Boat Reviews

New, All-Electric, Foiling Sea Bubble Is Built to Beat Traffic. See It In Action in Paris

By Peter Janssen on September 19, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Now being tested in the Seine in Paris, the all-electric Sea Bubble, a 16-foot, all-electric hydrofoil, could be the water taxi of the future. In other permutations, it also could take you around your harbor or lake, or simply give you a new, cool, eco-friendly vessel. The founders of Sea Bubble say you should think of it as “a James Bond car, available for everybody, but with zero waves, zero noise, zero CO2 emissions.” Designed by Alain Thébault, who also designed the record-setting 50-knot-plus Hydroptère, a sailing hydrofoil trimaran, the Sea Bubble is powered by two electrically driven props. You…

New Bracewell 41 Trawler Makes East Coast Debut in Annapolis; Based on Hull from Camano 41

By Peter Janssen on September 17, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Bracewell 41 trawler, built from the tooling for the popular Camano 41, will make its east coast debut at the Annapolis powerboat show, starting Oct. 11. The Bracewell has already been shown in Seattle. The new two-stateroom Bracewell uses Camano’s seaworthy hull and keel design, with its low center of gravity, and it include lots of upgrades for more comfort and aesthetics. Powered by a standard 435-hp Volvo diesel or a 480-hp Cummins, the Bracewell cruises efficiently in the 8- to 16-knot range. The boat has a pronounced bow flare to knock down spray. The side decks are…

Jeanneau Launches New 35-Foot Cruising Boat With Twin 300-hp Yamahas

By Peter Janssen on September 11, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Jeanneau has just launched its new 35-foot outboard-powered NC 1095 cruising boat, the flagship of its NC (New Concept) fleet. The new 38-knot cruiser will make its U.S. debut at the Annapolis powerboat show, starting Oct. 11. The new cruiser from the prestigious French builder is powered by twin 300-hp Yamaha F300 four-stroke outboards. It cruises at about 25 knots, and is remarkably fuel efficient, burning about 1 nmpg at that speed. It is available in a two- or three-stateroom arrangement, with additional sleeping space for two in the convertible dinette area in the salon. The cockpit and salon are…

Lexus Will Launch Its New LY 650 Luxury Yacht, Built in Wisconsin, Next Year

By Peter Janssen on September 9, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Lexus just announced it will launch its new LY 650 luxury yacht, which will be built in Wisconsin, in 2019. The LY 650 is the fourth in the brand’s new fleet, a 65-footer that Lexus says will be designed with the “L-finesse” language and aesthetic. The company, part of Toyota, unveiled its Lexus Sport Yacht Concept at the Miami boat show in 2017. That design won the “Boat of the Year” award at the Japan International Boat Show, where Shigeki Tomoyama, the executive vice president of Toyota, announced the company’s partnership with the Marquis-Larson Boat Group in Pulaski, Wisconsin. Marquis-Larson…

Back Cove Tests Twin 300-hp Yamaha and 350-hp Suzuki Outboards on Its New 34O. The Suzukis Are 3 Knots Faster

By Peter Janssen on September 5, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

It’s not often that you can compare the performance of a brand-new boat with different power configurations, but Back Cove has just released that information for its new 34O (for outboard) cruiser that will make its public debut at the Newport International Boat Show, starting Sept. 13. The standard power for the Maine-built couple’s cruiser is two 300-hp Yamaha outboards; two 350-hp Suzukis are an option. Here’s how they performed. Back Cove tested the two power options three days apart in mid-August with about the same fuel, water and load in similar sea conditions on West Penobscot Bay near the…

Sleek and Luxurious New Hunton 55: Cruising in the Fast Lane

By Peter Janssen on September 2, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Going back to its racing and high-performance heritage, Hunton Yachts is building a new 55-foot luxury cruiser with twin MAN 1,0000-hp diesels and Arneson surface-piercing drives that is expected to top out at a swift 55 to 60 knots. That means you could cruise from say, Miami to Nassau in the Bahamas, or New York to Nantucket, and leave after breakfast and arrive in time for lunch. And with the Hunton’s spectacular looks, you’ll be guaranteed to catch a lot of attention along the way. The new Hunton will be constructed using all epoxy composite and the vacuum bagged, resin-infusion…

New Silent 55 To Make Debut in Cannes. All-Solar Power Provides Unlimited Cruising Range

By Peter Janssen on September 1, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new totally solar-powered Silent 55 catamaran will be launched at the Cannes Yachting Festival, starting Sept. 11. Silent-Yachts, the cat’s Austrian builder, says it is the first production cruising catamaran powered exclusively by solar energy. The self-sufficient Silent 55 uses electric propulsion for unlimited range, with no carbon footprint, no noise and no fumes. It can cruise at 6 to 7 knots, all day and all night. The new Silent 55 is available in several power configurations. In the Cruiser version, it has two 30 kW motors; The E-Power version has two 250 kW motors, and the Hybrid Power…

Here Are Our Reviews of 29 New Cruising Boats at the Newport Show

By Peter Janssen on August 30, 2018 Boat Reviews

AMERICAN TUGS 435 A sturdy cruiser, well-equipped to handle the coast of Maine, the Great Loop, or the Waterway down to the Keys or the Bahamas, the new American Tugs 435 has two staterooms, two heads, a raised pilothouse, a comfortable salon with forward galley and enough storage and living areas to keep a couple or family comfortable for a long time onboard. American Tugs are made in LaConner, Washington, but about half are now sold on the East Coast as more and more owners appreciate all the boats have to offer. The no-frills approach to cruising, with a single…

New, Creative, Carbon-Fiber Anvera 48: The Coolest Tender Ever?

By Peter Janssen on August 28, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

“The new Anvera 48 might well be the coolest, most technically accomplished yacht tender ever,” says the Robb Report. “Drawn by Aldo Drudi, who first imagined the 48 as an ‘elegant and very fast dolphin,’ the carbon-fiber boat is strong, tough and fast. “’While the hull has been developed with hydrodynamic features in mind, the superstructure has been defined by aerodynamics,’ says Drudi. The black profile does indeed have a sleek, aerodynamic look – especially with the nifty hard top that seems to float its way backward over the helm station, across the amidships dining table, and to the rear…

New Calvin Beal 38 with a Rich Maine-Built Heritage and 20-Knot Speed

By Peter Janssen on August 27, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

It just doesn’t get any more Down East than this – Star, a new, well-appointed 38 Calvin Beal lobster boat with roots in Maine that just won’t quit. First off, Star was designed by Calvin Beal Boats in Beals, Maine, on an island off Jonesport way up the Gulf of Maine (go to Northeast Harbor on Mt. Desert Island and keep on going). It was built as SW Boatworks in Lamoine, back on the mainland at the entrance to Mt. Desert Island. And the sea trials were conducted at Billings Marine in Stonington on Deer Island on East Penobscot Bay. Enough…

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