The 1990s was a big period of change in the boating industry. You might think this was due to emerging technology or new construction methods. But interestingly, it was actually led by far more prosaic reasons, simply the need to survive.

The 1980s boom, all red braces and Porsche 911 Turbos, gave way to the early 1990s global recession and spending, particularly on leisure pursuits like boats, dried up. Some manufacturers went to ground, slashing R&D costs in a bid to survive. Birchwood Boats, a major player in the 1980s, with boats as big as the 60ft TS57, withered and died. But other companies realised that the way out was product led – give the consumer newer, cleverer, smarter boats and you might just tempt them to open their collective wallets again. It worked.

These are just some of the exciting new models from some of Britain’s biggest builders of the moment.

Sunseeker Camargue 44

Built: 1998
Price: £129,950

The first Sunseeker Camargue model was the Camargue 46 launched in 1989. A slightly odd layout saw a completely separate ensuite aft cabin hidden beneath the sunpad behind the cockpit, the forward accommodation providing the saloon, galley and owner’s cabin. But in the 1990s, Sunseeker really got into the groove with Camargues, producing the 55, 50 and this fabulous 44 model. Launched at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, over 200 of them found homes between 1997 and 2003, many in the UK.

High gloss cherry looks a little dated but there’s no doubting the quality of the interior finish

Interior

The idea of the Camargue models was to create something that retained traditional Sunseeker sportiness in the styling, but offered a whole lot more accommodation than earlier models, a “sensible Sunseeker”, if you will. At 13ft wide, there’s plenty of space for two ensuite cabins, split by a saloon and one of the largest galleys you’re likely to find in a boat of this size, style and era. High-gloss cherry is arguably a little dated compared to modern pale satin finishes but it still looks fantastic.

Exterior

Despite the near 30-year-old design, this is a fabulous looking boat, all voluptuous curves topped off by an aggressively forward sloping winged radar arch. Pretty much every mid 40ft sportscruiser these days has a tender garage but if you want to store a tender on this boat, it lives on the bathing platform leaving masses of room for a big single-level cockpit.

Performance

When new, you could spec your Camargue 44 with twin Volvo Penta TAMD 63 or 74 engines, giving between 370hp and 480hp each, but the most popular engines by far were the Caterpillar 3126 offering 420hp a side for a top speed of 30 knots.

Both cabins have their own ensuite bathrooms and sit at opposite ends of the saloon

Seakeeping

The Camargue 44 was fitted with vee drives, since outdrive offerings of the time weren’t powerful enough. These send the drive forward into a gearbox then back under the engines on short-angled shafts, allowing the engines to sit further back in the hull. The Don Shead hull with 13 tonnes of displacement gives a solid ride.

Sunseeker Camargue 44 specifications

Length: 46ft 5in (14.1m)
Beam: 13ft 9in (4.2m)
Draft: 3ft 5in (1.0m)
Displacement: 13 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 1,060 litres
Engines: Twin Caterpillar 3128 420hp diesel engines
For sale: Sunseeker Brokerage

Sealine 330 Statesman

Built: 1996
Price: £64,950

The boat building industry in the 1990s was very different to today’s corporate world of investment companies. Back then, the big British builders were still owned, or at least run, by their founders – David King headed up Princess Yachts, Sam Newington was boss of Fairline, Robert Braithwaite ran Sunseeker and Tom Murrant controlled Sealine.

All of these men were boaters, in fact, Tom Murrant kept and used his boats out of Torquay Marina. He was the first to come up with stairs to the flybridge, rather than a ladder, after his wife complained it was impossible to bring a tray of drinks up a ladder – you don’t get that kind of feedback anymore.

The galley-up layout was almost unheard of at the time but is now commonplace

Interior

The 330 Statesman, launched in 1994 is the perfect example of a boat developed by someone who really gets boating. From those flybridge stairs (the smallest aft cockpit flybridge boat at the time to get them) to the two-cabin single heads lower deck, this was first and foremost a practical boat. Sealine achieved space for this by putting the galley on the main deck in the forward port corner of the saloon, commonplace now but almost unheard of for compact flybridge boats at the time.

Article continues below…

4 of the best motor yachts on the market right now for £100,000

4 of the best all-weather motor boats on the market right now

Exterior

Beyond those steps (and it’s impossible to overstate what a game changer they were – by the end of the 1990s, virtually every manufacturer had introduced them), practical details included a clamshell opening at the trailing edge of the flybridge for canopies to roll up into. The flybridge itself was necessarily small, just a three- person bench and a sunpad.

Performance

Outdrive engines helped hugely with the packaging, Sealine fitting Volvo Penta or Mercruiser engines, the former mostly KAD32 170hp, the latter usually the 180hp engines fitted to this boat giving a 20-knot top end.

The forward owner’s cabin is surprisingly big and bright for a 33ft flybridge boat

Seakeeping

The hull was that of Sealine’s S34, itself a good sea boat. The extra height and windage of the flybridge design mean that the standard fit trim tabs are useful, and retrofitting a bow thruster is worthy of consideration.

Sealine 330 Statesman specifications

Length: 34ft 6in (10.5m)
Beam: 11ft 0in (3.3m)
Draft: 3ft 1in (0.9m)
Displacement: 5 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 644 litres
Engines: Twin Mercruiser 180hp diesel engines
For sale: Ancasta

Fairline Targa 37

Built: 1996
Price: £69,995

The Targa line of Fairline boats began in 1984 with the Targa 33 and blossomed into quite the range. This was the 10th Targa model that Fairline produced. It started life in 1994 as a Targa 36. This morphed into the Targa 37 by dint of an extended bathing platform. It introduced a new look for the Targa range, both inside and out, which still appears far fresher than most 30-year-old craft.

A refresh has brought the interior up to date but even the original was modern for its era

Interior

Although the layout follows the tried and tested cabin at each end with a saloon and galley between them set-up that began with the Touring version of the original Targa 33, there are some notable upgrades. The double berth in the forward cabin is a centreline island bed rather than squashed to one side, and access to the mid cabin aft is greatly improved by the L shaped cockpit seating above. However what changed dramatically was the interior finishes. Gone was traditional teak, replaced with pale maple woods and painted surfaces. Indeed this particular boat interior has been refreshed even further by its current owner.

Exterior

Transom doors and integral platforms we’d already seen on earlier Fairline Targas, but what the 36/37 model you see here brought to the party was new GRP moulded side hoops linked by a header rail forming the windscreen frame, a huge leap forward from the ubiquitous stainless steel of old. Meanwhile, the double knuckle that split the hull topsides of old was deleted in favour of a smoother more modern look. This boat is a particularly fine example that has been well maintained and belies its true age.

