Boat Reviews

Minorca 34: A Totally New, Bright, Prize-Winning Cruiser from Spain

By Peter Janssen on March 28, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Just introduced at the Palm Beach show, the Minorca 34 is an entirely new entry, a light-filled, well-built Spanish cruiser being represented in the U.S. by SYS Yacht Sales of Jupiter and Sarasota, Florida. The two-cabin, one-head Minorca, made in the Balearic island of the same name, has an exceptional design on the outside, with gentle curves almost everywhere,while the interior is bright and open in a contemporary style that just as easily could be at home in Scandanavia as in the coast of Spain. Although new to the U.S., the Minorca 34 has already been displayed in Europe, winning…

New Fitzgerald Marine F-28: A Land Rover for the Great Loop, and Beyond

By Peter Janssen on March 20, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Here’s a preview of the new custom F-28, designed and built by Mark Fitzgerald of Thomaston, Maine, that’s now being finished with a teak deck and Awlgrip at French & Webb in Belfast, Maine. It will be ready for launching in mid-May. Fitzgerald, of Fitzgerald Marine Architecture, Inc., designed the F-28 for an experienced client who wants to do the Great Loop. Originally, the client wanted a boat similar to a center console, since he expected to spend nights in hotels along the way. When he learned that there are stretches of the Loop, particularly along the Mississippi, where it’s…

Brand New Sabre 45 Just Launched in Florida; Tops Out at 32 Knots

By Peter Janssen on March 19, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new Sabre 45 Salon Express was just launched in Florida (above) and had its first sea trials off Jupiter Inlet, where the Sabre engineers said the waves were stacked, as is often the case there. But the new Sabre came through with flying colors, running 27.5 knots at a continuous cruise speed, burning just 35 gph. It topped out at 32 knots, burning 44 gph. Like many of its predecessors, this new Sabre is a quiet boat, registering just 72 dB(A) at cruise and 75 dB(A) at wide open throttle. The 45, fitting between the company’s existing 42- and…

Almost Here: Elegant, Fast, Fuel-Efficient MJM 35z with Outboards

By Peter Janssen on March 8, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

MJM’s latest yacht, the 35z, is nearing completion at Boston BoatWorks in Charlestown, Mass., and is scheduled to be launched in June. The latest in the collaboration between Doug Zurn, the designer, and Bob Johnstone, the founder of MJM Yachts, the new 35z will be powered by two outboards, giving it both speed and power, while keeping the fuel-efficiency for which the brand is famous. It’s no surprise that the new boat has all the classic Down East lines of earlier MJMs, with its low profile, gentle tumblehome and long sheerline. Or that it’s a serious offshore boat, with a…

New Vicem Classic 46IPS: A Company First in Fiberglass and Epoxy

By Peter Janssen on March 2, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Now here’s a change. Vicem Yacht, the Turkish builder that’s been specializing in using marine mahogany in the cold-molded construction process since 1991, is now going to introduce its first fiberglass/epoxy model, the Vicem Classic 46IPS, at the Palm Beach International Boat Show starting March 23. And, no surprise, it’s a beauty. Designed by Vicem’s in-house team, the boat carries classic Downeast lines that just as easily could have been drawn in Southwest Harbor, Maine. We don’t have a lot of details yet, but we know the Classic 46IPS will be powered by two 435-hp Volvo IPS 600s, offering joystick…

New Reliant X40: A Striking New Take on a Classic

By Peter Janssen on February 27, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

You certainly can’t say that Reliant Yachts, the brainchild of industry veterans Jim Ewing and David MacFarlane, is stuck in a rut. The first boat they produced, the Commuter 40, was about as traditional a classic Downeast boat as you could get, with its beautiful tumblehome, wide teak decks, low profile and long sheerline. Although it was made in Turkey, its heart and soul clearly were in New England. The next two boats were different iterations of the first. Now the company has announced the contract for a fourth boat, the Reliant X40, that redefines the genre. The X40, says…

Bavaria Yachts Virtess 420 Fly: An Award-Winning Cruising Machine. Plus Video

By Peter Janssen on February 22, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The Bavaria Yachts booth at the Miami International Boat Show was always busy, it seemed, and the star of the show there was the Bavaria Virtess 420 Fly, now in the U.S. after having been named European Boat of the Year a while ago. And, with its combination of German engineering and Italian interior design, it was easy to see why. Powered by two 435-hp Volvo diesels with Volvo’s IPS fingertip joystick control, the Bavaria 420 tops out at about 33 knots, and its 18-degrees of deadrise at the transom mean she can perform even in heavy seas. Overall, the…

Sirena 56: A New Yacht with a Long Pedigree and Lots Going On

By Peter Janssen on February 22, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Sirena Yachts, the powerful Turkish builder, is on a roll. They launched their new 64 in Dusseldorf in January and had sold four by the time they had a second 64 and a brand-new 56 at the Yachts Miami Beach show last week. And they gathered all their heavy guns there for the world-wide debut of the 56: Ipek Kirac, the company’s CEO; German Frers, one of the foremost designers in the world, who drew the hull and exterior; and Tommaso Spadolini, of Design Studio Spadolini in Florence, who did the interior. “The U.S. market is very important to us,”…

Fountaine Pajot MY 44: Brand-New Large and Luxurious Power Cat

By Peter Janssen on February 11, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

You won’t be lonely on this new Fountaine Pajot MY 44 power catamaran. It comes with three staterooms, all with en suite heads, an absolutely enormous salon and flybridge, and lounges fore and aft. You can embark on some blue-water extended cruising with a lot of your friends, and you can do some serious entertaining with a larger crowd closer to home. The Fountaine Pajot MY 44 was just introduced at the Dusseldorf boat show in January. It is now undergoing sea trials off La Rochelle, France, and it’s scheduled to appear in the U.S. before the end of the…

New Sabre 45 Salon Express: Made in Maine, Delivered in March

By Peter Janssen on February 11, 2017 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

One of the reasons that Sabre Yachts has built, and maintained, a leadership position in the power cruising market is that the Maine-based company keeps introducing new models, in good times and bad. Now it has just delivered hull number one of the 45 Salon Express to its new owner in Florida. The 45, fitting between the company’s existing 42- and 48-foot models, is an all-new design with two staterooms, two full heads, and the built-in-Maine lines and craftsmanship that help define all Sabres. The master stateroom is forward, with an island bed and several lockers and drawers for storage…

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