Boat Reviews

New Leopard 40 Makes U.S. Debut

By Peter Janssen on July 30, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The all-new Leopard 40 power catamaran just made its debut in Fort Lauderdale, with a cruise along the ICW and a then a run over to Bimini. Leopards are made in Cape Town, South Africa, by Robertson and Caine. The company calls the new 40 a third-generation power cat, following the Leopard 46 and Leopard 53. The Leopard 40 is a three-cabin, three-head, stable and seaworthy cruiser The Leopard’s beam is 21’ 8”, slightly more than half its length, so it has vast amounts of usable space inside and out. The salon is full of light from large side windows,…

Nordhavn Launching New 71

By Peter Janssen on July 26, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Nordhavn just finished its first new 71, the company’s largest long-distance cruiser built for an owner-operator, and it’s scheduled to splash at its factory in Taiwan next week. (The 71 actually was set to splash this week, but a typhoon got in the way.) After that, the 71 will head for its new owners, a couple in Seattle who are fairly familiar with the brand. Indeed, they have already owned three Nordhavns in the past 20 years – a 50, 57, 68. They plan to cruise their new 71, named Luna, in the Pacific Northwest and up to Alaska. Nordhavn…

Solaris Building New 52 Open Flagship

By Peter Janssen on July 24, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Solaris just unveiled its 52 Open flagship powerboat that’s bound to get a lot of attention when it makes its debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival on September 12. The new Solaris Power 52 Open looks like a larger version of the Solaris 48 Open that won the European Powerboat of the Year Award three years ago and the 44 Open that was nominated for the same award two years ago. Solaris has been making sailboats in its Italian yard since 1974. It started a powerboat line in 2008 and now makes a Lobster Boat line and the Open line.…

Aquila 32 Sport: Versatile Power Cat

By Peter Janssen on July 24, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Aquila 32 Sport catamaran provides an easy and comfortable platform for enjoying day cruises, water sports, picnics, or just a fun and social time on the water. Standard power is two 225-hp Mercury Verado outboards. With optional twin 300-hp Verados, the Aquila 32 tops out at about 44 mph, with a range of 240 miles. The larger outboards come with joystick control for easy docking and maneuvering. The Aquila 32 has a cabin sleeping two people in the lower port hull, and a head and shower on the starboard side. Air conditioning is optional. Two more people could…

Beneteau Unveils New Antares 12 Flagship

By Peter Janssen on July 24, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Beneteau just unveiled the new Antares 12, the flagship of its outboard-powered Antares line. With two or three cabins and two heads, the new, 42′ 7″ Antares can be powered by three 300-hp V8 Mercury Verado outboards, or two 400-hp V10 Mercury outboards. The large teak swim platform has extensions on both sides that flank the outboards for easy boarding or access to water sports. You enter the cockpit via a gate on the starboard side. The bulwark on the starboard side drops down to provide even more social space or water access. An L-shaped lounge, facing a table, runs…

EJET Builds Electric Tender with 40 nm Range

By Peter Janssen on July 20, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

EJET has just launched its new 4X 12’ 9” high-performance electric tender that has a top speed of 35 knots and a range of 40 nm. The company says it’s the “world’s first” electric jet tender, and that it outperforms all others on the market. The 4X packs a lot of power, an electric motor providing 60 kW of continuous power, in fact, managed by an electric control unit that has three different efficiency modes on the tender’s 7-inch touchscreen: Eco, Normal, and Power. If the battery gets too low, the 4X will automatically switch to the Eco mode to…

Greenline 58 Fly: New Hybrid Power

By Peter Janssen on July 19, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Greenline 58 Fly hybrid will make its debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September. The 58 represents the start of a new partnership involving Greenline, Marco Casali of Too Design, and MICAD engineering. Casali drew a fresh exterior with clean lines for the new 58, and MICAD worked with Greenline on a new hybrid power system with a pair of 25kW electric motors and an adaptable hydraulic clutch that can be connected inline to any shaft-drive engine. Power options start with twin Cummins diesels from 610- to 715-hp, available on their own or with the hybrid drive.…

Picchiotti Building 24M Gentleman’s Yacht

By Peter Janssen on July 19, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Picchiotti is trying to touch a nerve to the past with its new line of Gentleman’s Yachts, starting with a 24 Meter (78’7”) model that it’s building in Viareggio, Italy. The new Gentleman 24 is the start of a line of semi-displacement yachts with classic lines developed by Yacht Moments and Luca Dini Design, combining an aluminum hull with a glossy mahogany superstructure. The idea is to blend the charm of iconic gentleman’s yachts, going back to the 1920s and ‘30s, with modern technology. Picchiotti is building a limited number of the Gentleman’s series. It’s already working on hull number…

Coming: New ROCK 78 “Compact Explorer” Yacht

By Peter Janssen on July 18, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

ROCK yachts in Turkey is now building a new 78-foot “compact explorer” yacht, designed by the Dutch firm Vripack with a range of 3,000 nm. ROCK says the 78, like its other models, is an SUV of the water, in this case meaning “sea utility vessel.” Indeed, Vripack designed the company’s first model, an 85-footer, with lines meant to evoke those of a Ranger Rover. “Vripack introduced us to the concept of an SUV yacht and it was love at first sight,” says Ali Sayakci, who owns the company. The steel and aluminum 85 (pictured above) was launched at the…

Granocean Building Luxe 72 Power Cat

By Peter Janssen on July 12, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Granocean just started building a new luxurious 72 power catamaran in its yard outside Sydney, Australia, with the interior space and design of a good-sized condo in New York or London. The company says it can customize the new 72 to suit an owner’s tastes. Hull number one is under construction for a European owner, and it has a sophisticated mint-green exterior color that’s bound to turn heads anywhere in the world. The interior, by Vripack in The Netherlands, has an elegant minimalist design, while the hull was designed by Howard Apollonio of Washington State and the structural engineering by…

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