Boat Reviews

Walker Bay Launches New 10′ 8″ RIB that Seats Five and Costs Just $14,500 with 20-hp Outboard

By Peter Janssen on May 30, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Walker Bay has just launched a new 10’ 8” RIB with a console that holds five passengers and costs just $14,500 with a 20-hp outboard. And the new Walker Bay Supertender 325 Deluxe Console RIB is a lightweight, coming in at just 259 pounds. “We feel this is the best lightweight console tender in its class,” says Michael Carroll, Walker Bay’s director of sales and marketing, “in that it offers superior comfort, unmatched luxurious features and exceptional performance for a boat this size.” The 325 hull has a sharp entry that flattens out aft and a hard chine that grips…

Maritimo Launches New 60 with Creative Space Aft. Your Choice: An Extra Cabin or a Beach Club

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

Maritimo just launched a new 60-foot, three-cabin, two-head motoryacht at the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show in Australia that has a unique space aft that can be arranged in many ways: As a traditional aft cabin, with an en suite head and shower and access from the salon or swim platform; as a “beach club,” essentially an upscale extension of the large swim platform for access to the water and water sports; as a garage for a pretty good-sized tender; or basically anything else a potential owner can think of. In other words, you decide. Tom Barry-Cotter, the lead designer…

Doug Zurn Designs New 35-Knot Hylas M58, Another Classic Powerboat

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

Doug Zurn, one of the most prolific designers in the United States, has teamed up with Hylas Yachts to create a new Hylas M58 powerboat that seems to carry all of his signature lines for the traditional sailboat builder. The M58 actually is Hylas’ second venture into the powerboat market; it introduced a Hylas M44 at the Palm Beach show in March. The company says it wanted to incorporate many traditional elements from classic powerboats in the past into the new 58, to help more sailboat owners move into the amenities of power. And the M58 has the long sheer…

New, Prize-Winning, Dutch-Built Linssen 40 Sedan: All Ready for the ICW or the Great Loop

By Peter Janssen on May 13, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

The new prize-winning Linssen 40 Sedan, named the European Power Boat of the Year in the Displacement category at the Düsseldorf boat show in January, is a Dutch-built, salty-looking, steel-hull cruiser. It was designed for cruising Europe’s coast and vast inland waterway system, but it would be equally at home in the U.S., cruising on the Intracoastal Waterway or along the Great Loop. It will be introduced to the U.S. at the Annapolis Powerboat Show in October. The Linssen 40 comes in an aft cabin and a flybridge version, but the basic sedan version has a large forward stateroom, with…

New Sirena 58: Built for Liveaboard Comfort and for Cruising “All Corners of the World”

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

The new Sirena 58 is built for liveaboard comfort with lots of space inside and out. It also is built for long-range cruising. Indeed, German Frers, the famed naval architect who designed it, says it’s a mini explorer yacht made for cruising “all corners of the world.” The new cruiser, built by Sirena Yachts in Turkey, has a Frers-designed hull that’s smooth and efficient at displacement and planing speeds. With two standard 650-hp Cat diesels, the Sirena 58 tops out at 26.5 knots; with optional 850-hp Cats, it reaches 30 knots. Dial back to 10 knots, and the Sirena 58…

Palm Beach Motor Yachts Announces New Flagship 70 with Same Beautiful Lines but More Room Inside

By Peter Janssen on May 7, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

Palm Beach just started building its new flagship, a Palm Beach 70, at its factory in Malaysia. The new 70 is scheduled to be launched later this year, and the company has already sold the first two hulls. The Palm Beach lineup now has six models, from 42 to 65 feet. The new 70 will have more interior volume than the 65, particularly in the midships master stateroom and the other guest staterooms, although the company emphasizes that the boat’s interior can be completely customized to fit the individual owner’s desires. One of the first hulls features four staterooms and…

New 80 Sunreef Power: Elegant, Light-Filled Cruising Catamaran

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

Sunreef has just introduced an elegant new 80-foot catamaran which it says is “the universal multihull yacht for long cruises in ultimate comfort.” The new 80 Sunreef Power is indeed a combination of luxury, space and cruising efficiency, and it’s filled with living, relaxing and entertaining areas spread throughout the boat. The 80 Sunreef Power is distinguished by its dynamic and contemporary multihull design. The basic design calls for four guest cabins, but the interior can be customized to suit an individual owner’s wishes. It features classic stainless steel portlights, teak decks and high bulwarks for safety. But the overriding…

New SoelCat 12: Cruise for 29 Hours at 6 Knots Under Solar Power Alone

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

Day or night, rain or shine, the new SoelCat 12 is a 39-foot solar-powered catamaran than can run at six knots for 29 hours. If you firewall the throttle, you can push the lightweight (13,200 pounds) cat to about 14 knots, but you’ll also run out of juice at the end of an hour. Since most people feel comfortable in the 8-knot range, you can cruise under solar, using no fossil fuel and leaving no emissions or noise behind, for about eight hours at that speed, certainly long enough to enjoy a full day with your family or friends. And…

New Nordic Tugs 34: A Semi-Displacement Couple’s Cruiser with Lots of Character

By Peter Janssen on April 23, 2018 Boat Reviews, Cruising Life

A couple’s boat with lots of character, the Nordic Tugs 34 is designed for the Great Loop, the Inside Passage or a summer excursion to the rocky shores and hidden coves of Down East Maine. A semi-displacement trawler, the Nordic Tugs 34 is a salty, comfortable, single-diesel cruiser that’s easy to manage and maintain, while retaining the company’s iconic tugboat lines, including the faux smokestack. The 34 is an outgrowth of the popular Nordic Tugs 32, which the company first built in 1985. (Nordic Tugs started with a 26 that was introduced at the Seattle boat show in 1980, and…

New Nimbus 405 Flybridge: A Stylish, Sophisticated, Swedish Cruiser with Volvo Performance

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

The new Nimbus 405 Flybridge is the latest iteration of the popular and prize-winning Nimbus 405 Coupe, adding space, an additional helm station and lots of entertaining room to the three-stateroom, two-head, Swedish-built, all-weather cruiser. The 405 Coupe was a hit when it was introduced three years ago, winning a Best of Boats Award and a nomination for European Powerboat of the Year. Nimbus is relatively new in the U.S., and it’s represented by Essex Yacht Sales in Connecticut on the East Coast and by Seattle Yachts on the West Coast. But the brand is well-established in Europe; it started…

Browsing: Boat Reviews