Boat Reviews

Fleming Introduces New F78 Classic, a Blue-Water Cruiser, at Lauderdale Show

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

Fleming is introducing its new F78 Classic at the Fort Lauderdale show, an upgrade of its flagship 78 but with a redesigned flybridge and boat deck. With good reason, considering its success in cruising around the world, the company calls the F78 “the ultimate cruising yacht.” The Fleming 78 is built to European CE Category “A” standards, meaning it is a strong, well-engineered, go-anywhere, blue-water cruiser. Flemings are known for the exceptional engineering and attention to detail, inside and out. The redesigned 78 is an outgrowth of the Fleming 75 that was launched in 2000. Ten years later Fleming redesigned that…

New Privilege Euphorie 5 Power Cat: A Long-Range Cruiser with Lots of Luxury

By Peter Janssen on October 15, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Privilege Euphorie 5 power cat is a combination of luxurious space and long-range performance. The new 50-foot multihull “is dedicated to long-distance cruises where comfort and range are a priority,” says Marc Lombard, who designed it. Standard power comes from twin 220-hp Yanmar diesels, with a cruising speed in the 12-knot area and a maximum range of 1,000 nm. With an upgrade to 320-hp Yanmars, the Euphorie 5 tops out at 20 knots, and has a range of about 345 nm at 10 knots. The new cat, built at the Privilege yard in Les Sables d’Olonne, just…

The Ten Top New Cruising Boats at Cannes, from Motorboat & Yachting

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

Here’s a look at the ten top cruising boats at the recent Cannes Yachting Festival, as chosen by Motorboat & Yachting, the British magazine. The top ten are the Beneteau Swift Trawler 47, Princess R35, Sunseeker 74, Jeanneau NC37, Absolute Navetta 48, Privilège Euphorie 5, Pearl 95, Ferretti 670, Azimut S6, and Prestige 590. Some highlights: The Beneteau Swift Trawler 47 (pictured at top) is the latest iteration of the French builder’s Swift Trawler line that it introduced 14 years ago. Swift Trawlers changed the face of trawlers forever; they no longer had to be Down East single-diesel displacement boats,…

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Marlow To Launch Luxurious New 70E Mk 2 at Lauderdale Show, a High-Tech, Long-Range Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on October 8, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Marlow 70E Mk 2 is the latest high-tech iteration of the 70E that Marlow started building almost 20 years ago, a fast and luxurious long-range cruiser with an Enclosed Command Bridge built for its new owner, a leader in the boating industry. Powered by twin 1,150 Cats, the 70E Mk 2 topped out at 27.55 knots in its very first sea trials in China, before it was put on a ship to be delivered to the U.S. in time for the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, starting Oct. 31. After sea trials in the U.S. and possible adjustments…

Sabre Starting Work on New 31-Knot 58 Salon Express. Stay Tuned

By Peter Janssen on October 6, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Sabre Yachts is working on a new three-stateroom 58 Salon Express that it plans to launch early next fall. The new Down East cruiser will be powered by Volvo IPS950 pod drives and is expected to top out at 31 knots and cruise at 27 knots. The tooling is now underway. The hull mold will be delivered to the Sabre factory in Raymond, Maine, from the tooling shop in Rhode Island soon, with the deck tooling not far behind. When it’s completed, the Sabre 58 will be delivered in the water in Portland. The new 58 is designed to replace…

New Vicem 65 IPS Classic: A Down-East Look from a Veteran Turkish Builder

By Peter Janssen on September 29, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Vicem 65 IPS Classic, the Turkish-built yacht with classic Down East lines, will have its world debut at the Annapolis powerboat show starting Oct. 11. The new low-profile beauty with its long sheerline and built-in-Maine-like tumblehome is the 153rd yacht built in Vicem’s 27-year history, and its 12th in the 60-foot segment. Powered by twin 800-hp Volvo diesels with IPS 1050 pod drives, the new Vicem cruises at 26 knots and tops out at 30 knots. At its cruising speed, the boat has a range of about 420 nm. Because of its cold-molded construction process using marine mahogany, Vicem…

We Test the New, Prize-Winning Back Cove 34O: A Fast, Fun and Game-Changing Couple’s Cruiser

By Peter Janssen on September 25, 2018 Boat Reviews

I nailed it. As I jammed the throttles all the way forward, I realized this isn’t your father’s Back Cove. Actually, it isn’t like any other Back Cove ever, and I’ve driven every new model since Back Cove introduced its first one, a 29, in 2003. Back then, Sabre Yachts created Back Cove as a single-diesel, low-maintenance, user-friendly Down East cruising boat. But now, on this brand-new Back Cove 34O, all that was ancient history. Powered by twin 300-hp Yamaha outboards, the Back Cove simply took off. As the props dug in, there was a bit of bow rise and…

New 38-Knot Princess V60 Cruiser To Make Debut in Annapolis

By Peter Janssen on September 25, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new 38-knot Princess V60 will make its U.S. debut at the Annapolis powerboat show, starting Oct. 11. Twin 1,200-hp MAN V-8 diesels power the new Princess, with three staterooms and two heads and a clean, Euro-style salon, to a cruising speed of 32 knots. Built at the Princess factory in Plymouth, England, the new V60 is designed for luxury, sociability and performance. The cockpit is a major social center, with a U-shaped lounge with a teak folding table and directors chairs. It’s equipped with a full wet bar and barbeque. It has a large sunpad aft; a garage below…

New Sunreef 40 Luxury Power Cat Wins Second Award for Innovation

By Peter Janssen on September 21, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The innovative, creative and greatly expandable Sunreef 40 just won the award for the Best Power-Driven Catamaran at the World Yachts Trophies ceremony at Cannes during the yacht show there. The award recognized the Sunreef 40 Open Power Diamond Limited Edition as one of the best and most innovative yachts in the world. The Cannes award was the second for the Sunreef 40. It also won the award as the Best Recreational Boat Up To 45 Feet at the Asian Boating Awards during the Singapore Yacht Show in April. Sunreef introduced its first foiling cat at the Cannes show four years…

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…

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