Boat Reviews

Highfield Launching New Electric RIBs

By Peter Janssen on August 21, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Highfield just announced it will display a new electric-powered RIB at the Annapolis show starting October 5, and a new electric-jet RIB and a new Sport RIB at the Fort Lauderdale show later in the month. The Annapolis powerboat show will be the debut for the Highfield Classic 340E (pictured) powered by a 9.9 Navy 6.0 Evo electric outboard from ePropulsion. The new RIB is 11’ 1” long and it has a top speed of 10 knots under silent electric power. The aluminum hull has a 15 degree deadrise for performance, it weighs 157 pounds, and it can carry up…

Aquila Launching New 47 Power Cat

By Peter Janssen on August 15, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Aquila will launch its new 47 Molokai Power Catamaran this fall, the third boat and largest boat in its offshore Molokai line that starts at 28 feet. Aquila calls the new 47 the Big Kahuna, and says it’s the first in its new generation of power cats. The 47 Molokai is ready for fishing, with large fishboxes waiting for the day’s catch, but it also can easily serve as a versatile cruiser, with a 14-foot, 7-inch beam providing both stability and lots of room inside and out. A sliding door near the helm provides access to an interior cabin with…

Jeanneau To Debut New Family Cruiser in Miami

By Peter Janssen on August 14, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Jeanneau will introduce its all-new 30-foot NC 895 Series Two family weekend cruiser at the Miami International Boat Show in February. The NC 895 has two cabins and one head below. And it cruises at 20 knots, with power coming from twin 250-hp outboards. They make driving fun and maneuvering easy. The new Jeanneau is meant to be a safe, comfortable, versatile boat. There’s little maintenance involved; it’s the kind of boat that you can wash and put away. Jeanneau, part of the giant French Beneteau Group, has designed the NC 895 with a slash of windows running along the…

New Reina 44 “Houseyacht” Heading for Miami

By Peter Janssen on August 9, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The first in a new line of what the company calls luxury houseyachts, the Reina 44 will arrive in Miami from the factory in Turkey next month and make its global debut at the Fort Lauderdale show in October. Reina says it has launched a new category of boat that combines the best of a yacht, a power catamaran, and a houseboat. The new Reinas are built to serve both as a yacht and as a luxury home on the water. The builder, Reina Boats, was founded by Hayri Dayi and Emin Günal, who saw the leap of interest in…

New Sunseeker Makes Global Debut in Newport

By Peter Janssen on August 8, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Sunseeker will hold the global debut of its new 88-foot luxury cruiser at the Newport International Boat Show, starting September 14. The upscale British builder will also display its new 65 Sport Yacht and a Manhattan 55 at the show, the start of the fall boat show season on the Atlantic coast. The new Sunseeker is called the Ocean 182, and it has a large, multi-purpose enclosed skylounge up top and five cabins, all with en suite heads, on its lower deck. There’s also a day head on the main deck, in the space separating the salon seating area from…

Dominator Launches New 35 Mini-Superyacht

By Peter Janssen on August 8, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Dominator Yachts just launched its new Midi Ilumin 35 luxury cruiser at a private event in Montenegro. The new 35 shares the lines – and a lot of the over-the-top superyacht touches – as its big sister, Dominator’s 92-foot Ilumen 28M. The head-turning 35 has the same no-nonsense reverse angle windshield and sweeping buttresses, glazed bulwarks and carbon-fiber hardtop as the 92-footer. It also has a hand-laid teak deck, polished stainless steel accents, bookmarked gray marble walls, and hand-stitched Nubuc leather in the cabin. On the lower deck, the head on the starboard side is separated by an electrochromic smart…

Eastern 27: User-Friendly Pocket Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on July 31, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The outboard-powered Eastern 27 Islander a user-friendly, no-frills, Down-East styled pocket cruiser. It’s also the top of Eastern’s fleet of 10 models from 20- to 27-feet. Easterns have been made in Milton, New Hampshire, since 1981.The company now also makes Rosborough Boats and Seaway Boats. The Eastern 27 Islander is designed as a couple’s cruiser, with a V-berth below plus an extra berth (or storage area) tucked under the helm deck. The V-berth can be converted to a settee with a table. There are also shelves, a hanging locker, and an enclosed head with shower. The helm deck can be…

Aegean Explorer 26M To Debut at Cannes

By Peter Janssen on July 31, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Denison Yachting will show the first hull of the Aegean Explorer 26M long-range cruiser series at the Cannes Yachting Festival starting Sept. 13. The second hull in the series is under construction at the Aegean yard in Bodrum, Turkey. The 85-foot Aegean 26M has a steel hull and aluminum superstructure for a combination of strength and light weight. It’s powered by twin 650-hp MAN diesels, with a top speed of 12.7 knots and a range of more than 3,500 at a slower speed. Explorer and adventure yachts have become a popular category in the past few years. The Aegean 26M…

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…

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