Boat Reviews

Nordhavn To Show New 63 Aft Pilothouse Cruiser in Newport

By Peter Janssen on August 27, 2019 Boat Reviews

Nordhavn will be showing its new 63 aft pilothouse cruiser at the Newport International Boat Show, starting Sept. 12. With a hullform based on the popular (and well-proven) Nordhavn 55, the 63 will take you anywhere in the world. It’s powered by a single 325-hp John Deere diesel, and it carries 2,500 gallons of fuel, so it definitely is capable of repeating the route of the historic Nordhavn Atlantic Rally 15 years ago, from Fort Lauderdale to Gibraltar (with stops in Bermuda and the Azores). If you want to stay closer to home, the Nordhavn 63 will carry you in…

First Look: New Hinckley 40x Sport Boat with Three Outboards

By Peter Janssen on August 1, 2019 Boat Reviews

Here’s a first look at the brand-new Hinckley 40x Sport Boat that was just launched in Newport, Rhode Island, with three 300-hp Mercury Verado outboards. Designed by the legendary C. Raymond Hunt Associates, the new Hinckley was built specifically for outboard power, and it has a 23-degree deadrise at the transom to cut cleanly through rough water. The new Hinckley, coming from the Down East company that invented a genre when it introduced the iconic Picnic Boat in 1994, has two cabins and one head to make cruising comfortable and easy. In keeping with the times, Hinckley says the new…

Hinckley Building 40x Sport Boat with Three Outboards and a Cabin for Two Couples

By Peter Janssen on April 3, 2019 Boat Reviews

The renderings of the new Hinckley 40x sport boat, the cruising boat version, are certainly appealing, but they really don’t do the boat justice. I just saw a model of this latest Hinckley at the Palm Beach show, and it’s simply a beautiful boat. Everything is right – the proportions, the flowing lines, the updated application of Hinckley’s classic Down East heritage. The 40x is the second version of the outboard-powered sport boat that Hinckley introduced six months ago, and it will be launched in a few months. The first version, the 40c, was the center console model, although as…

Jeanneau To Launch New Owner-Friendly NC 37 Coastal Cruiser at Miami Show

By Peter Janssen on January 15, 2019 Boat Reviews

The new Jeanneau NC 37, a one-level family cruiser with a hull designed by Michael Peters, will make its North American debut at the Miami International Boat Show starting Feb. 14. With its panoramic side windows, large sunroof and fully opening glass door aft, the new Jeanneau is a light-filled, French-styled coastal cruising boat that makes living on board easy underway or at anchor. You can step aboard from a large teak swim platform and enter the cockpit via a stainless steel gate on the starboard side of the transom. The cockpit is built for lounging, with a large L-shaped…

New Ocean-Crossing Leopard 51 PC: A Big, Fast, Family Cruiser or Charter Boat

By Peter Janssen on January 1, 2019 Boat Reviews, Charter, Cruising Life

A seakindly, large, long-range cruising boat, the new Leopard 51 PC comes in either a three- or four-cabin configuration, and is designed for either private or charter use. In either configuration, the Leopard 51, which is delivered on its own bottom from the Robertson & Caine yard in Cape Town, South Africa, is a fuel-efficient family cruiser with a nice turn of speed and enough interior volume to make a long cruise or charter enjoyable and comfortable. Designed by the Dutch firm of Simonis Voogd, the Leopard 51, with a beam of more than 25 feet, provides a stable platform…

Greenline Launching New 48 Coupe with Solar, Hybrid or Diesel Power

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

Greenline Yachts, the Slovenia builder that’s at the forefront of the electric- and hybrid- power revolution, is launching a new Greenline 48 Coupe at the Düsseldorf show in January; it will be introduced to the U.S. at the Miami show in February. The 48 Coupe is modeled after the company’s 48 Flybridge model, and comes after customers said they wanted a large coupe-style boat. Because of its coupe configuration, the new 48 has an array of 2.4kW solar panels on its cabintop, providing the equivalent power of a small generator running all the time. The solar panels provide enough power…

Front Street Shipyard Building Tough New Sea Blade X with Revolutionary Hull

By Peter Janssen on December 18, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

This wicked-looking 36-foot center console with a revolutionary hull design is now under construction at the Front Street Shipyard in Belfast, Maine. The new SBX36, hull number one of the new Sea Blade X line from Navatek Ltd. of Honolulu, will be ready for sea trials in the spring. The Sea Blade X hull is built of fiberglass with a foam core; the boat has a T-Top and an inflatable Hypalon perimeter tube. The stepped V bottom hull, with outer sponsons for stability, was originally designed for the military, and is being used by law enforcement in Hawaii. The boat…

Bertram Continues Its Comeback with a Beautiful New 50 Express

By Peter Janssen on December 13, 2018 Boat Reviews, On Watch with Peter Janssen

By Peter A. Janssen It looks like Bertram has hit a home run with renderings of a beautiful new 50 Express, scheduled to be launched next spring. The 50, the company’s first express in many years, comes as Bertram is enjoying a remarkable turnaround under new leadership and a new plant. Indeed, the 50 will come on the heels of the successful launch of a new 61 in 2017 and the introduction of a new 35, meant to be a modern interpretation of the iconic Bertram 31, in 2016. Bertram once was one of the most celebrated brands in offshore…

New Norseman 48: A Traditional Trawler Layout with Teak and Twin Yanmars

By Peter Janssen on December 12, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Walking down a dock filled with trawlers and Downeast boats at the recent Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, something new (at least new to me) caught my eye. There, in an area filled with Sabres, Grand Banks, MJMs and Hinckleys, was a Norseman 48, a traditional-looking trawler with clean and classic lines that was almost beckoning me to step aboard. This Norseman, brought to the show by Schooner Yachts of Fort Lauderdale, is a twin-diesel, two-stateroom, two-head relatively fast trawler with a standard trawler layout and enough teak to keep a traditional trawler owner happy. Powered by two 440-hp Yanmars,…

New, Foiling Candela All-Electric Boat Tops Out at 30 Knots Plus

By Peter Janssen on December 10, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

A Swedish company, Candela, is building what it calls the first all-electric boat with the speed of a traditional gasoline-powered vessel. The Candela Seven, a foiling “e-boat” made of carbon fiber, has a top speed of more than 30 knots and a range of 50 nm at 20 knots, according to the company. The first boats will be delivered by next spring. The boat is powered by a 55 kW electric motor and a 44 kWh lithium ion battery. It can be recharged with a 230V/16A or 110V/34A household outlet. A full charge takes 12 hours. It runs on hydrofoils…

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