Thursday, March 28

Browsing: Boat Reviews

The Bluegame BGXC63 is anything but one more luxurious, high-style Italian-made motoryacht. Indeed, its looks set it apart at the first glance, with low dark wraparound windows, an almost-military-looking, highly raked front windshield, and the hint of a slash of dark glazing along the hull sides running aft. A closer look reveals a creative two-tier design that opens up the salon and aft deck with so much glass that the interior and exterior tend to blend together. And below, the centrally located master stateroom is so big that it has its own private sitting area that can serve as another…

Omikron, a Greek yard, will unveil its new OT-60 at the big Düsseldorf show, starting Jan. 20. The company says the 60, its first production boat, is “a motoryacht that feels like a sailboat,” offering “the perfect combination of the quiet, easygoing lifestyle of sailing and the convenience and space of a power  yacht.” Standard power comes from twin 250-hp Yanmar diesels, producing a top speed of 16 knots, a quiet cruising speed of 12 knots, and a range of more than 1,000 nm at 8 knots. Omikron says the OT-60 is not designed for speed, but for comfortable cruising…

Arksen, the smart and ambitious new kid on the block in the expedition yacht neighborhood, just keeps growing. It’s finishing its flagship 85 on the Isle of Wight in Great Britain; it also has a 75 and a 65 in its Explorer series. It makes small boats too, introducing its 28 and 32 to the U.S. market at the Palm Beach show last March. Now it just announced that it’s starting a new Arksen 8 Discovery series of what it calls offshore open adventure boats, sturdy RIBs that are 26’ 2” long and have seats for 12. Available with single…

Summit just announced that it will offer Volvo’s IPS pod drives on its 54 Motoryacht. It’s building the first one with IPS now in its factory in Taiwan. Summits have come with standard 542-hp Cummins diesels and straight shafts since the first one was launched in March, 2020. Designed by Sarasota-based naval architect Michael Peters, who’s drawn everything from Hinckleys and Magnums to superyachts, the Summit 54 tops out at just over 24 knots. The IPS package, with twin 600-hp Volvo IPS800 pod drives, is expected to add four or five knots to that speed. “With IPS power, we’ll be…

The Dutch-built North-Line 42 Wheelhouse is a traditional-looking, blue-water cruising boat, a no-nonsense affair built to tackle the boisterous waters of the North Sea and come back home safely. There’s nothing fancy here; the bulwarks don’t fold out for a floating beach club, the boat won’t drive or park itself. But, powered by twin 480-hp Cummins dieses, it will hit  a top speed of about 30 knots; dial back to a displacement speed of 8 knots and it will have a range of 840 nm. The North-Line 42 has a Class A Ocean-Going certificate. Built for a cruising family, the…

The world of luxury power catamarans just keeps getting bigger and better. But now it’s also getting lighter and faster, as well. Indeed, the new long, low and lean 86-foot catamaran named Laniakea from Latitude Yachts is designed to be the lightest in the world for its size. Now being built at the Latitude factory in Riga, Latvia, on the Baltic, it is made of carbon fiber composite and will weigh in at 49.5 tons, or 30 or 40 tons less than other power cats the same size that are made of traditional fiberglass or aluminum. The light weight, of…

MJM has launched its first MJM 4 open-bow performance yacht with twin Volvo diesel engines. In tests off its factory in Washington, North Carolina, the 46’ 8” boat topped out at just over 45 mph. And it was quiet. At an easy cruising speed of 29 knots, it registered just 71.3 dB(A) at the helm. I drove the original MJM 4 off Newport, Rhode Island, with Peter Johnstone, the president of the company, when it was launched in September, 2022. Then it was powered by two 600-hp Mercury V12 outboards. It was fun and fast, with a top speed of…

Sunreef, the major Polish builder, just unveiled plans for a new 66 Ultima catamaran that the company says combines the best of both multihull and monohull luxury cruisers. Sunreef’s Ultima line, with four other cats from 44 to 88 feet, is thinner and sleeker, with a more modern look, than the company’s other yachts. Its reduced width (with a beam of just 23’ 9” on a 72’ 2”LOA) and high decks create a horizontal surface between the two hulls, resulting in an unusually spacious full-beam master stateroom. The 66 Ultima also has high bows inverted above a chine that runs…

Cockwells has just launched its new Hardy 50DS blue-water cruiser, designed to take on the waters of the world. Powered by twin 725-hp Volvo diesels with straight shafts, the Hardy 50 can hit a top speed of 29 knots, but if you dial back to 8 knots the range is more than 1,500 nm. Cockwells, in Falmouth, England, bought the Hardy line in 2020 and launched a 65 two years ago as its motoryacht flagship. The new 50DS is designed as the little sister of the 65, with all the robust oceangoing capabilities, but in a smaller package, making it…

Here’s a new brand of  power catamaran, the Foilborne 40 from Toro Yachts, a Holland, Michigan, builder that uses the talents and techniques of America’s Cup sailors and designers. Powered by twin 450-hp Mercury outboards (set wide apart on the cat’s 13-foot transom), Toro’s Foilborne 40 tops out at 57 knots, and has a range of a full 530 nm at 35 knots. Upgrading to twin 600-Mercury outboards adds another ten knots or so to the top speed. Toro Yachts was founded by Brian MacInnes and his wife, Danelle. A professional sailor, MacInnes has four America’s Cup campaigns with Oracle…

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