Thursday, March 28

Browsing: Boat Reviews

Xquisite Yachts will launch its new low-profile, well-proportioned 40 Power catamaran at the Miami show, starting Feb. 15. Based in Cape Town, South Africa, Xquisite was started in 2014 with the goal of building sail and power cats “for adventurers who wish to explore our oceans without giving up their lifestyle.” Xquisite sailing cats have won a number of prizes in the past few years. The company previously announced a 60 Solar Power Cat, and now is introducing the 40, which will be built in Portugal. The new Xquisite was designed in collaboration with Dixon Yacht Design to create a…

The flagship of Azimut’s Magellano fleet, the sophisticated new 30M is designed as a comfortable and luxurious long-range cruiser. The Magellano line was started back in 2007 by Azimut founder Paolo Vitelli, who wanted a boat that had the range of a traditional displacement trawler but with more speed and, of course, some Italian design flair. The line now includes the 60-foot-long Magellano 60 and the 82-foot long Magellano 25M. The new 30M has what the company calls a second generation Dual Mode hull that provides an easy ride at both displacement and planing speeds. It tops out at 20…

Delphia, the Polish builder that’s now part of the Beneteau Group, just launched its new electric-powered, 40-knot, Delphia 10 cruiser. At 32 feet, the Delphia 10 is the smallest boat in Delphia’s fleet that includes a 35-foot Delphia 11 and a 42-foot Delphia 12. They are designed by Vripack, the leading Dutch firm that has worked on everything from Nordhavns to megayachts. The Delphia 10 can be powered by an electric shaft drive with Torqeedo motors from 40- to 80-hp. You also can order it with up to a 110-hp Yanmar diesel. The new 10 comes in three versions: The…

With the help of Crossboundaries, an innovative design firm with offices in Beijing and Frankfurt, a German woman named Marianne Fries has developed her 49-foot houseboat into a home on the water that shows what can be done within a limited space. Fries worked in China for many years before returning to Berlin a few years ago. She also was friends with Binke Lenhardt, a co-founder of Crossboundaries. For exercise, she joined a rowing club in Berlin, and then decided she wanted to spend more time on the water. In 2020, she bought a five-year-old, solar-powered houseboat there, and decided…

Archipelago, the new builder of ocean-crossing, expedition-class power catamarans, just announced that it’s expanding its fleet. The UK builder launched its first vessel, a 47-foot aluminum-hulled cat with a 3,000-nm range, last summer. Now, it’s completing designs for a new 38, a new 52 (see rendering above), and ultimately a new 60. Founded just two years ago, Archipelago is planning ahead. The company says the new cats will share “the same philosophy as the original Archipelago 47 with sea-keeping at their very heart, and attainable luxury built as standard.” On its web site, the company also says, “Each of these…

Brunswick, the global recreational marine giant, just introduced its new Veer X13, built with rotomolded polyethylene, at the big Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The boat can be powered by Mercury’s Avator 7.5e electric outboard, the first in Mercury’s Avator series. (Mercury, of course, is a Brunswick brand.) The new Veer also be powered by Merc’s four-stroke gas outboard, but the theme here is Brunswick’s move to be a force in creating a future without fossil-fuel emissions. The new Veer, created by engineers at Lund Boats (another Brunswick brand), is aimed at first-time boaters. “Veer provides an affordable, low-maintenance…

Ever since Luca Bassani launched the first Wally in 1994, Wallys have been bigger, bolder and cleaner than other boats. You know a Wally when you see one. I first visited the Wally offices in Monaco about 20 years ago to check out the new boats. The Wow Factor was off the charts. Wally is now owned by the Ferretti Group, and they just unveiled the latest Wally, a 69-foot wallywhy100, and Wally is still pushing the design envelope. The “why” in the wallywhy line stands for “Wally Hybrid Yacht,” one that combines the advantages of both planing and displacement…

The Brooklin Boat Yard in Maine just announced that they’re building two new Wheeler 55 yachts, bringing back the models that became icons in the 1930s. The yard launched its first version of a Wheeler in 2021. That boat was a Wheeler 38, named Legend. It was a modern version of the Wheeler that Ernest Hemingway commissioned in 1934 and named Pilar, one of the most famous boats of all time. “The Wheeler 55 is an exciting step into the world of Spirit of Tradition boatbuilding in a large, modern, power cruiser,” said Eric Blake, the project director at Brooklin. “There…

The new 77-foot Evo Yachts V8 is a head-turning, three-stateroom cruiser jammed full of fresh ideas. Some of them, it seems, work better than others. Flagship of the Evo fleet, the V8 is the brainchild of Valerio Rivellini, a young designer working with the Naples-based builder. He says he wanted to inject some innovative thinking into the power cruising world. Starting aft, bulwarks fold out from both sides of the aft deck to create extra social space; no surprises there. But open a hatch on the port side of the teak deck, and you’ll find a tender; open a matching…

Sunseeker, the upscale British builder, will hold the world debut for its two new cruising boats, the Superhawk 55 and the 75 Sport Yacht, at the big Düsseldorf show, starting Jan. 21. Andrea Frabetti, the CEO of Sunseeker International, said the two new models “will be the crown jewel of our impressive lineup of stunning yachts.” With its low profile and aggressive lines, the Superhawk 55 (pictured at top) is the first new Superhawk that Sunseeker has launched since 2008, and is the latest in its Performance range. Powered by twin 725-hp Volvo IPS950 pod drives, it offers a combination…

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