Boat Reviews

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…

Azimut Magellano 30M: Luxurious Light-Filled Cruiser

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

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 Launches New 32-Foot Electric Cruiser

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

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…

Photo by Joanna Link/Crossboundaries

New Design for Solar-Powered Houseboat

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

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 Expanding Its Expedition Fleet

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

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…

Meet Brunswick’s New Electric Veer X13

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

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…

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