Boat Reviews

New Delta 48: Upscale Fast Cruiser

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

The new Delta 48 Coupe from Sweden is a sharp-looking, upscale, lightweight cruiser that comes with either twin diesel sterndrives or twin outboard power. Delta has been building clean, elegant powerboats for the past 20 years. The new 48 Coupe is the result of a collaboration with Mannerfelt Design, which specializes in fast race boats as well as high-performing recreational boats. The Delta 48 is built with an all carbon-fiber hull and deck to keep its weight down and to boost performance. You can order it with either twin 440-hp Volvo diesel sterndrives, or twin 600-hp Mercury V12 Verado outboards.…

New Electric Persico Zagato 100.2

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

Let’s face it: A lot of the early electric-powered boats were, well, to put it charitably, aesthetically challenged. Not so the new Persico Zagato 100.2, unveiled last week at Zagato’s headquarters in Milan. Zagato’s announcement called it “an innovative hyperboat featuring aesthetic purity of design,” combining Persico’s technology, electric jet propulsion, and Zagato’s supercar-like looks. A little history: The boat’s100.2 nomenclature celebrates Zagato’s second century in business. It was founded “to dress cars and planes with customized bodywork,” and its most famous designs include work for Aston Martin, Lamborghini, and Alfa Romeo, among many others. The new 26-foot Persico Zagato…

C-Dory TomCat: Stable Pocket Cruiser

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

If you’re thinking about an outboard-powered pocket cruiser, the 25-foot C-Dory TomCat has a lot going for it. Per its name, the C-Dory TomCat is a catamaran, so it has a cat’s stability and space; indeed, the cockpit is a full 7 feet long and 7 feet wide, not bad for a 25-foot boat. And the twin outboards are mounted pretty far apart on the transom, so docking and low-speed maneuvering are relatively painless. The ride is flat and fairly dry, and the TomCat doesn’t bank in turns. You can run it up on a beach for a picnic, if…

Pardo Unveils New 72 Long-Range Cruiser

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

Pardo just unveiled plans for its new Endurance 72 at the Düsseldorf show, the second in its line of long-range cruisers. The Italian yard introduced its first Endurance, a 60, at the Fort Lauderdale show last October, and the new 72 has the same slightly reversed bow, raked windshield, tinted wraparound windows, and barely visible flybridge as the original. It’s scheduled to be launched in the spring of 2024. Standard power on the new 72 comes from twin 800-hp Volvo IPS1050 pod drives. With optional 1,000-hp IPS1350s, the boat has a range of 900 nm at 12 knots. The large…

Wellcraft Adds New 435 Fast Cruiser

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

Wellcraft just announced that it’s building a second boat in its new Performance Cruiser line, a Wellcraft 435 that’s designed for “a new breed of boaters.” The 435 follows the start of Wellcraft’s new Performance Cruiser series last May with a 355. That announcement was well received, and was a sign that Wellcraft meant to return to its heyday as a world leader in performance boats in the 1980s when Don Johnson was driving a Wellcraft Scarab 38 on Miami Vice. The Beneteau Group bought Wellcraft in 2014; it’s now making boats from 20 to 44 feet. Wellcraft says “the…

New Cheoy Lee 72 Heading for U.S.

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

Cheoy Lee just finished sea trials on its latest CLB 72 family cruiser in Hong Kong. It’s now on a ship heading for the U.S. The 72 is one of CL’s most successful yachts. A spinoff of the historic Cheoy Lee Shipyards, CL Yachts introduced its first boats at the Miami show in 2019. The new CLB 72 is hull #49. It’s a four-stateroom, four-head cruiser with a two-berth crew cabin and head aft. Hull #49 heading this way has new sliding windows in the galley, up/down windows in the salon, and opening portlights in the four staterooms on the…

Wooden Boats

New Tender Adds to La Dolce Vita

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

Now here’s a way to arrive in style. No more pulling up to the dock in your aging RIB or your well-used dink, the one with the scuff marks on the hull. Instead, consider the still-being-built limousine tender by Wooden Boats in its yard in Viareggio, Italy. In this case, style is king. Indeed, Marco Arnaboldi, the Wooden Boats founder and designer, says he was inspired by Fellini’s iconic 1960-era film, La Dolce Vita, as well as by “the timeless design of the runabouts of the time.” The film, he said, celebrates Italian style and beauty. The boat, named Limo…

Ferretti Holds Debut for Sporty New 580

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

The Ferretti Group is holding the world premiere of its new Ferretti 580 at the big Düsseldorf show that runs from January 21 through 29. The new 580 has more sporty and sculpted lines than many previous Ferrettis, with a nod to its Italian roots, particularly in the interior décor. The exterior is by Filippo Salvetti, who now has designed six yachts for Ferretti, and the interior is by Ideaeitalia, the Italian design firm that’s also worked on other Ferrettis. The yacht manages to achieve a clean, forward-looking profile, with the flybridge set well aft and its hard top so…

Prototype All-Electric Axopar at Dusseldorf Show

By Peter Janssen on January 11, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Axopar will display its prototype 25-footer, powered by an EVOY 300-hp electric outboard, at the Düsseldorf show, starting Jan. 21. The all-electric Axopar runs for 25 minutes at 25 knots, and the batteries can be recharged in an hour. Jan-Erik Vitalia, the founding partner of Axopar, says the partnership of the two companies was designed “to expand the boating community and offer new ways of mobility for the future.” The prototype boat was designed to cruise with zero emissions, zero fumes, and almost no noise. The prototype used EVOY’s 300-hp electric motor, the largest available, with low consumption, high torque…

New Xquisite 40 Cat To Debut in Miami

By Peter Janssen on January 11, 2023 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

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…

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