has all the room for cruising with a…

Zeelander Building New 79-foot Flagship

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

Zeelander just announced that it’s building a new 79-foot-long Zeelander 8 flagship in its recently expanded plant in Holland. This latest Zeelander will be launched this summer, and it will carry the same unmistakable low profile reminiscent of America’s commuter boats of the 1930s and the company’s tapered transom and extendable beach club that set new standards for creating more space on the water. The Zeelander fleet already has a model 5, at 48’ 3”; a 6, at 55’ 9″; and a 7, at 66’ 7”. They all have the same lines, and the new 8 will have the same…

Popular Prestige 520: Still Going Strong

By Peter Janssen on January 15, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Ever since it was first introduced at the Cannes Yachting Festival in 2017, the Prestige 520 flybridge motoryacht has been one of the French builder’s most popular models. Taking a good look at the newest 520, continually updated through the years, helps to understand why. The Prestige 520 is an elegant, comfortable, easy-to-handle cruiser, with separate social areas in almost every direction. The salon, with an aft galley that serves the cockpit as well as the flybridge, has large windows that provide views all around. In the salon, says Camillo Garroni, of Garroni Design in Genoa, who designed the yacht,…

Quarken Launches New 35 Weekender

By Peter Janssen on January 14, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Quarken, the Finnish builder, is introducing its new 35 Cabin at the big Düsseldorf show, starting Jan. 20. The 35 is Quarken’s largest boat yet. The 35 has the same lines as Quarken’s 27, just stretched quite a bit – a fairly plumb bow, an asymmetrical wheelhouse to provide as much interior room as possible, with a wider deck on the starboard side. But it also has a forward cabin below that’s large enough to sleep two adults and a sofa that can be extended to hold two children. The enclosed head has a shower. The new Quarken’s windshield is…

New Bluegame BGX63: Prize-Winning Cruiser

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

The Bluegame BGXC63 is anything but one more luxurious, high-style Italian-made motoryacht. Indeed, its looks set it apart at the first glance, with low dark wraparound windows, an almost-military-looking, highly raked front windshield, and the hint of a slash of dark glazing along the hull sides running aft. A closer look reveals a creative two-tier design that opens up the salon and aft deck with so much glass that the interior and exterior tend to blend together. And below, the centrally located master stateroom is so big that it has its own private sitting area that can serve as another…

New Omikron OT-60: Comfort, Not Speed

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

Omikron, a Greek yard, will unveil its new OT-60 at the big Düsseldorf show, starting Jan. 20. The company says the 60, its first production boat, is “a motoryacht that feels like a sailboat,” offering “the perfect combination of the quiet, easygoing lifestyle of sailing and the convenience and space of a power yacht.” Standard power comes from twin 250-hp Yanmar diesels, producing a top speed of 16 knots, a quiet cruising speed of 12 knots, and a range of more than 1,000 nm at 8 knots. Omikron says the OT-60 is not designed for speed, but for comfortable cruising…

Arksen Starting New Line of Offshore RIBs

By Peter Janssen on January 8, 2024 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Arksen, the smart and ambitious new kid on the block in the expedition yacht neighborhood, just keeps growing. It’s finishing its flagship 85 on the Isle of Wight in Great Britain; it also has a 75 and a 65 in its Explorer series. It makes small boats too, introducing its 28 and 32 to the U.S. market at the Palm Beach show last March. Now it just announced that it’s starting a new Arksen 8 Discovery series of what it calls offshore open adventure boats, sturdy RIBs that are 26’ 2” long and have seats for 12. Available with single…

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