Boat Reviews

Arksen 85: Ready To Tackle the World

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

Arksen, the highly creative, fairly new British builder, just launched its first 85 Explorer that’s built to cut through ice and survive a 360-degree rollover. It also has a range of 6,000 nm at 7 knots, according to the company. The key to the new 85 is Arksen’s all-aluminum, lightweight, slippery, fuel-efficient, semi-displacement hull developed by Rob Humphreys Yacht Design and subjected to some sophisticated testing. The hull, which has broader and flatter aft sections, is meant to be indestructible, and it’s built to commercial specifications, meeting the UK’s Workboat Code for unrestricted ocean voyages. The interior is by Design…

Riviera 585 SUV Makes Debut Down Under

By Peter Janssen on May 17, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Riviera 585 SUV, with its clean, low, sleek profile, will make its world debut at the Sanctuary Cove show in Australia starting May 25. The largest builder in the Southern Hemisphere, Riviera showcases its SUV line as a combination of an offshore performer and a social gathering and entertaining venue. The 585 is a three-stateroom, three-head cruiser, made for everything from an overnight to a weeks-long (or longer) voyage. (It also has a crew quarter with a dedicated laundry, although that space can also be used for extra storage.) One of the most distinguishing features of the new…

Nordic Tugs To Show Latest 40 Pilothouse

By Peter Janssen on May 17, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Nordic Tugs just launched its latest 40 pilothouse cruiser, and it will be on display at the show in Anacortes, Washington, this weekend. With its nostalgic looks, full keel and solid build, the Nordic Tug is a serious pilothouse cruiser. It can be handled easily by a couple, but it also can sleep six people on a cruise and hold many, many more for onboard entertaining. Powered by a single 370-hp Volvo diesel, it tops out at more than 17 knots, and has a range of about 1,000 nm at 8 knots. The first Nordic Tug, a 26, was introduced…

Sealine Launches 40-Knot Sport Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on May 16, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Sealine just launched its latest sport cruiser, the S335v, with a five different layouts, lots of space, and 40-knot power from twin 300-hp Mercury V8 Verado outboards. The new Sealine is designed by Bill Dixon from the UK and made by Hanse near Greifswald on Germany’s Baltic coast. It’s one of Sealine’s 12 models from 33 to 53 feet. The new S335v has an open deck layout with sun roofs over the helm deck and the cockpit. There’s seating on the foredeck and on a large U-shaped settee aft in the cockpit with a table that can be converted to…

First Sargo 45 Flagship Heading to U.S.

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

The new Sargo 45, the flagship of the Finnish builder’s fleet, is heading for Liberty Landing Marina in New Jersey, where it will be the first 45 in North America. After commissioning there, it will cruise up the Hudson and take the basic Great Loop route to Chicago or Duluth, where it will be put on a truck and driven to the Inside Passage Yacht Sales docks on Lopez Island, Washington (unless it’s sold along the way). A tough, user-friendly, all-season cruiser, the Sargo 45 has wide side doors opening to the pilothouse, plus a gate in the hull side…

New, Cruiser-Friendly Offshore 54 PH

By Peter Janssen on May 10, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Offshore 54 Pilothouse is the latest iteration of a popular cruising design built for easy handling by a couple. Offshore says the 54 is the “finest Offshore yet,” and that’s saying something since the company has built more than 300 yachts since its founding in 1948. The 54 PH has a semi-displacement hull with a fine entry for parting the waves and a full keel for directional stability and protection for the props. Standard power comes from twin 715-hp Cummins with straight shafts, producing a top speed of a bit over 20 knots and a cruising speed of…

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…

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