Performance

A few Targa 37s went out with V8 petrol engines but the vast majority of got Volvo Penta’s KAD 42 supercharged and turbocharged 3.6-litre straight six 230hp diesels, or the later KAD 44 EDC 260hp motors. Figure on low 30 knots for the former, mid 30 knots for the latter.

Centre line island double in the owner’s cabin is a big step up on the Targa 33’s offset bed

Seakeeping

Fairlines of this era are all great sea boats and this is no exception. Fast, well balanced and capable, it makes a fine offshore cruising boat.

Fairline Targa 37 specifications

Length: 36ft 6in (11.1m)
Beam: 11ft 8in (3.5m)
Draft: 3ft 2in (1.0m)
Displacement: 7 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 640 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta KAD 42 230hp diesel engines
For sale: One Marine

Princess 420

Built: 1996
Price: £89,950

In 1973, Princess took a major step into the big league, building its first shaft drive flybridge boat, the Princess 37. At 37 feet, it was far bigger than the previous flagship Princess 32 and a big step for a fledgling builder, but it proved a good move, running for eight years. In 1981 it was replaced by the Princess 38 which set the layout template that flowed through every subsequent model since as it evolved through the 385, 388, 398, 410 before being replaced by the 420 you see here.

The ‘superyacht’ style burr maple woodwork was the height of luxury in the 1990s

Interior

That enduring layout was basically an ensuite double berth owners cabin in the bow, a twin-bedded guest cabin with access to the day heads and a galley all on the lower deck, and then a saloon on the main deck with a double helm forward to starboard.

It only finally changed when the Princess F45 launched, which swapped the traditional twin shaft drive diesels layout for IPS pods which, combined with a galley up layout, created space for a full beam owner’s cabin. What the 420 brought to the party was a new interior finish. After decades of teak interiors, Princess flirted briefly with pear before introducing ‘superyacht finishes’ across the range in the 1990s. Either the burr maple you see in this boat, or the much rarer dark mahogany.

Exterior

On the outside, there were various changes to entice the cautious 1990s buyer. The whole profile of the boat was far more modern, from the lower sleeker radar arch to the three- section sliding saloon doors. But the big news was following the flybridge stair trend – not just easier with a tray of drinks, but they kept the family dog, who wasn’t keen on the ladder, happy too.

Performance

Twin Caterpillar 3116TA 255hp engines were a rarity, with most leaving the factory with a pair of Volvo Penta TAMD 63P diesels beneath the saloon floor for a top speed in the high 20s.

The forward owner’s cabin is supported by a twin guest cabin amidships

Seakeeping

A shaft drive flybridge was (and still is) stock in trade for Princess Yachts, so expect a solid capable cruising boat and you’ll not be disappointed.

Princess 420 specifications

Length: 42ft 10in (13.2m)
Beam: 13ft 8in (4.2m)
Draft: 3ft 3in (1.0m)
Displacement: 11 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 1,300 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta TAMD 63P 370hp diesel engines
For sale: Clarke & Carter

If you enjoyed this….

Motor Boat & Yachting is the world’s leading magazine for Motoryacht enthusiasts. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams, as well as tests and news of all the latest motorboats.

Plus you’ll get our quarterly Custom Yachting supplement where we share the last on offer in the superyacht world and at the luxury end of the market.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

Note: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

This article 4 of the best 90s classic motor boats on the market now appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

We’ve debated on these pages before what makes a boat cool. History, filmography and style can all make a boat cool, but so can a single-minded (and successful) pursuit of a specific performance – it might be speed, it might be range or it might, as in this case, simply be the ability to go out and keep going, right around the globe.

To put some numbers on that, Wind Horse clocked up 37,000 nautical miles in the first four years of her life in the hands of owners Steve and Linda Dashew. In fact, Wind Horse was conceived and designed by the couple specifically for long-range all-weather cruising. Made from aluminium, she is 83ft long and weighs 41 tonnes.

But she’s far from the couple’s first rodeo. In the 1980s, the couple took their children out of school with the intention of home schooling them whilst spending a year circumnavigating the world (Linda is a trained teacher). In fact they ended up staying on the water for six years, cruising aboard a number of different sail boats that they had developed.

Article continues below…

Built by Circa Marine in New Zealand, Wind Horse was their first motor boat project. Steve had only ever spent an hour on a motor boat before designing this one, but those years of circumnavigation paid off.

Efficiency was the watchword, allowing the boat to be powered by a pair of 150hp John Deere engines. With a top speed of 14 knots, she cruises at 12 knots, or at the peak economical speed of 10 knots, the 13,900 litres of diesel give almost 10,000nm of range.

She has efficiency and offshore capability – there’s no point having the range if you don’t have the sea-keeping to match. Which is why the hull is 6mm thick and the wheelhouse glass is built to withstand a direct hit from a breaking wave.

It may be built to survive ocean storms but Wind Horse is also a comfortable home from home

But the journey didn’t end there. So popular did the concept prove that Dashew Marine was formed and a 64ft version developed.

Called the FPB 64 (for Functional Power Boat), 11 hulls were built, plus a larger FPB 97.

But Wind Horse was the original, and is currently for sale with Berthon International, now with 60,000nm beneath her keel.

FPB 83 Wind Horse specifications

Year: 2005
LOA: 83ft 0in (25.29m)
Beam: 18ft 0in (5.48m)
Power: Twin John Deere 150hp diesel engines
Speed: 14 knots Price: $3 Million

If you enjoyed this….

Motor Boat & Yachting is the world’s leading magazine for Motoryacht enthusiasts. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams, as well as tests and news of all the latest motorboats.

Plus you’ll get our quarterly Custom Yachting supplement where we share the last on offer in the superyacht world and at the luxury end of the market.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

Note: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

This article World’s coolest boats: FPB 83 Wind Horse appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

The term millionaire is an interesting one, still conjuring up as it does images of impossible wealth. A mansion in the country, peacocks on the lawn, lighting cigars with £10 notes in the back of a chauffeur driven Rolls-Royce and, of course, a huge motor yacht. But the truth is that these days, a million barely buys you a new 40-footer, let alone the rest of the lifestyle to go with it – hardly the stuff of millionaire dreams. Thankfully, as ever, solace lies in the used boat market where the original millionaire lifestyle is still possible if you have a healthy six figures to plough into a boat. Here are four fantastic examples for Jeeves to point the Roller at.

4 big, bargain motor boats

Fairline Squadron 65

Built: 2010 Price: £650,000

Despite the occasional financial buffeting, there is no doubt that Fairline belongs in the highest echelons of production boat building. Based in Oundle with a history that goes back almost 60 years, it introduced the Squadron range in 1991 with the launch of the Squadron 62 – the predecessor of this 2010 Squadron 65.

