Boat Reviews

Coming Soon: “New Look” Azimut Magellano 66

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

Azimut will launch its “new look” Magellano 66 this spring, a major upgrade of the popular Italian long-range cruiser it introduced five years ago. The new look includes a redrawn flybridge, with a hardtop over the helm area, and much larger windows in the salon, letting in lots of natural light. The new Magellano will be powered by twin 850-hp MAN diesels. The original Magellano 66 had twin 800-hp Volvos that produced a top speed of 23 knots and a range of 1,000 nm at 9 knots. The new version keeps Azimut’s “dual mode” hull that offers a smooth ride…

Sunseeker Launches New Low-Profile 65 Sport Yacht

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

Take a look, a good look, at the flybridge on the new Sunseeker 65 Sport Yacht – if you can find it. On this low-profile, heavily sculpted Sunseeker, the bridge, with its revolutionary Sky Helm, is almost lost well aft in the silhouette of the boat. The Sunseeker’s vast one-piece windshield blends into the section above the salon where the sunroof merges with the wind deflector at the start of the bridge and its sports-car-like upper helm. The low-slung helm there has twin pivoting seats on the port side flanking a console with the yacht’s controls, including a joystick for the…

Tiara Launches New 48 with 3 600-hp Outboards

By Peter Janssen on February 15, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Tiara just launched its new 48 Luxury Sport, the company’s largest outboard model, with three of Mercury’s groundbreaking 600-hp V12 Verado outboards. At its introduction at Mercury’s Lake X testing facility in Florida, the new Tiara topped out at 60.1 mph, with a range of 394 miles at 34.6 mph. Tiara was one of Mercury’s partners in developing the monster 7.6 liter outboards, and the new 48 Luxury Sport is the builder’s first outboard under the Tiara Yachts name. The pairing of Mercury’s innovative outboards with the Holland, Michigan, builder, is the latest example of the growing popularity of outboard…

Formula Launches New 50-Foot, 2,400-hp Outboard Flagship

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

Formula just launched its new flagship, the 500 Super Sport Crossover, and it’s powered by four of Mercury’s new V12, 600-hp Verado outboards. Formula was one of Mercury’s partners in the introduction of the giant outboards at Mercury’s famed testing facility at Lake X in Florida. The new luxurious Formula takes advantage of the new 7.6 liter outboards by enlarging its swim platform so it becomes both a social and a watersports center. On the new Mercs, only the underwater gearcase moves to steer the boat; the powerhead remains stable. That means you can mount several of them closer together,…

Riviera 645 SUV: 34-Knot, Blue-Water Flagship

By Peter Janssen on February 10, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Riviera just announced that it will launch its new 645 SUV, the flagship of its SUV fleet, in April. The largest luxury motor yacht builder in Australia, Riviera says the new 645 offers longer-range offshore cruising capability and more entertaining and living space than its previous models. The SUV fleet, now with six models starting at 39 feet, is designed to combine offshore performance with entertaining features to make life comfortable underway, even in Australia’s often-challenging sea conditions. The new 645 is powered by twin 1,300-hp MAN diesels, with straight shafts. MAN 1,550-hp powerplants are optional, and produce a cruising…

New Otam 65: 60 Knots, Private Jet Design

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

With a 60-knot top speed, there’s no denying that the Otam 65 HT One Off is fast, very fast. Powered by twin 2,000-hp MAN diesels and Arneson drives, it cruises at 50 knots. But it also has a head-turning design, with the hull by Umberto Tagliavini of Marine Design in Rapallo and the interior by Francesco Guida Design studio in Naples, that’s inspired by private jets with a blend of carbon fiber, black leather and a black-and-white color scheme. Otam, in Genoa, specializes in customizing its yachts to fit each owner’s desires. The 65 HT was so customized that Otam…

Hunt To Launch New 76 with Enclosed Bridge

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

The Hinckley Company just announced that it will launch the first Hunt Ocean 76 Command Bridge, a luxurious offshore cruiser, this spring. It will be the first Hunt 76 with a fully enclosed, walk-around command bridge; previous models had open flybridges. The new Hunt 76 is designed as a user-friendly yacht. “From the command bridge, you have spectacular views and enhanced situation awareness,” said Mike Arieta, president of the Hinckley Company. “And with the walk-around deck, you can just step out to dock the boat from the perfect point of view.” The climate-controlled command bridge has two Stidd chairs, an…

The Favors Downsize: Next Boat, a Ranger Tugs 25

By Peter Janssen on February 6, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

A lot of us (including myself) were certainly surprised when we learned that Jim and Lisa Favors put their beloved, and well-traveled, Ranger Tugs 29 Kismet up for sale last summer, without any explanation of what they would do next. After all, the Favors have been cruising most of their adult lives, most recently on Ranger Tugs, and have written about them extensively on their website, trailertrawlerlife. Now we know what comes next: A new Ranger Tugs, but the Favors are downsizing. Their next Ranger will be a 25, with a single 250-hp Yamaha outboard to give them more performance…

Windy Entering U.S. Market with Upscale Cruisers

By Peter Janssen on February 2, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Windy, the high-quality Swedish builder, just announced that it will bring its boats into the United States, working with Nautical Ventures, based in Fort Lauderdale. Windy was founded in 1966, with the stated goal of delivering “the best built boats in the world.” Its fleet of performance cruisers now runs from 27 to 46 feet. The first boat to enter the U.S. market will be its R44SX Blackhawk (see rendering, below), displayed at this fall’s Lauderdale show. For his part, Roger Moore, the CEO of Nautical Ventures, praised the “European-built Windy Boat brand with its reputation for quality and unmatched…

Eastern Boats Coastal 30 Cruiser, A New Flagship

By Peter Janssen on February 1, 2021 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Eastern Boats Coastal 30, the new flagship of the New Hampshire builder’s fleet, is a two-cabin, no-nonsense, 36-knot outboard-powered cruiser that’s ready for the Great Loop or just messing around the harbors and fishing grounds of the Northeast coast. Eastern Boats, which has been making smaller Down-East style boats since 1981, specializes in lobster-boat hulls that provide a stable platform for fishing and cruising. The new Coastal 30, however, is the first with a deep-V hull and 22 degrees of deadrise at the transom, designed to give a boost to its twin 250-hp Honda outboard performance. It’s an efficient hull…

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