Browsing: Beneteau Group

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Prestige X70: Spirit of a Superyacht

Prestige, the upscale French builder, says its X70 provides all the spirit and space of a superyacht, while blurring the lines between the interior and exterior areas of the yacht. The X70 does indeed provide a lot of space, even for its 71-foot-plus size. The salon is full beam, because the side decks have been moved up to the flybridge. Then the aft deck/beach club/swim platform area is considerably larger than usual, creating lots of outdoor space for lounging, sun bathing, entertaining and water sports. The new Prestige was designed by the Garroni Design studio in Genoa, and it has…

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Prestige Unveils New 65-Foot Power Cat

Prestige, the upscale French builder, is doubling down on its power catamaran line. It launched its first power cat, the M48, last summer. Now, it says it’s making a new M8 that’s 65 feet long and has as much room as a five-bedroom house. The new M8 will have  the same semi-planing hull as the M48, with the same profile designed to look like a monohull. Its 19-foot beam is large enough to provide a lot of room inside and outside the boat, but it’s relatively narrow in terms of a 65-foot cat. The foredeck on the M8 is unusual;…

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Wellcraft Adds New 435 Fast Cruiser

Wellcraft just announced that it’s building a second boat in its new Performance Cruiser line, a Wellcraft 435 that’s designed for “a new breed of boaters.” The 435 follows the start of Wellcraft’s new Performance Cruiser series last May with a 355. That announcement was well received, and was a sign that Wellcraft meant to return to its heyday as a world leader in performance boats in the 1980s when Don Johnson was driving a Wellcraft Scarab 38 on Miami Vice. The Beneteau Group bought Wellcraft in 2014; it’s now making boats from 20 to 44 feet. Wellcraft says “the…

Cruising Life
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Beneteau To Use 180-hp Electric Outboard

The move toward electric-powered outboard boats got a major boost today. Indeed, Group Beneteau and Vision Marine Technologies just announced that they’ve formed a partnership to put VMT’s electric-powered outboards on several of Beneteau’s brands, starting with Four Winns. VMT makes the E-Motion 180, which it says is the world’s most powerful electric outboard. The 180-hp outboard has a battery capacity of 70kWh of continuous power, enough to drive a typical day boat for a full day on the water. The E-Motion system combines an advanced lithium-ion battery pack, an inverter and a high-efficiency motor with a proprietary assembly between…

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Monte Carlo Yachts Launching New 76 Skylounge

Monte Carlo Yachts will introduce its new 76 Skylounge at the Fort Lauderdale boat show that starts on Oct. 28. It launched the 70 Skylounge at the Miami show last February. The new skylounge on the 76 is a large, light-filled social space with windows all around and full-width glass doors opening out to an upper aft deck. It even has a skylight for more natural light, and ventilation. The skylounge basically functions as a second, all-weather salon, but with a better view. It also is the home of the yacht’s only helm station. It has a large L-shaped settee…

Cruising Life
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Prestige Launching New, Two-Stateroom, 420 Fly at Newport Show

Prestige is launching its new 420 Fly, an upscale, contemporary, French-styled cruiser, at the Newport (Rhode Island) International Boat Show, starting Sept. 12. Powered by twin Cummins diesels, the two-stateroom Prestige is said to have a top speed of 30 knots, and a range of 210 nm at its cruising speed of 22 knots. The new Prestige is filled with light woods and colors, and lots of natural light in the salon from its large side windows and sliding glass doors aft. It has more than enough seating, lounging and sunning areas on the flybridge, the cockpit, the foredeck and…

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Prestige Launches Luxurious 590, the Flagship of its Flybridge Fleet

Prestige, the high-end French builder, will launch its new 590, the flagship of its Flybridge line, at the Cannes Yachting Festival, starting Sept. 11, and then in the United States at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, starting Oct. 31. The low-profile Prestige 590 has fluid lines, a thoroughly modern, light-filled European interior, and a top speed of 29 knots. Started in 1989 as part of the powerhouse Beneteau Group, Prestige has been a worldwide success story. It has produced more than 4,000 boats, and says it is number two in registered powerboats from 50 to 60 feet in the…

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Lagoon 630: A Large, Luxurious, Long-Legged Cat

A large power catamaran from a highly regarded French builder, the new Lagoon 630 offers a combination of blue-water performance and luxurious living on board. Hull number one of the new 630 cruised on her own bottom from France to Florida, evidence of her sea-going qualities. And the cat’s twin hulls, with 32-foot-plus beam, provide stability at sea plus opening up enormous amounts of space for entertaining and relaxing underway or at anchor. Part of the Beneteau Group, Lagoon has made more than 3,000 large sailing catamarans over the years. The new power 630 is built on the successful Lagoon…