High quality woodwork is a hallmark of Fairlines and the Squadron 65 is no exception

Interior

The stand-out feature of this boat is the amount of natural light that floods the interior. Huge windows are par for the course these days, but this boat was launched back in 2009. The forward cabin is a prime example, with a run of glazing that stretches the full length of the ceiling.

The full beam owner’s cabin is even better with big hull windows allowing a view out from the king-sized bed. Only cabin three shows its age a little by having porthole windows. That said, it still has its own ensuite bathroom. Intriguingly, Fairline added a further day heads halfway down the stairs, something you almost never find on a sub 80ft boat. The galley is up, but not aft, being positioned in the forward port corner of the saloon.

Exterior

New enough to have a hydraulic high/low bathing platform for tender launch and storage, this isn’t the only treat at the very stern of this vessel. There’s a really neat lift up section built into the transom that rises on a solid hinged arm to provide a proper overhead shower.

Yet more glazing across the back of the boat and stairs rather than a ladder transform the crew cabin into a genuinely useable fourth guest cabin. Meanwhile, the flybridge is one of the largest in its class, with multiple sunpads featuring prop-up backrests for support.

Performance

Twin MAN V10 1,100hp engines displace a monster 18.27 litres each, meaning that the combined 2,200hp is doled out at a relaxed engine speed of just 2,300rpm, at which point our test boat was pulling over 30 knots!

The midship owner’s cabin faces across the beam with hull windows on both sides

Seakeeping

It’s a big heavy boat that stretches past 65ft, so decent seakeeping is assured, although with a focus on internal volume, we didn’t find it quite as lithe as the earlier Squadron 66.

Fairline Squadron 65 specifications

Length: 66ft 11in (20.4m)
Beam: 17ft 2in (5.2m)
Draft: 4ft 6in (1.4m)
Displacement: 30 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 3,542 litres
Engines: Twin MAN V10 1100 CRM 1,100hp diesel engines
For Sale: One Marine

Trader 64 Sunliner

Built: 2007 Price: £699,000

Designed by Tony Castro, built by Tarquin and launched in 2007, the Trader 64 leans towards the explorer yacht end of the market. Designed for relaxed long-range liveaboard cruising rather than fast blasts from point to point, it’s backed up by a Category A RCD rating for offshore use.

The Trader 64 feels like a home from home thanks to its big open-plan saloon and galley

Interior

Any mid-60ft boat is going to have generously proportioned internal spaces, but throw in an aft-cabin layout that takes the accommodation right back to the transom and you have something truly palatial. Not surprisingly, the owner’s cabin takes full advantage of those square aft quarters to deliver an exceptionally large and private sleeping space.

The ensuite heads is forward, putting a double bulkhead between its lucky occupants and the machinery space. And of course it is completely separated from the three further cabins on the lower deck forward.

The VIP with its centreline double in the bow has its own ensuite while two further guest cabins, one with single beds side by side and one with cross-over bunk beds, share the day heads. Between them, the saloon has a galley-aft layout and the helm is up on a separate bridge level.

Article continues below…

4 of the best all-weather motor boats on the market right now

4 Of The Best Classic Motor Yachts You Can Buy Now

Exterior

The downside of an aft cabin layout is the lack of storage under the aft deck as that’s where the cabin is. However, Tarquin worked hard to mitigate this with multiple smaller deck lockers and storage under the seats and sunbeds. The tender lives aloft on a flybridge that features unusual crescents which extend out over the side decks like the wing stations on a ship. Wide side decks and twin anchors at the bow provide further evidence of its big-boat cruising credentials.

Performance

Featuring a deep keel semi-displacement hull rather than a full planing one, the Trader 64 is designed to run at low speeds for maximum efficiency. But twin Caterpillar C18 1,015hp diesels still give a 20 knot top end.

Even by big boat standards, the owner’s cabin is exceptionally spacious and private

Seakeeping

52 tonnes of boat steadied by standard-fit twin hydraulic stabilisers should give a pretty impassive ride.

Trader 64 Sunliner specifications

Length: 65ft 0in (19.8m)
Beam: 17ft 9in (5.4m)
Draft: 5ft 9in (1.8m)
Displacement: 52 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 7,000 litres
Engines: Twin Caterpillar C18 1,015hp diesel engines
For Sale: Sunseeker Poole

Princess 21M

Built: 2009 Price: £945,000

Princess has had a variety of model ranges over the years, all with their own names and identities. The F-class flybridges, V-class sportscruisers, S-class sports yachts and X-class tri-deck models all have their place. But the M-class is the daddy, because M stands for motor yacht and is reserved for the superyacht range.

The largest ever was the Princess 40M, a 40-metre leviathan, but at the other end of the scale, the original 21M still cuts a dash. At just under 70ft, it falls below the 24-metre industry classification for superyachts but this boat still has the look and feel of the big league without the crippling cost that usually goes with it.

Internal stairs to the fl ybridge is a practical but rarely seen luxury on modern 70-footers

Interior

The high-gloss cherry wood may be of its era, but it still looks spectacular, particularly in places like the cabin doors, where the grain is quartered (four panels with opposing wood grain angles). You rarely see carpentry like that anymore from production builders.

It’s not the only thing – the sweep of internal stairs that spiral up from the main deck to the flybridge is another forgotten gem. Despite the aft cockpit, it still sports a four-cabin layout, even if the smallest of them has bunk beds and shares the day heads with the third guest cabin. There’s a hidden stairwell accessed from the cockpit that takes you down to the crew accommodation as well as to the walk-in engine-room and a separate engineering space with twin generators.

Exterior

Launched originally in 2004, this model pre-dated hydraulic platforms and large hull windows (other than to the owner’s cabin), but a crane on the flybridge can lift a tender onto the bathing platform and/or the trailing edge of the upper deck. Deeply bulwarked side decks and flybridge overhangs cement the mini-superyacht feel.

Performance

A choice of twin MAN diesels, either 1,050hp each or the upgraded 1,300hp motors fitted to this boat, should push it towards 30 knots, albeit at a considerable cost to fuel efficiency.

High gloss fi nish may look dated but there’s no doubting the quality of the woodwork

Seakeeping

Multiply the size by the weight and then add the Olesinski-designed hull and you have something best described as capable. Very capable.

Princess 21M specifications

Length: 71ft 5in (21.6m)
Beam: 18ft 1in (5.5m)
Draft: 5ft 2in (1.6m)
Displacement: 41.3 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 5,000 litres
Engines: Twin MAN D2842 LE404 1,300hp diesel engines
For Sale: Parker Adams

Sunseeker Predator 56

Built: 2001 Price: £245,000

As we have seen, it’s entirely possible to buy a seriously big league boat from a big league builder for under a million pounds. But as I shall now demonstrate, it’s also possible to buy some serious kit from one of the most prestigious builders on the planet for under a quarter of a million pounds! Welcome to the frankly epic Sunseeker Predator 56. 150 of these were sold between 1999 and 2004, and it’s not hard to see why.

