Boat Reviews

Leopard Building New 46 Powercat

By Peter Janssen on August 26, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Leopard Catamarans just announced that they are building a Leopard 46 Powercat, modeled after the award-winning Leopard 53 PC. The latest in the South African company’s new generation of power yachts, the 46 PC will splash in Cape Town this fall and then have its world premiere at the Miami boat show in February. Built for comfort and performance, the Leopard 46 is a stand-alone design. It is not a spinoff of an existing sailboat catamaran. “We have managed to give the Leopard 46 PC a character of its own,” says Anthony Key, the company’s chief designer. “It stands proudly…

Best-Selling BRIG RIBS Still Available in US

By Peter Janssen on August 25, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Despite Covid-related disruptions in supply chains and disappearing or already depleted inventories of boats around the world, some dealers still have some types of boats on hand. Northstar Yacht Sales in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, for example, has some high-quality BRIG RIBs for sale, and is expecting more in November. BRIGs are well known in other parts of the world. Indeed, the company says they are the largest producer of RIBs in Europe, and the biggest-selling brand in Australia, Sweden, Holland, Finland and the UK. BRIG made more than 2,500 boats in 2019, before the pandemic. They are made in Ukraine…

New Beneteau Antares 11 Flybridge: An Outboard Flagship

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

The flagship of Beneteau’s outboard-powered Antares fleet, the new Antares 11 Flybridge is a family cruiser designed for comfort and easy times on the water. It follows the success of a coupe version of the Antares 11, and offers more space up top with the flybridge. The Antares 11 Flybridge is powered by twin 300-hp Mercury four-stroke outboards, which give it a 40-knot top speed. That’s certainly a more than respectable top end, but this boat isn’t meant to be a speedster. You also can order it with twin 250-hp outboards for family cruising. The flybridge blends into the boat’s…

Cormorant Building Long-Range Cruisers in Poland

By Peter Janssen on August 16, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

A new player on the extended voyaging scene, Cormorant Yachts in Gdansk, Poland, is working on two new cruisers, a 55 and a 69, designed for owners who want to spend weeks at sea while enjoying the comforts of home. The semi-displacement yachts are called the COR555/690, the numbers indicating the length. The Cormorant 69 is basically an elongated 55, although Cormorant emphasizes that it can heavily customize any of its boats. The Cormorant fleet goes up to 88 feet. Cormorant has its own yard with skilled craftsmen in the Port of Gdansk, so it can control a high quality…

Maritimo Building New M60 Flybridge Blue-Water Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on August 16, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Maritimo, the highly regarded Australian builder, just announced that they’re planning an M60 Flybridge Motor Yacht that will be launched early next year. The luxurious new M60 Flybridge Motor Yacht is the latest iteration of the company’s first motor yacht, the Maritimo 60, launched in 2004. It was then selected as Cruiser of the Year and Australian Boat of the Year. “It has since gone on to earn a reputation as a standout blue-water cruiser with diehard following,” said Tom Barry-Cotter, Maritimo’s design director. The new M60 Flybridge Motor Yacht provides luxurious living on board with the company’s fabled blue-water…

Burger Launches New 50 Cruiser with IPS

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

Burger, the fabled custom and semi-custom builder, just launched its new 50 Cruiser, with an aluminum hull designed by Vripack and power from twin Volvo 600-hp IPS800 pod drives. The boat’s now for sale at Burger’s yard in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, on Lake Michigan. The Burger 50 comes with an interior by De Basto Designs in Miami. It has two staterooms, with en suite heads, below, and a large open salon and galley with unobstructed views all around. The boat was designed by Vripack naval architects in the Netherlands. It has Vripack’s patented Slide Hull, which reduces pounding and offers less…

New Strand Craft V8; PWC on Steroids

By Peter Janssen on August 11, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Kurt Strand, the Florida-based Norwegian yacht designer, is building the Strand Craft V8 Daytona GT, a jet ski beast that he calls “the ultimate personal watercraft.” Strand, who usually designs large yachts, says he’s been working on the V8 Daytona GT for the past five years. It’s 16’ 6” long and weighs 1,250 pounds and will be powered by a 6.7-liter supercharged aluminum V-8 engine with a high-performance water jet. We don’t have any details about speed or range yet; it will have a 22-gallon fuel tank. The hull will be either fiberglass or aluminum and the jet ski “marries…

New CMY 57 Powered by 3 Diesel Outboards

By Peter Janssen on August 11, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Compact Mega Yachts, a start-up from Finland, is building two new cruisers powered by three 300-hp OXE diesel outboards. The company says the boats will have a top speed of 27 knots, and when they’re driven by just one outboard in an “adaptable powering” mode they will have a range of about 3,000 nm. The two boats are the CMY161 at 53 feet LOA, and the CMY173 at 57 feet LOA (pictured above). The two are essentially the same, except the CMY173 has a third cabin in the accommodation deck below because of its extra length. The three outboards, developed…

Numarine Launches 37XP with 6,000-nm Range

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

Numarine, the Turkish builder, just launched the first hull of its 37XP expedition yacht in Istanbul. It’s now on its way to the south of France for its showing at the Cannes Yachting Festival, starting Sept. 7. With a steel, full-displacement hull, the Numarine 37XP is powered by twin 800-hp CAT diesels, giving it a top speed of 14 knots and an ocean-crossing range of 6,000 nm at 8 knots (it holds 13,472 gallons of fuel). The 121-foot yacht is larger than what we usually cover, but I think it’s interesting to see what’s out there in the long-range, expedition…

Vripack Launches Luxury Version of California 52

By Peter Janssen on August 4, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Vripack, the Dutch yacht design studio that is working with Nordhavn for some of its larger yachts, just launched a semi-custom California 52 XT weekender in Ibiza. Built by Waterdream in the Netherlands, the California 52 XT is bound to turn heads anywhere in the world, and it has a two-tone paint job that matches the colors of a BMW M8. Waterdream, founded by Prince Bernhard van Oranje of the Netherlands, won the Best Innovation Award at the Cannes World Yacht Trophies with the California 52 last year. At that point, the Prince got the idea to make a special…

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