Boat Reviews

New Sphinx 40: Living Off the Grid

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

If you really want to get away from it all, take a look at the new Sphinx 40, a solar/electric cat developed by Sovereign Ships, a Pensacola startup. The Sphinx is much more than one more environmentally friendly, fossil-free cruising boat. On its website, Sovereign says the new cat is designed for “living free on the sea,” and that the company’s mission “is to maximize personal freedom by creating self-sufficient, ocean-going homes.” The Sphinx creates its own renewable power, it collects rainwater and has a desalination system for fresh water, a 97-square foot garden can grow carrots, potatoes, kale and…

Italia Yachts Launches Its First Powerboat

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

Italia Yachts just entered the powerboat market with a splash, introducing its new 43 Veloce with a sculpted, super-modern look and an unusual sheer. The new Italia is built for inboard power, with its massive drop-down aft sections, although, in a nod to the American market, it also comes with three outboards. Founded in 2011, Italia has concentrated on making sailboats, only sailboats, until now. But times, and markets, change. The 43 Veloce is the company’s first entry in the power market, and Italia wanted to create a boat that had its own look and identity. The 43 Veloce is…

New Absolute 52 Fly: Extra Space and Light

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

The Absolute 52 Fly sets a new bar for interior light and glazing as well as for serious social zones inside and out. Introduced to the U.S. at the Miami show in February, the Italian-built Absolute is a three cabin, two head luxury motoryacht, with a crew cabin aft. Powered by twin 600-hp Volvo IPS800 pod drives, it cruises at 22 knots, and tops out at 28 knots. But, as with most Italian yachts, with the Absolute 52 Fly, the theme is as much about style and living on board as it is about performance. The new 52 is remarkable…

Xquisite Building Hybrid 60 Power Cat

By Peter Janssen on May 3, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Xquisite Yachts, the South African company, is now building its new hybrid 60 power catamaran, designed to cruise the oceans of the world, in Portugal. The first two hulls have already been sold, and the first will be delivered next year. Xquisite worked with Dixon Yacht Design for two years to develop the new 60, with solar/electric/diesel propulsion. The 60 follows the successful debut of the company’s 40 power cat, also designed by Dixon, at the Miami show in February. Xquisite was founded in 2014 to build sail and power cats “for adventurers who wish to explore our oceans without…

Photo by Billy Black

Hylas Launches First Diesel Outboard in U.S.

By Peter Janssen on May 2, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The first outboard-powered Hylas M47 just arrived in the U.S. from the company’s yard in Taiwan. The M47, an adaptation of the diesel-inboard-powered M44, has two 300-hp Cox diesel outboards on its transom. Hylas says it’s the first twin-diesel outboard on the U.S. recreational boat market. The Cox CXO300s push the new Hylas to a top speed of 31 knots, and a cruising speed of 17 knots. The outboards burn just 15 gph at 2,500 rpm. With the outboard’s standard four-blade props and the boat’s standard 475-gallon fuel capacity, the Hylas has a range of 1,000 nm. With optional 700-gallon…

Selene Launches Latest 60 Ocean Explorer

By Peter Janssen on May 2, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Selene just loaded its latest 60 on a cargo ship in Yantian Port, Shenzen, China; it’s hull number 46 of Selene’s popular Ocean Explorer series. This newest 60 has a modern full-body layout and a new profile with large side windows and three staterooms with en suite heads. It’s meant for an owner-operator, but it also has a crew stateroom aft with a full head; this space could serve as a fourth cabin. The company calls it “a compact super-yacht.” The 60 is the smallest in Selene’s Ocean Explorer line that goes up to 128 feet. Ocean Explorers have been…

New Rhea 34 Trawlers Heading to U.S.

By Peter Janssen on May 2, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Rhea Marine’s Trawler 34, made in France, is now heading for the United States, with two boats going to Cardinal Yacht Sales in Bellingham, Washington. The Rhea 34 has a conventional trawler layout, with two cabins, one head, and either one diesel or two. As a former trawler (Grand Banks) owner, I found a few things appealing in the new Rhea. It has a door on each side of the salon, providing immediate access to both sides decks. This is an great help in docking (which I often did by myself), as well as providing more fresh air and ventilation…

Artnautica LRC 58 with 5,000-nm Range

By Peter Janssen on May 1, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The Artnautica LRC 58 is certainly a different kind of cruiser. Designed as a Long Range Cruiser, the aluminum-hulled Artnautica 58 is self-righting with a narrow beam, shallow draft, and a range of about 5,000 nm at 7 knots. Artnautica is the brainchild of Dennis Harjamaa, who started out studying yacht design in Maine, and worked as a designer in Finland and then New Zealand before he started Artnautica Yacht design Ltd (NZ) and drew the lines for the LRC 58. He wanted a boat he could live on and take cruising, and he wanted it to be simple, rugged,…

New Virtue V10, Gas or Electric Outboards

By Peter Janssen on May 1, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The latest entry in the modern Scandinavian minimalist design genre (think Axopar and Saxdor, among others), the new Virtue V10 is made in Poland but the hull is designed in Sweden. It also is made to be powered by gas outboards, reaching speeds of 50 knots, or Evoy electric outboards, that are slower but offer a green, emissions-free propulsion system. Above all else, the Virtue V10 is meant to be a functional, user-friendly boat. It’s small enough so it can find room at most marinas or anchorages, and it has a beam of 9’ 6” so it can fit on…

Northcoast Unveils New 415HT Flagship

By Peter Janssen on April 27, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Northcoast Boats in Bristol, Rhode Island, just announced that it’s building a new flagship Northcoast 415HT that the company says is “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” The new Northcoast carries traditional, no-frills New England lines and a dedication to seaworthiness and performance. “Our goal is to satisfy the most experienced mariners who choose to own a real boat with a timeless practical design, clean and simple,” said Jose Daponte, owner of Northcoast Boats and C&C Fiberglass Components, Inc. Powered by four 300-hp Yamaha outboards, the 415HD has a projected top speed of more than 50 mph. The hull has a…

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