A lower saloon and galley separates the owner’s cabin from the forward VIP

Interior

Although dating from this century, at 2001 this boat only just sneaks in. Nowhere is this clearer than inside, where it’s a feast of turn-of-the-century Sunseeker, complete with lashings of beautifully capped high-gloss cherry wood and acres of cream leather. Is this a bad thing? Hell no, it looks fabulous, but if your tastes are more modern then it could easily be turned down with a change of upholstery and some panel re-trimming.

Sunseeker offered two- or three-cabin versions, this is the more popular two cabin with a full beam owner’s cabin in the centre of the boat, where the three cabin got a pair of twins, and another double cabin in the bow. A large saloon and galley sit between them, with all the white goods concealed by yet more glossy woodwork.

Exterior

Despite its age, this boat was fitted with a high/low platform for tender storage, which means the usual space-sapping garage is missing and the cockpit seating stretches right to the transom. This is also one of the first boats to get the now ubiquitous open-backed hard top. It was an optional extra, but can you imagine the amount of canopy you’d be fighting without it?

Performance

Sunseeker offered twin 800hp diesels from either MAN or Caterpillar (for the American market), both giving over 30 knots flat out for an easy mid 20-knot cruise.

Who needs mirrors when you can see your reflection in the high gloss cherry woodwork?

Seakeeping

We described the Predator 56 as having ‘a reputation for fun, dynamic handling, carving into turns and keeping the skipper very happy.’

Sunseeker Predator 56 specifications

Length: 60ft 2in (18.3m)
Beam: 15ft 1in (4.6m)
Draft: 4ft 5in (1.3m)
Displacement: 24 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 2,350 litres
Engines: Twin MAN 800hp diesel engines
For Sale: Sunseeker Poole

If you enjoyed this….

Motor Boat & Yachting is the world’s leading magazine for Motoryacht enthusiasts. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams, as well as tests and news of all the latest motorboats.

Plus you’ll get our quarterly Custom Yachting supplement where we share the last on offer in the superyacht world and at the luxury end of the market.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

Note: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

This article 4 of the biggest bargain motor boats on the market right now appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

When I was a small boy, my grandfather explained to me that, as you get older, so time speeds up and the years become shorter. He explained why – it’s because when you are five years old, a year is 20% of your life, but when you’re 50 it’s only two percent. And, as with most things, he has been proven absolutely correct.

When you’re five, something happening the following year is so far over the horizon that it doesn’t merit a single thought. When you’re 50, you’re eyeing up a five-year extended warranty and wondering whether it’s enough.

However, the thing that’s never been explained is the elasticity across 12 months – why summers seem to flash past and the September boat shows are taking place again, but the winter seems to take a millennium – two millennia if you’re a boater. That’s why we always find ourselves perusing all-weather boats at this time of year. So we’ve scoured the market to bring you these four highly flexible vessels…

Hardy Mariner 25

Built: 2001 Price: £39,950

Hardy is far from alone in this (see Sunseeker, Fairline and Princess for full details), but if you want to see how the boating landscape has changed in the last 50 years, compare the current line up with what a builder was making in the 1970s and 1980s. Today the Hardy range starts at 45ft and extends to 65ft – a far cry from the 18 Navigators, 20 Pilots, 22 Fishing Pilots and 24 Fast Fishers of the past.

You can’t blame them. It’s simply where the market seems to have gone, with mass-produced Merry Fishers now filling in the blanks at the bottom end. But in amongst those smaller models, the Hardy Mariner 26, was a fine looking compact motorboat.

With the most popular Yanmar 230hp diesel on a straight shaft, this is a 20+ knot boat

Interior

The 25 was made before yards started designing boats from the inside out, so the interior is fairly compact, but very practical and extremely solid. There’s a converting dinette forward with the galley behind it and a heads opposite. There’s also a quarter berth that runs aft of the galley to starboard, giving a third berth or very useful extra storage. The wheelhouse is also compact but very adaptable. A sliding roof and opening rear doors allow the two occupants as much fresh air as they’d like, or you can close it up and crank up the diesel heating on colder days.

Exterior

The traditional deep blue hull band and rope fendering are present and correct, however this boat is just a little sleeker and more modern than the traditional Hardy boats of this era. Again, majoring on practicality, the side decks are wide and deeply bulwarked and the cockpit is deep and feels secure.

Performance

A 170hp Yanmar diesel was available but unless the boat was to be based inland, most buyers opted for the larger 230hp Yanmar fitted to this boat. That brings you 20+ knots and a comfortable 16-knot cruise.

It’s compact and practical rather than spacious or plush but you still get three berths

Seakeeping

Although it uses a semi-displacement hull with a long shallow keel, the Mariner 26 will get up and go. Straight shaft drive keeps the mechanicals simple and a bow thruster helps with the deficit in manoeuvrability that is inevitable with this set up.

Hardy Mariner 25 specifications

Length: 25ft 0in (7.6m)
Beam: 9ft 7in (2.9m)
Draft: 2ft 0in (0.6m)
Displacement: 4 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 219 litres
Engine: Yanmar 4LM-STE 230hp diesel engine
For Sale: Parkstone Bay Yachts

Botnia Targa 30.1

Built: 2023 Price: £275,000

Launched in 2016, the 30.1 is often regarded as the first of the bigger Targas in a fleet that stretches from 23ft to 46ft. That’s because it’s the smallest model that is most commonly specced with twin engines and the smallest with a cabin at each end.

With its sheltered wheelhouse, it’s more a four-season commuter than an outright cruiser

Interior

Referred to in Finland as a ‘fast commuter’, it’s a boat designed to get you from point to point at high speed in all weathers. Because of that, the combined wheelhouse and saloon in the centre of the boat is clearly the focal point.

It’s accessed by sliding doors on both sides and if you enter via the starboard one, you’ll find yourself at a simple and well laid-out helm that features the clever trick of being able to adjust easily to a seated or standing position by dint of a rotating section that includes the wheel and throttles.

The tiny galley on the starboard side does, however, underpin the commuter vibe of this boat. This isn’t a model that majors on cruising, but the forward vee berths and double and single berths in a separate aft cabin mean you could spend a comfortable few days on board.

Exterior

Thanks to its walkaround design, this boat makes moving around exceptionally easy. And while the main outdoor living space is the bow cockpit, most Targa 30.1s also got a small flybridge built into the trailing edge of the saloon roof. That said, the sleeker flat-topped roof that you see here was also available.

