Boat Reviews

Outer Reef Updates Its Popular 650 Classic

By Peter Janssen on November 10, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Outer Reef is re-engineering its 650 Classic Motoryacht, a size range that’s popular with cruising owner-operators. The updates include many trends that American owners have desired on their yachts in recent years. Outer Reef has been making the 650 for more than a decade, and Jeff Druek, the builder’s president and CEO, said they considered feedback from existing and potential owners before re-engineering the 650. Many of the changes have already been incorporated in the Outer Reef 700 Classic, one of the company’s most popular models. But some owners prefer a slightly smaller yacht than the 700 for a variety…

Bluegame Unveils New Power Cat Lineup

By Peter Janssen on November 9, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Bluegame just announced that it’s building a new line of luxury multihull yachts, called BGM, that will start with a highly creative 75 and include Volvo’s hybrid diesel-electric powertrain. Bluegame, part of Italy’s Sanlorenzo Group, unveiled plans for the new BGM75 at the Cannes Yachting Festival; the boat is scheduled to be ready for the same event next September. It was designed by Philippe Briand, the London-based, performance-oriented naval architect. The idea was to create the space and efficiency of a multihull with the style of a monohull. The BGM75 has a relatively narrow beam for a 75-foot power cat,…

Longreach 44 Power Cat “Ticks All the Boxes”

By Peter Janssen on November 9, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Looking for a long-range, comfortable power catamaran, an experienced cruising couple from Las Vegas have just bought a Longreach 44 in Australia. They plan to take delivery next spring and keep the boat in Seattle in the summer and San Diego in the winter. The couple, Chad and Maren Schwartz, filmed a video with Longreach at the Sydney boat show. (A new company, Longreach is based just outside Sydney.) They said they originally wanted to cruise around the world, but had trouble finding the right boat. They decided they wanted a catamaran platform for its comfortable ride. About four years…

HMY and Two Oceans Launch Outboard Cruisers

By Peter Janssen on November 7, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

HMY Yacht Sales and Two Oceans Marine just announced that they’re developing a new line of luxurious outboard-powered, express cruising boats, starting with a 50- and a 60-footer. HMY is one of the largest yacht brokers and dealers in the U.S., with offices in Florida and South Carolina. Two Oceans is a long-time builder of blue-water catamarans in Cape Town, South Africa. The two companies joined forces last year to introduce a line of power cats to the U.S. The new express cruisers are the ECLIPSE 505 (pictured at top and below) and ECLIPSE 605. They are designed by Michael…

New Pearl 72: Lots of Superyacht Touches

By Peter Janssen on November 7, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Pearl just unveiled its new 72 at the Fort Lauderdale show, with some creative touches inside and out. For the interior, the new Pearl has the equivalent of two master staterooms (so nobody feels like a second-class citizen), while the exterior, by Dixon Yacht Design, has Pearl’s supersized raked windshield, deep cut-outs in the bulwarks to open up the views from the salon, and one long piece of glass that replaces windows in the hull sides. It also has a large garage that is revealed when the transom lifts up. The garage is large enough to hold an 11’ 3”…

Cockwells Designs 40-Knot Foiling Electric Tender

By Peter Janssen on November 1, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The striking-looking Alte Volare 12M Hydrofoil Tender is the result of a technical study by the superyacht tender specialists at Cockwells in the UK. So far, the 40-knot, electric limousine tender exists only on paper, in a report presented at the Monaco show last month. But the Alte Volare shows what is possible in the high-performance, foiling sphere right now. Henry Wars, the Cockwells design director, says the new tender combines a “distinctive design with a fully electric drivetrain and retractable foiling technology to create a tender that is efficient and elegant, inside and out.” The forward foil contains the…

New TEMO 1000: Electric Outboard for Tenders

By Peter Janssen on November 1, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The TEMO 1000 is an innovative, lightweight, all-electric outboard that’s made to power tenders and RIBs and small sailboats. It also has a clear appeal. Since it’s powered by a 1,000-watt electric motor (the equivalent of a 3-hp gas outboard), you don’t need to carry a gas tank on board, and there are no noise, fumes or pollution either. The TEMO 1000 consists of a rudder-shaped shaft with the motor at the bottom and a long, thin battery that slides down into it. You don’t need to connect any wires or plug it in; it connects automatically. And its slim…

Sunreef Building New 55 Open Power

By Peter Janssen on October 31, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Sunreef just announced that it’s building a new 55 Open Power, a luxury hybrid catamaran with a blend of speed, stability and comfort. With low-slung, modern, aggressive lines, the Sunreef 55 almost demands that you take a second look. The cabin roof slopes forward to enhance a sense of motion, and the cat is marked by its reverse bows and a slash of windows along the lower hull sides that provide a lot of interior light to the cabins on the accommodations deck below. But it’s when the boat stops that it’s really eye-catching. The bulwarks on both sides of…

Sirena Starts New Superyacht Range

By Peter Janssen on October 31, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Sirena Yachts, the high-end Turkish builder, just announced that they’re starting a new line of superyachts that will maximize owner privacy and comfort as well as highlighting a lot of creative spaces for outdoor relaxing. The new Sirena Superyacht Range will start with a 35 Meter (114’), 42 Meter (137’), and 50 Meter (164’), pictured above. During a press conference at the Fort Lauderdale show, Sirena officials said the company is moving into the superyacht category as “a natural progression.” The company now builds yachts from 58 to 88 feet at its yard in Istanbul. “A lot of 88 owners…

Zeelander Rebrands with a New Sensuous Look

By Peter Janssen on October 24, 2022 Boat Reviews, On Watch with Peter Janssen

Zeelander, the high-end Dutch yard, is going for what it calls a sensuous new contemporary look, starting with its new almost-56-foot Zeelander 6. It just delivered hull number one with a paint job that matched the color of the owner’s Ferrari Superfast 812. “Our boats still offer the unmatched comfort and performance for which Zeelander is known across the world,” said Sietse Koopmans, who founded the company in 2008. “But with the launch of the first Zeelander 6, we are shifting the dial from retro classic towards a more timeless contemporary design.” After consulting with clients, Zeelander decided to undertake…

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