Boat Reviews

Pardo Launches New Endurance 60 Flagship

By Peter Janssen on December 18, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Pardo has lunched its Endurance 60, an aggressively styled, low-profile cruiser that’s the Italian builder’s new flagship. With its slightly reversed bow, highly raked windshield, tinted wrap-around salon windows, graceful but broken sheerline and a flybridge that’s barely visible, the Pardo 60 has staked out a distinctive position in the cruising universe. In just the past two years, Pardo has built about 100 other cruisers, from 38 to 50 feet. The 60 represents a major move up. But Pardo has solid roots. It’s owned by Grand Soleil, which has built more than 4,000 sailboats since it started in 1973. The…

Rosborough Comes Back with Wild Island 25

By Peter Janssen on December 14, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Over the years, the Rosborough 246 trawler earned a reputation as a reliable, salty, pocket cruiser, popular in the Northeast and even (when a buyer could find one on the brokerage market) on the Great Loop. The iconic 246 was made in Nova Scotia by Rosborough Boats, which was founded in 1955 and started out refurbishing commercial fishing schooners into pleasure boats. Built for the treacherous waters of the North Atlantic, Rosboroughs were basic, rugged and not terribly expensive. Rosborough sold the molds to the 246 to Eastern Boats in New Hampshire in 2012, and concentrated on making military and…

Platypus Swordfish: New Semi-Submersible Trimaran

By Peter Janssen on December 13, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Here’s something new from Platypus Craft, a French company: The Platypus Swordfish, a 40-knot, 29’ 5” boat that has a submersible pod so you and half a dozen others can enjoy underwater views anywhere in the world. The boat will be built by a subsidiary of L2 Concepts in Antibes that has worked on other submersible projects. It can be ordered with twin gas outboards, or eco-friendly all-electric power. The Swordfish looks like a trimaran; its central hull is connected to the two outer hulls by arms. But push a button, and the central hull drops 6’ 5” under the…

Aquila Starts New Line of Offshore Cats

By Peter Janssen on December 13, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Aquila Power Catamarans just announced that it’s starting a new line of offshore boats called the Aquila 28 Molokai Power Catamaran and the Aquila 28 Molokai Cuddy Power Catamaran. Aquila says the Molokai name was chosen because the new cats are designed to perform like the boats that cruise in the Pacific among the Hawaiian chain of islands. “Aquila enters the offshore segment with a modern twist on a proven Hawaiian layout by shifting the paradigm of innovative boats and designs,” said Lex Raas, the president of Aquila Catamarans. Until now, Aquila has made power cats from 28 to 70…

Fraser Building Hydrogen-Powered 64-Foot Cat

By Peter Janssen on December 12, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Fraser Yachts is making a new 64-foot luxury catamaran powered by eco-friendly hydrogen fuel cells for virtually unlimited range and sustainable cruising. The new cat, called Aquon, was designed by the Christian Grande studio in Italy, which works on everything from the new Invictus 32 to superyachts, and it will be built at the Latitude Yachts yard in Riva, Latvia, on the Baltic. It is scheduled to be launched in 2023. The cat, made to resemble a pocket superyacht, has almost 700 square feet of solar panels on the flybridge roof. The renewable solar supply will be used to create…

Maritimo Building M75 Offshore Cruising Flagship

By Peter Janssen on December 9, 2021 Boat Reviews, On Watch with Peter Janssen

Maritimo, the highly successful Australian builder of luxury offshore cruising yachts, just announced that it’s developing a new M75 Flybridge Motor Yacht flagship. The new Maritimo is a four-stateroom, three-head, blue-water cruiser with an enclosed flybridge, a creative and expansive aft deck, and a lower “adventure deck.” Low-angle, straight-shaft drives connect to twin 1150-hp Scania diesels and reduce the yacht’s draft to just 4’ 11” so it can explore more destinations around the world. It holds 2,641 gallons of fuel to ensure long-range cruising. Maritimo’s announcement Thursday evening underscored the company’s most successful year in its almost 20-year history. Indeed,…

Hermes Speedster: Porsche Looks, Electric Power

By Peter Janssen on December 8, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

You don’t want to take this retro-looking gentleman’s runabout on the Great Loop, but it sure would be fun to cruise around your local harbor. The Hermes Speedster, made in Greece by the UK-based Seven Seas Yachts, is a state-of-the-art version of a classic 1930s runabout but with lines drawn to resemble the iconic Porsche 356 Speedster from the 1950s. When it was first made, four years ago, the boat was powered by a Rotax engine. Now, in our eco-conscious age, it’s driven by a 100kW electric motor with a 30kWh battery pack. With the Rotax engine, the Hermes topped…

StellarCAT Building New Tri-Deck 82

By Peter Janssen on December 8, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

There’s a new player in the luxury cruising power catamaran market. StellarPM, a Fort-Lauderdale-based specialist in yacht project management and construction, just announced that it’s building a new three-deck, 82-foot, all-aluminum StellarCAT with simply enormous living and entertaining spaces. Designed for serious ocean-crossing cruising, the StellarCAT AL25-3 has an enclosed upper deck, a skylounge aft of the wheelhouse that can be opened or closed, a master suite on the upper deck with its own veranda, and as many as six staterooms for guests and two for crew. Working with shipyards around the world, StellarPM has already designed a 68-foot power…

Sunseeker To Launch New Predator 65

By Peter Janssen on December 7, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Sunseeker plans to launch its new Predator 65 at the big Düsseldorf show in January. The sleek, low-profile Predator 65 has the same layout and hull as the Predator 65 Sport Yacht, but it does not have the Sport Yacht’s flybridge. Sunseeker expects to sell about equal numbers of both versions. The new Predator is distinguished by an aggressive, raked front windshield and large carbon fiber and glass sunroof that slides back to reveal a sizable opening over the helm and salon. The result is a bright, airy salon, with an aft galley that can also serve the aft deck.…

Beneteau Making New Swift Trawler 48

By Peter Janssen on November 30, 2021 Boat Reviews, On Watch with Peter Janssen

Beneteau just announced that it’s launching a new Swift Trawler 48. Hull number one, with twin 380-hp Cummins diesels, will have its world premiere at the Düsseldorf show in January; hull number two, with twin 425-hp Cummins, will make its U.S. debut at the Miami show in February. The 48 is the flagship of Beneteau’s Swift Trawler line, which starts at 35 feet. Beneteau also makes a Grand Trawler 62, but it has a displacement hull for long-range voyages. The new 48 is a three-stateroom, two head cruiser; top speed is 23 knots with the 380-hp engines, and 26 knots…

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