Performance

Initially, twin Volvo Penta D4 diesel engines or a single D6 were the options, but with the rise in popularity of outboard engines, Targa started offering these in 2023. Twin Mercury Verado 300hp outboards give near-silent low-speed running combined with over 40 knots at the top end.

A rotating barrel puts the wheel and throttle exactly where you want them

Seakeeping

Seakeeping is what these boats are all about, the deep-vee planing hull slicing through big seas, leaving curtains of water hanging in the air on either side as it blasts through.

Botnia Targa 30.1 specifications

Length: 33ft 1in (10.1m)
Beam: 10ft 7in (3.3m)
Draft: 3ft 6in (1.1m)
Displacement: 6 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 600 litres
Engines: Twin Mercury Verado 300hp outboard engines
For Sale: Wessex Marine

Seaward 35

Built: 2011 Price: £199,950

When we think of all-weather boats, we think of internal helms and central heating. But it’s not just colder in winter, it’s often windier and rougher. And when year-round commercial operators like pilots, harbour patrols and customs officers choose their boats, most of them go for Nelson semi-displacement hulls. So when Seaward was formed in 1980 in Guernsey, where seakeeping is particularly important, it based its models squarely on Nelson hulls.

Damped seats and solid oak joinery feel almost as purposeful as the Nelson-derived hull

Interior

You’ll have noticed how boats are getting higher and fatter to gain more internal volume. That’s not an option with a Nelson hull. It is what it is and you build whatever you can fit inside it. Which is why this boat feels a little tighter than a typical modern 35-footer.

Fitted out in beautifully solid oak joinery, the deck saloon is dominated by a pair of KAB suspension seats, one at the helm and one adjacent, and there’s a couple of settees behind them, next to a drop-leaf table. Head down to the lower deck and there’s a dinette opposite the galley and a vee berth in the forward cabin.

Exterior

This is a highly professional-looking machine with its low-profile, dark blue hull and porthole-style windows. And that impression continues when you get up close and spot the thick D-section black fendering, the Treadmaster non-slip decking and the pilot rail that encircles the deck saloon and coachroof. It gives you a sturdy waist-high inner rail, whenever you step outside of the deep and well protected cockpit.

Performance

Twin Yanmar 6LPA-STP2 diesels live beneath the saloon floor, keeping the centre of gravity forward and firing 315hp apiece down straight shaft drives. Top speed is 25 knots, with a cruising speed of around 20.

There’s a dinette opposite the lower galley, plus a vee berth in the forward cabin

Seakeeping

That Nelson hull is an absolute thoroughbred. There’s a reason why these boats have names like Bruiser and Buster, and it’s all about serious deep-sea wave-busting offshore performance. There are faster boats, but not many of them will maintain their speed like this one when conditions really deteriorate.

Seaward 35 specifications

Length: 37ft 0in (11.3m)
Beam: 11ft 3in (3.4m)
Draft: 3ft 10in (1.2m)
Displacement: 10 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 1,268 litres
Engines: Twin Yanmar 6LPA-STP2 315hp diesel engines
For Sale: Berthon International

Nord Star 28+

Built: 2023 Price: £239,995

BMW, Mercedes and Audi are so focussed on a similar market that no one buys one or the other without checking out all three manufacturers first. And in the boating world, it’s the same with Targa, Sargo and Nord Star. All Finnish built, all high performance walkaround commuters and all aimed at the same buyers.

However just like the cars, while in broad brush strokes, they’re all very similar, up close, they’re all aimed at slightly different buyers. The BMW is for the enthusiast, Mercedes is for those prioritising comfort, and the Audi is aimed squarely at people who want to drive 3ft behind any car that is in the way!

Access to the second cabin is found beneath the portside of the aft dinette

Interior

In the boating Finnish walkaround triumvirate, Nord Star is subtly configured to appeal to those wanting to spend a little more time on board – less the commuter, more the cruiser, and you only have to look at the galley to see the difference. On the Targa 30.1 it’s tucked in the corner of the wheelhouse; on the 28+, it’s a proper dedicated area on the lower deck. There’s a forward cabin with a convertible vee berth ahead of it and a heads opposite. The wheelhouse has two very comfortable captain’s chairs and a U-shaped seating area complete with a table that slides down a pole, but what’s not obvious is that if you lift the portside corner of it, you’ll find steps down to a second double cabin.

Exterior

Of course, as ever with boats, there’s a compromise, and the 28+ misses out on the forward cockpit of some of its competitors. There’s also a single step up on the side decks as you head forward. But the aft cockpit has more seating than some, and breaks in the rails either side of the sliding side doors make close-quarters handling easy.

Performance

A single Volvo Penta D6 340 gives about 34 knots with economical running. There’s a twin outboard option now with 47-knot potential – it’s not quite as economical however!

A dedicated lower galley suggests the Nord Star is designed as a family cruiser

Seakeeping

Like all Finnish commuter-style boats, the 28+ is designed to get there fast and in comfort, whatever the conditions.

Nord Star 28+ specifications

Length: 31ft 2in (9.5m)
Beam: 10ft 2in (3.1m)
Draft: 3ft 7in (1.1m)
Displacement: 5 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 585 litres
Engine: Volvo Penta D6-340 340hp diesel engines
For Sale: MCC Marine

If you enjoyed this….

Motor Boat & Yachting is the world’s leading magazine for Motoryacht enthusiasts. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams, as well as tests and news of all the latest motorboats.

Plus you’ll get our quarterly Custom Yachting supplement where we share the last on offer in the superyacht world and at the luxury end of the market.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

Note: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

This article 4 of the best all-weather motor boats on the market right now appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

Price challenges are always my favourite to research and write about, so when I hit the internet (and the brokerage pages of MBY, naturally) with a mythical £200,000 burning a boat-sized hole in my pocket it didn’t take long to come up with four cracking examples.

It took MBY’s editor to point out the obvious to me: that I’d chosen four 30ft two-year-old boats – there are a LOT of 30ft two-year-old boats to choose from at £200,000 it turns out.

But that’s not the point of the price challenge – the idea is to come up with a breadth of options out there on the current brokerage market, and a little more digging produced this fantastic crop. From a gentleman’s picnic boat to a two-cabin two-heads flybridge cruiser, there’s something for everyone.

The best motor yachts for under £200k

Jeanneau NC33

Built: 2018
Price: £199,500

Launched in the UK at the 2017 Southampton Boat Show, we got our hands on the first one in the country just before it moved into the show on a September day tailor-made to demonstrate the attributes of this adaptable compact cruiser. The NC deck saloon range was specifically targeted at the north European market, with the Leader range of open cockpit boats more suited for reliably warmer climates. At the time there was a range of both options, now just the NC37 remains and the Leader line has been dropped completely.

