Boat Reviews

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…

See Horizon 60 Power Cat at Miami Show

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

The Horizon Power Catamaran PC60 will be on display at the Miami show, starting Wednesday, February 16. Horizon will also have a 52 at the show, but the 60, which was first built in 2013, is one of the company’s most popular models. Indeed, it is now working on hull number 25. The 60 is a sophisticated, stable and long-range cruiser with an enormous amount of interior volume and exterior lounging and entertaining space. You can order it with three or four staterooms with en suite heads and a vast open salon, or you can have the master stateroom forward…

Highly Stylized Invictus 46 To Debut in Miami

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

The highly stylized Invictus TT460 flagship, made in Borgia, Italy, will make its U.S. debut at the Miami boat show, starting February 16, along with a smaller outboard-powered GT280S. Invictus Yacht started just six years ago, with another 28, and has grown rapidly in the European market, largely because of the boats’ unique lines and the company’s semi-custom approach where owners can choose among a variety of upholstery, colors, decks and, in the case of the TT460, the interior arrangements. All Invictus Yachts are designed by Christian Grande, who has won a lot of international awards for his innovative thinking.…

Azimut Launches Flagship Magellano

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

Azimut just launched its first Magellano 30 Metri, the flagship of its long-range cruising fleet, at its yard in Viareggio, Italy. The new 30 Metri (measuring 97’ 6”) carries on the Magellano identity of providing Azimut’s traditional comfort and elegance in a boat that’s designed to cruise far afield in all sorts of weather and sea conditions. The first Magellano, launched in 2009, was a 74, with a completely new look and hull, designed by the Dutch naval architect Ken Freivokh. It had a range of more than 1,100 m at 11 knots, considerably more than possible on any of…

Leopard To Launch New 46 PC in Miami

By Peter Janssen on January 31, 2022 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Leopard 46 Powercat will have its world premiere at the Museum Park Marina during the big Miami show starting February 16. The 46 comes two years after Leopard launched its prize-winning 53 Powercat, and has many of its larger sibling’s design and seakeeping characteristics. Leopard cats are made by Robertson and Caine in South Africa, and they’re sold to individual owners as well as to The Moorings charter fleet, where the 46 will be labeled The Moorings 464PC. The Leopard 46 comes with either three or four staterooms, with three or four heads. Private owners will probably opt…

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