Boat Reviews

New Protector 410 RIB with 600-hp Outboards

By Peter Janssen on March 12, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life, Engine Room

Rayglass Boats just announced they’ve built a Protector 410 Targa with twin 600-hp Mercury Verado outboards, the largest outboards ever mounted on a RIB (and Mercury’s most powerful production engine). Rayglass, a New Zealand builder, said they had to customize and strengthen the transom to handle the weight and torque of the massive V12, 7.6 liter displacement outboards. A new 600-hp Verado weighs 1,260 pounds. In an announcement, the company said, “The result is one of the world’s most capable all-water vessels, combining the unmatched power of the Verado V12 engines with the Protector’s world-leading capability for safety and handling.”…

Highfield Launches New 360 GT Console RIB

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

The new sturdy and lightweight Highfield Classic 360 RIB with a GT Console would make a great companion on the Great Loop, your next cruising vacation, or just for running around your favorite harbor or anchorage. The new Highfield has an aluminum hull, with a 15-degree deadrise and a full-length keelguard for protection if you’re running up on a beach or sandbar. The boat itself is just 11’ 10” long, and weighs 285 pounds. Highfield recommends that you use a 25-hp outboard on the 360GT (although you can go up to a 30-hp model). A 25-hp Yamaha weighs 126 pounds,…

Helmsman 37 Sedan: An Affordable Cruiser

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

The Helmsman 37 Sedan is an affordable single-diesel, comfortable trawler with everything you need for a liveaboard or coastal cruiser. It comes with one or two cabins, and you also can use the second cabin as an onboard office. The Helmsman fleet ranges from 31 to 54 feet. The 37 is a slightly simpler version of the popular 38 Pilothouse model. Standard power is one 250-hp Cummins diesel; the boat comes with both bow and stern thrusters to make maneuvering easy around a dock. Helmsmen are built in Fuzhou, China, and are designed for owners who want a quality cruising…

Grand Banks 85 To Debut at Palm Beach Show

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

Grand Banks will introduce its new 85 flagship at the Palm Beach show, starting March 24. The 85, with three times the volume of the popular Grand Banks 60, will be available for private viewing. Like the Grand Banks 60 and the 54, the new 85 has the company’s patented V-Warp, semi-displacement hull that results in a highly efficient performance that leaves only minimal wake behind. Powered by twin 1,000-hp Volvo IPS1350 pod drives and carrying 2,650 gallons of fuel, the 85 has a range of 1,000 nm at 21 knots. Hull number one of the 85 has three large…

Lyman-Morse Completing Hood 35 Hardtop Express

By Peter Janssen on March 2, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Hull number one of the instant-classic Hood 35 Lyman-Morse Hardtop Express is nearing completion in Thomaston, Maine, and will be launched this summer. And Lyman-Morse is already working on hull number two, a flybridge version, that will be ready next year. (The boat is also offered in a soft top version as a day boat.) In any configuration, the new 35 has the elegant, Down East lines that never go out of style. And it has superior performance from twin 440-hp Yanmar diesels with Hamilton water jets. The water jets, of course, offer a safety factor and low draft of…

CL Yachts Launching New 65 Family Cruiser

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

CL Yachts, the luxury brand from Cheoy Lee Shipyards, is expanding its B Series of family-friendly cruisers. A freshly designed CLB88 was on display at the Miami show last month, and the Hong Kong-based company just announced that its brand-new CLB65 will be ready for its debut at the Newport International Boat Show in September. The 88 is notable for its design. Indeed, it won a Good Design award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. The new 65, designed by veteran naval architect Howard Apollonio with Interiors by Carmen, will try to follow that success. A flybridge…

Fjord Launches Owner-Friendly 53XL Flagship

By Peter Janssen on February 23, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Fjord just launched its new 53XL flagship, a 34-knot luxurious T-top cruiser designed for relaxing and entertaining on board. It also offers a high degree of customization, on both the main deck and the accommodations deck, for a production boat. Starting in the 1950s, Fjords were originally built in Norway, but Hanse Yachts bought the company in 2007, and they’re now built in Germany. But the basic looks remain the same, with a plumb bow, minimalist post-modern lines, and a low profile. The wide teak side decks are both safe and user-friendly. It’s easy to move from one end of…

ALVA Introduces Solar/Electric 60 Coupe

By Peter Janssen on February 21, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

ALVA Yachts, the new German builder, just introduced its new Ocean Eco 60 Coupe, an electric-solar cruiser with a low profile and transatlantic range. ALVA Yachts was started in 2020 by Mathias May and Holger Henn, veterans of Pica Yachts, where they made more than 40 all-electric sail and power boats. ALVA, in turn, has already made 50-, 60- and 90-foot electric yachts, including an Ocean Eco 60 Explorer with a flybridge. The new 60 Coupe is a lower-profile version of that boat. It is scheduled to start production later this year. The 60 Coupe is driven by two 250kW…

New Greenline 40 Hybrid: A Cruiser’s Boat

By Peter Janssen on February 14, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Greenline 40 Hybrid is a cruiser’s boat. It’s user-friendly, easily handled by two people, but not too big to be overwhelming. And it has a state-of-the-art hybrid power system, delivering 22-knot speeds under twin Volvo diesel power, while also providing silent running at 11 knots under solar-electric power. The two staterooms and one head make it large enough to hold a family, or another couple, on an extended cruise, and its bridge clearance of just 12’ 2 inches are meant to slide under those structures on the Great Loop or the Intracoastal Waterway in the Southeast. Greenline started…

New Walker Bay 525: A RIB with Style

By Peter Janssen on February 13, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Walker Bay is showing its line of luxury RIBs at the Miami show, including the new Generation 525 DLX RIB, with elegant styling and deep-V handling. You can see the Walker Bays in the water at the Sea Isle Marina or on land at the Miami Convention Center. Walker Bay makes several series of RIBs, both open and center console models, from eight to 21 feet. At 17’ 2”, the 525 DLX is the flagship of the Generation series, which starts at 11’ 3”. The 525 can hold up to ten people, and up to a 115-hp outboard. The boat…

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