Saloon, galley, helm and cockpit are all on one level for safe, sociable family cruising

Interior

And it’s the deck saloon layout that worked so well on a day that alternated between sunny but chilly, and downpours of rain (and even chillier). There’s a comparatively small cockpit, and then sliding doors into a combined saloon and galley on the same level, with the helm ahead to starboard. This frees up space on the lower deck for two generous double cabins and a large heads. But a big sliding roof over the helm plus a sliding helm door mean that when the sun is shining, it’s actually a pretty open air (yet still sheltered) helm. A flip-over seat at the head of the dinette creates more forward facing seating for your crew.

Exterior

Asymmetric side decks give a nice wide walkway from bow to stern on the starboard side (accessed by that helm door), the narrower one to port still useable but squeezed to eke out interior space. The entire transom moulding and seat slides, giving priority to either the cockpit space or the bathing platform.

Performance

Twin Volvo Penta D3-220 diesel engines are the motors of choice for this model, being fitted to both the test boat and this example. With a clean hull and lightly loaded, they will push the boat easily onto the plane and top out just over a healthy 30 knots, making a low 20-knot cruise quiet and comfortable at around 3,000rpm.

The forward owner’s cabin is complemented by a second double guest cabin further aft

Seakeeping

Southampton water wasn’t throwing up much of a challenge on the day of our test but a couple of big ships kindly provided enough wash to get the NC33 sufficiently airborne to confirm a reasonably soft landing.

Jeanneau NC33 specifications

Length: 34ft 5in (10.5m)
Beam: 10ft 10in (3.3m)
Draft: 3ft 3in (1.0m)
Displacement: 5.4 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 520 litres
Engines: 2 x Volvo Penta D3-220 220hp diesel engines
For Sale: Boatpoint

Duchy 27

Built: 2019
Price: £199,950

Dave Cockwell, the man behind the Cockwells Modern and Classic Boatbuilding yard based just outside Falmouth in Cornwall, summed up the Duchy 27 perfectly. “We’re not trying to compete with anyone. All we’re doing is building a really nice boat that we hope people will like.” Because that’s what this boat is.

It’s not flash, it’s not an apartment on the water nor a flying machine. It’s simply a really nice boat.

Plentiful seating in the cockpit and a handy little table for those lunchtime picnics

Interior

The best way to sum it up is as a British picnic boat but there is a perfectly useable cabin down below taking up about a third of the length of the vessel, and it’s as simple and straightforward as the rest of the boat. A hoop of seating forward surrounds a table that drops to create a double berth. Aft to port is a compact galley and opposite to starboard a simple heads and shower. It’s deal for ducking out of the weather, and perfectly acceptable for a night aboard.

Exterior

The cockpit is where this boat is at. The centre section of the transom folds over to create an entry-point to the cockpit and a neat step from the bathing platform. And you’ll find a lovely deep horseshoe of seating around another table – perfect for picnics. The engine box in the centre provides fore and aft seating while at the front, an open-backed wheelhouse with sliding side windows and roof hatches protects the helmsman and navigator.

Performance

The centrally mounted Nanni T.4 diesel engine transmits its 200hp down a straightforward shaftdrive. It’s a well judged engine for this boat, you can potter along at 8 knots with just 1,500rpm showing on the tachometer, 2,200rpm lifts the bow and gives a steady 14 knots but 2,600rpm is probably the boat’s favourite speed, offering 18 knots and drinking about a litre per mile, the 263-litre tank therefore giving an easy 200-mile range with plenty in reserve.

The compact cabin has everything you need for a cosy night or two away

Seakeeping

A narrow beamed deep-vee semi-displacement hull will always provide optimum seakeeping, which this Andrew Wolstenholme hull proves very well.

Duchy 27 specifications

Length: 27ft 0in (8m)
Beam: 9ft 2in (2.8m)
Draft: 2ft 9in (0.8m)
Displacement: 3.3 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 263 litres
Engine: Nanni T4 200hp diesel engine
For Sale: Ancasta

Broom 42CL

Built: 2001
Price: £185,000

Introduced in 2000 and in production for seven years during which time 49 were built, the 42CL was the largest of Broom’s seagoing CL range when it launched, a range designed to handle offshore duties as well as the inland waterways that was Norfolk Broads based Broom’s stock-in-trade.

A big central saloon connected to a combined galley/dinette are ideal for longer cruises

Interior

An aft cabin layout, as almost all Brooms of this era were, the accommodation stretches from stem to transom. The massive aft cabin is the first show stopper, taking advantage of the hull’s square aft quarters to deliver something more akin to a bedroom, with a central double berth and separate toilet in the forward port corner, shower on the other side.

Head up and forward and you’ll find a large saloon with the unusual feature of direct access onto the port side deck via a sliding door as well as the more usual route aft and up onto the aft deck. The lower forward deck sports a sociable dinette opposite the galley, with the day heads accessed from here too. A vee berthed guest cabin nestles right in the bow.

Exterior

This is emphatically not a flybridge boat. What you get instead is the helm on the aft deck looking forward across the saloon roof. Apart from keeping the air draft down (important on a boat that has inland waterways in mind), it also allows for a large windscreen and full canopies to keep the helm dry in all weathers. Neat touches include nice low side decks and steps built into the hull amidships, making boarding from pontoons very easy, but Broom also added steps rather than a ladder from the bathing platform to the aft deck.

Performance

Twin Yanmar diesels nestle beneath the saloon floor. Broom offered 350hp, 400hp and 440hp versions of the Yanmar 6LY engines, as well as Volvo Penta’s D6 350 engines toward the end of production. The 350hp variants fitted to this boat are the most popular (and unstressed) option, and give a top speed in the mid 20-knot area.

The aft cabin is as large, comfortable and private as some shore-based bedrooms

Seakeeping

The semi-displacement hull has a shallow keel aiding low speed tracking, but the hull is very solid and perfectly suited to offshore running.

Broom 42CL specifications

Length: 42ft 6in (13m)
Beam: 13ft 11in (4.2m)
Draft: 3ft 6in (1.1m)
Displacement: 30 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 1,200 litres
Engines: 2 x Yanmar 6LY 350hp diesel engines
For Sale: TBS Boats

Sealine F380

Built: 2015
Price: £189,995

Unveiled at the Düsseldorf show in January 2014, the F380 was the very first model launched by the Hanse Group in Germany after it took on the Sealine brand. Based on the existing Sealine S380 sportscruiser hull although slightly longer, it translates into a very good looking and well balanced flybridge offering.

One of the most spacious interiors you’ll find on any
sub-40ft boat

Interior

Sealine stated at the time that the F380 had the largest interior volume in its class, an entirely believable claim because this is a seriously large sub 40ft boat. A conventional layout by the standards of the time, the owner’s ensuite cabin is in the bow, there’s a guest cabin to starboard, a day heads and galley to port and then steps up to the main deck saloon with the raised helm on the starboard side. But the big news is storage. Despite all that volume, there are lockers, drawers, bins and cupboards everywhere, not to mention a huge storage space beneath the saloon floor.

