Boat Reviews

Absolute 48 Coupe: Prize Winner with New Ideas

By Peter Janssen on January 25, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Absolute 48 Coupe, already a prize-winner, is the Italian builder’s first in a new line of express yachts. It was introduced at the Cannes show last fall, and then won a “European Boat of the Year” award in its class, with the citation saying, “Absolute once again combines ground-breaking design with masterful boat building.” The massive side and hull windows are obvious, and offer the advantages of air and space and views, whether the boat is at anchor or on a two-week cruise. What you don’t see, is that Absolute has a new idea (at least for a…

Swallow Whisper: New Boat, Nice Ideas

By Peter Janssen on January 24, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The good-looking 30-foot Swallow Whisper is a new boat from a small builder in the U.K. that has some features that might be welcome in the U.S. Built of light-weight wood with the hull sheathed in fiberglass and epoxy, it’s powered by two relatively small 70-hp Yamaha outboards that are hidden in an engine box, instead of hanging off the transom. A weekender that can sleep four, it tops out at 26 knots, and has a range of 160-nm. Until it launched the Whisper last summer, Swallow Yachts made trailerable sailboats in its yard in Wales. But it decided to…

Coming: True North 39 Outboard Express

By Peter Janssen on January 17, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

True North is building a 39 Outboard Express, just after introducing its new 34 Outboard Express at the Annapolis power boat show last fall. The 34 is powered by twin 300-hp outboards; the 39 will have twin 350-hp outboards. The new 39 will have all the Down East looks and family resemblance of earlier True North models, with a plumb bow, reverse transom, long shear line, protected helm deck, and large cockpit that can adapt to fishing, diving, cruising, or entertaining. The 39, like the 34, is designed as a versatile all-weather boat that will be comfortable as everything from…

New Longreach Power Cats from Australia

By Peter Janssen on January 16, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Longreach Power Catamarans from Australia are new players in the fast-growing international power cat market. They won’t launch their first boat until next year, but they’ve already sold several boats, including two of their most-popular 44-foot models to experienced cruisers in the U.S. The company, based just outside Sydney, is making 58-foot and 40-foot production models in addition to the 44 (shown above). Brent Vaughan, director of Multihull Central, which sells Longreach, says that most have been sold to experienced catamaran sailors, including some who have circumnavigated the world. All are built for long-range, blue-water cruising. The 44, powered by…

Princess Launching X80 Superfly Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on January 12, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Princess is launching a new X80 Superfly luxury cruiser, the second in its Superfly series and modeled after the earlier X95 flagship that has been well received. The X80 has all the same lines as the 95, and it was designed by Princess, Olesinski Design and Peninfarina, creating a yacht with lots of volume inside and some innovations that make it stand out on its own. First is what Princess calls the “super flybridge” that it says provides 30 percent more space than that found on other yachts of its size. The yacht’s only helm station is up there, and…

Pardo Building GT52 Cruiser with Volvo IPS

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

Pardo, the two-year-old Italian builder, is on a roll. It introduced its new Endurance 60 cruising flagship last fall, and now its starting a GT52 that’s something like a combination of the 60 and the company’s earlier walkaround sport cruisers. The GT52 will use the same hull as the open Pardo 50, but with a longer swim platform. And the Volvo IPS650 pod drives have been shifted aft to free up more interior space in the middle of the boat. But the GT52 will still have Pardo’s trademark slightly reverse bow, its long flush foredeck and a forward-raked pilothouse. It…

Hynova Launching Hydrogen-Powered 42

By Peter Janssen on January 4, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Hynova, a French startup committed to building the first hydrogen-powered recreational motor boat, has come a very long way in a very short time. Chloé Zaied, an entrepreneurial, climate-conscious French yacht captain, founded the company in January, 2020. She drove the first demonstrator, the Hynova 40, around the harbor at the Cannes show in September. Now, Hynova is building the first of its production boats, the Hynova 42, in La Ciotat Shipyards near the Riviera in the south of France. The Hynova 42 will be 41’ 9” long with a 12’ 4” beam and a 16,000-pound displacement. It will be…

CL Yachts Launches New, Prize-Winning 96

By Peter Janssen on January 4, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

CL Yachts has just launched its innovative, prize-winning CLX96 in Hong Kong, and it’s meant to have the luxurious conveniences of a contemporary flybridge motoryacht with the offshore capabilities of an expedition yacht. The CLX96 is the first in the company‘s line of Sea Activity Vessels, with a larger-than-usual amount of interior volume for comfortable living. It also is the first yacht ever designed by Jozeph Forakis from Milan and New York. The yard said it turned to Forakis to bring a “rebel’s insight” into the 96’s lines, and he said he was inspired by the New York City loft…

Sunseeker Plans New Superhawk 55 Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on January 4, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Sunseeker just announced that it’s building a new Superhawk 55 luxury performance cruiser, the first Superhawk the British company has launched since 2009. The aggressively styled Superhawk 55 is built for sporty handling and blue-water performance, powered by twin 725-hp Volvo IPS950 pod drives. The new Superhawk has the long, low profile of its predecessors, with a wraparound curved windshield. The new centered helm station is flanked by two navigators’ seats. In a change from previous models, the lower deck houses a salon and galley amidships and two cabins fore and aft. The long hull-side windows providing light to the…

Spirit Building Retro 35 Foiler with Electric Power

By Peter Janssen on January 3, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Spirit Yachts is working with BAR Technologies in the UK to build a high-tech, electric-powered, foiling speedboat that’s modeled on an American Gold Cup racer from the 1920s. The new boat, called the Spirit 35 Foiler, will have an Alaskan yellow-cedar frame covered with carbon fiber, solid titanium retractable foilers, and African Sipo wood topsides. Sean McMillan, the CEO and chief designer of Spirit Yachts, says he drew the boat along the lines of the classic 30-foot Baby Bootlegger racer that was powered by a converted World War 1 type Hispano Suiza aircraft engine and won the Gold Cup in…

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