Boat Reviews

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…

New Pardo 50 To Be Launched at Cannes, Following Success of Last Year’s Pardo 43

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

The new high-performing, head-turning Pardo 50 will be launched at the Cannes Yachting Festival, starting Sept. 11, exactly a year after the Italian builder’s first boat, the Pardo 43, was introduced there to wide acclaim. Indeed, Pardo has already sold 33 of the 43s, a significant number for a brand-new offering. Although Pardo itself is new (the company was founded in 2016), it is an outgrowth of Cantiere del Pardo, the high-end yard that has built more than 4,000 Grand Soleil sailboats since 1973. It wanted to get into the luxury, high-performance powerboat market, so it first developed the 43…

Williams Re-Launches Two New Powerful Turbojet Tenders at Cannes Show

By Peter Janssen on August 20, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Williams Jet Tenders is re-launching two of its popular Turbojet tenders at the Cannes Yachting Festival starting Sept. 11, and it also will introduce its new high-performance Sportjet 435. The Turbojet 285 and 325 have been two of Williams’ best-selling models since they were first launched in 2005. They have been tweaked over the years, but now they’ve been given new, more powerful engines, a new tube profile and some new upscale upholstery for a more modern look. The 285 (pictured above) is 9’ 6” LOA and is designed for yachts from 39 to 52 feet. The 325 is a…

First Look at New, Outboard-Powered Back Cove 34O Running at 39 Knots. See the Video

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

Here’s a first look at the brand-new Back Cove 34O running with twin 350-hp Suzukis. The first outboard Back Cove (and the first twin-engine Back Cove), this new made-in-Maine cruiser topped out at a rapid pace of 39 knots right out of the box. It is still being tweaked, and will make its first public appearance at the Newport International Boat Show starting Sept. 13. The boat represents a major breakthrough for Back Cove, which has been building single-engine, diesel-powered cruisers since 2003. It is based on the Back Cove 32, a classic Down East couple’s boat, which was named…

New Axopar 37: A Fun, Fast and Very Cool Cruiser from Finland

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

The long, low, slender Axopar 37 Cabin, along with its smaller sibling, the Axopar 28 Cabin, caught my eye as I was walking down the dock at the recent Maine Boat Show in Rockland. The Axopars are definitely distinctive; they don’t look like any other boat out there. And they did attract a lot of attention, for two obvious reasons: They look like they’re fun, and they’re built for the way a lot of people are using their boats today. Axopars, it turns out, have impressed a lot of people around the world. Indeed, the 37 was voted Motor Boat…

Beneteau Launches New Antares Line of Outboard-Powered Pocket Cruisers

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

Beneteau has just launched a new line of outboard-powered pocket coastal cruisers. Called the Antares, the new line has a 27, 23 and 21, all products of the Beneteau design team and meant to be introductory boats for coastal or lake cruising. All powered by Mercury outboards, the 27 has twin 200-hp engines; the 23 a single 250-hp engine, and the 21 a single 175-hp engine. A bow thruster is optional to help with docking. The Antares 27 has a glass sliding door opening to the salon from the cockpit. With light coming in from a panoramic sunroof and large…

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