Exterior

Despite all that interior volume, the outside is surprisingly uncompromised. Side decks are eight inches wide and bulwarked, the cockpit is a sensible size and there are decent steps up to the high railed flybridge. It’s a good looking boat too, with its sweep of curved glass windscreen, although the small hull portholes date it by modern standards.

Performance

Being based on the S380 hull means sterndrives, so the engines are well aft beneath the cockpit floor. The boat we tested had twin six cylinder Volvo 5.5-litre D6 330hp diesel engines, but most went out with the physically smaller four cylinder 3.7-litre D4-300 engines, which lose a total of 60hp but counter with lighter weight, useful given their location. We saw
32 knots flat out, the D4 engines are probably not much less.

The cabins are just as well proportioned as the saloon, galley and the two bathrooms

Seakeeping

With those big engines set well aft, and the legs in and tabs down, you can drop below 15 knots still planing, giving a wide cruising speed band. We described the ride as ‘good, rather than exceptional’, entirely in keeping with such a voluminous boat, but its keenness to change direction given a handful of lock was certainly impressive.

Sealine F380 specifications

Length: 37ft 4in (11.4m)
Beam: 12ft 4in (3.8m)
Draft: 4ft 0in (1.2m)
Displacement: 10 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 910 litres
Engines: 2 x Volvo Penta D4-300 300hp diesel engines
For Sale: Southpier Marine

If you enjoyed this….

Motor Boat & Yachting is the world’s leading magazine for Motoryacht enthusiasts. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams, as well as tests and news of all the latest motorboats.

Plus you’ll get our quarterly Custom Yachting supplement where we share the last on offer in the superyacht world and at the luxury end of the market.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

Note: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

This article 4 Of The Best Motor Yachts You Can Buy Now For Under £200k appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

There’s plenty of joy to be had blasting up and down the coast on a rapid sportsboat or flybridge cruiser. But when the weather’s good, there’s something equally appealing about the slow, simple pleasures of river life.

The placid waters, the shade of the willow trees, the lure of the waterside pub, the gentle shouts of bonhomie and encouragement from other motorboat skippers. The variety of traffic, featuring everything from tiny tenders and rowing skiffs to converted liveaboards, pretty steel narrowboats and traditional Dutch barges, is also good fun.

And that’s to say nothing of the entertainment laid on by the locks and the seasonal hire boats. In short, life can be very good inland, but to enjoy it at its best, you need a boat that’s tailor-made for the job – something perhaps like one of these…

Sheerline 950

Built: 2002
Price: £81,500

Built in Wroxham, with the Norfolk Broads on the doorstep and other inland areas very much in mind, the 950 was one of Sheerline’s most successful models. In fact, it’s still in production today in the mildly updated form of the Sheerline 955. This features lots of useful detail differences and upgrades but it’s pretty much the same shape and layout as this original.

The aft-cockpit arrangement is supplemented with a very decent lower deck lounge

Interior

Although it would make a great day boat, Sheerline clearly specced this boat with longer periods on board in mind. The most obvious example of that is the full-sized domestic oven, grill and four-burner hob. The fridge isn’t massive but there’s a second one in the cockpit and there’s plenty of storage and counter top to play with too. There’s a dinette opposite that with the heads just ahead of it. The forward cabin closes off for privacy (not always the case at this size point), and comes with an offset double berth. There’s another small cabin aft with a single bed running lengthways and the high spec of this boat includes a generator, plus some very welcome diesel heating.

Exterior

Those Norfolk Broads roots shine through in the aft-cockpit layout, which features a sociable U-shaped hoop of seating around a folding table at the back end. And it also shines through in the air draft. Sheerline designed the arch to fold flat, but you can go further and fold the windscreen too. That means the top of the helm console is the tallest part of the boat, which is very helpful for limboing beneath low bridges.

Performance

The single Nanni shaftdrive diesel engine produces 64hp. When we tested a similarly equipped boat, we saw an entirely sufficient 6.7 knots with 5 knots at 1,500rpm producing extremely low fuel burn figures.

The 64hp Nanni diesel will deliver an extremely frugal 5-knot cruise

Seakeeping

The long keel of its displacement hull protects the propeller and rudder but also means that the boat tracks faithfully at low speed. When it’s time to dock, the bow and stern thruster fitted to this particular boat are likely to prove hugely beneficial.

Sheerline 950 specifications

Length: 31ft 2in (9.5m)
Beam: 10ft 7in (3.2m)
Draft: 2ft 6in (0.8m)
Displacement: 5 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 170 litres
Engine: Nanni 5.28OHE 64hp diesel engine
For sale: Val Wyatt Marine

Trusty T28

Built: 2013
Price: £120,000

As the flagship of Midlands-based Trusty Motor Boats, the T28 was the biggest boat the brand ever built. In addition to feeling rock solid, it has a tough motorboat aesthetic, thanks to its compact portholes, upright wheelhouse and businesslike navy blue hull.

The T28 delivers a really impressive owner’s cabin for a boat of its modest length

Interior

Given that this is a sub-30ft boat, perhaps the biggest news is that the owner’s cabin features a central island bed, rather than the usual vee berth or offset double. It also avoids the open plan living space you’d usually expect to find in the bow.

There’s a compact mid cabin on the lower deck too, with rather less headroom over the bed as it squeezes beneath the cockpit sole. The heads compartment is also down here, but everything else is on the main deck, including a compact galley that can be extended by folding the double helm seat. There’s also a dinette that will convert into another occasional double berth.

Exterior

Although this is very much a deck saloon layout, you can really open up the internal spaces to the elements via double folding aft doors. You also get sliding side windows and a large sliding glass panel in the roof. The external aft cockpit is usefully deep and that feeling of security is further augmented by the raised rails that wrap around it, and by the broad side decks that orbit the superstructure.

Performance

We tested the very first Trusty T28 – a boat that came equipped with the largest engine ever fitted. The 260hp Yanmar pushed the John Moxham semi-displacement hull up to 18 knots, which was arguably a bit faster than this boat really wanted to go, so Trusty decided to limit power to 220hp after that. But there were also river-friendly options available at 75hp and 110hp, the latter being the engine fitted to this boat. It offers good low-speed inland cruising but it still has enough shove for a bit of coastal work if required.

Integration between the deepset aft cockpit and the internal saloon is remarkably good

Seakeeping

The Trusty T28 was fitted with an unusual twin rudder installation, which translates helm inputs into decisive action, helped at low speed by the bow thruster.

Trusty T28 specifications

Length: 29ft 9in (9.1m)
Beam: 10ft 10in (3.3m)
Draft: 3ft 0in (0.9m)
Displacement: 5 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 335 litres
Engine: Yanmar 4JH4 HTE 110hp diesel
For sale: Ancasta

Shadow 26

Built: 1999
Price: £44,950

The original Shadow 26 was launched in 1988. Designed by award-winning designer, Bill Dixon, it was a wheelhouse cruiser that was offered with two hull options: a vee hull with outdrives for coastal use; or a displacement hull with a keel that ran with a single diesel.

Built by Victoria Marine, Motor Boats Monthly bought one to offer as a competition prize! How times have changed. When Victoria Marine merged with Westerly, the 26 was dropped but almost a decade later, the Shadow 26 was back. Norfolk- based Swancraft Cruisers had bought the moulds and offered the wheelhouse version plus the versatile Cabriolet model you see here.

In the absence of the optional forward bulkhead, this boat is attractively open-plan

Interior

With an open-plan layout, buyers were able to pick either twin berths forward or the very appealing extra seating that this boat has. That comes with an infill section, enabling it to turn into a double berth. Interestingly, another option was a bulkhead to create a separate forward cabin but this particular model has privacy curtains instead. Further aft, an L–shaped dinette (which can also convert into a bed) sits opposite the galley. Light wood brightens this area and the headroom is particularly good.

Exterior

Being based on the Norfolk Broads, this boat really benefits from the optional folding windscreen and the lowering arch, which reduce the air draft to 7ft, allowing it to pass beneath most Broads bridges. The cockpit is very simple – just helm and navigator seats forward and a bench aft with a removable table. The small bathing platform probably won’t see much use on inland waters but the stepped access to the side decks certainly will.

Performance

While a 35hp Beta engine was standard, this boat comes with the 43hp BV1903. We tested it with the smaller engine. The top speed was 7 knots but it’s unlikely that this boat’s upgraded engine will be significantly faster.

Even with the uprated 43hp engine, this is a relaxed 7-knot cruiser

Seakeeping

Handling was a delight’, we said. ‘The boat easily turns in its own length without recourse to gear changes and, despite the wind, it answers to the helm more often than not, even when going astern’.

Shadow 26 specifications

Length: 26ft 4in (8m)
Beam: 9ft 8in (2.9m)
Draft: 2ft 2in (0.7m)
Displacement: 2.4 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 227 litres
Engine: Beta 43hp diesel engine
For sale: Norfolk Yacht Agency

Haines 32

Built: 2016
Price: £149,950

Launched at the Southampton Boat Show in 2014, Haines tapped into its existing customer base to come up with suggestions on how to make this the best 30ft river cruiser around. And many of the details, like the illuminated side step integrated into the hull to aid boarding, are based on that client feedback.

The bow cabin is the only dedicated sleeping space onboard this model

Interior

Haines offers two interior layouts for the 32. The most popular is the model you see here, with its large forward owner’s cabin, complete with raised island bed. It also comes with a U-shaped galley opposite the port heads, as well as a main deck saloon with helm to port, a sideboard aft of that and settees to starboard. But there is a second, much rarer, option that moves the galley up behind the helm seat and uses the vacated space on the lower deck for a second twin bunk cabin.

Neat details include saloon doors that slide and then hinge flat against the side of the boat and a reversing backrest on one of the settees, creating aft-facing seating in the cockpit. The oak finish is standard but you can also get an optional cherry or walnut finish at extra cost.

Exterior

Side decks, easily accessed from the cockpit and measuring eight inches wide, are a practical touch for river cruising, as is the deliberate lack of side rails aft of the pulpit, for easy stepping on and off amidships in locks. Flush glazing adds a modern touch and the sliding fabric section in the cockpit overhang enables you to open up the aft seating zone when the weather allows.

Performance

There are three engine options – all Nanni shaftdrive diesels. The 40hp is fine for areas like the Norfolk Broads with its limited tidal movement in the upper reaches, but the N4.65 59hp version fitted to this boat gives a top speed of 8-9 knots.

This particular model adopts the most common layout with galley down and lots of seating

Seakeeping

Designed by Andrew Wolstenholme, the Sedan has a strictly displacement hull, which is ideal for inland cruising. The long keel gives excellent direction stability at low speed, as well as good protection for the propeller and rudder.

Haines 32 specifications

Length: 32ft 0in (9.7m)
Beam: 11ft 6in (3.5m)
Draft: 2ft 8in (0.8m)
Displacement: 6 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 180 litres
Engine: Nanni N4.65 59hp diesel engines
For sale: Boat Showrooms

If you enjoyed this….

Motor Boat & Yachting is the world’s leading magazine for Motoryacht enthusiasts. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams, as well as tests and news of all the latest motorboats.

Plus you’ll get our quarterly Custom Yachting supplement where we share the last on offer in the superyacht world and at the luxury end of the market.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

Note: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

This article 4 of the best 30ft riverboats you can buy right now appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

Price point time is upon us again, always my favourite due to the sheer breadth of choice that can be found by playing around with all three sides of the size-age-price triangle, and that’s before you add in parameters like the type of boat or the performance.

It’s why this month, with a fictitious £150,000 in my back pocket, I’ve been able to bring you standout used boats that stretch from the super-fast and super-capable, if also super-compact, Windy Coho through to the frankly epic Sunseeker Camargue 50, via the very sensible Sealine SC38 and what surely must be one of the most practical boats on the water, the Beneteau Antares 36. It’s a boat that simply makes so much sense that it had me briefly pondering whether I could afford to buy and run the thing myself. As ever, you pays your money and takes your choice.

4 of the best sub £150k motor boats

Sunseeker Camargue 50

Built: 2000
Price: £149,950

Remarkably, the new Superhawk 55 is now the only open-cockpit sportscruiser in the range, a genre that used to be heartland stuff for the brand. Of course, the company is simply reacting to customer demand for hardtops on their large sportscruisers but it seems a shame when you scroll back a quarter of a century to boats like this gorgeous Camargue 50 that was in build from 1999-2003.

Saloon with convertible dinette showcases a period-typical cherry interior

Interior

Although the focus is on cockpit living, at 50 feet long, this is a big boat, so a generous interior comes as part of the package. This model predates the trend for midships full-beam owner’s cabins, so you’ll find the primary cabin up in the bow with its central double berth and ensuite.

There’s a single guest cabin aft, again with its own ensuite, and between them is a large saloon with a dinette, that can convert to an occasional double, and a galley concealed within a sideboard opposite.

The high-gloss cherry cabinetry is very of its era, but there’s no denying its rich lustre and sense of occasion, especially with the Sunseeker trademark thick wooden capping. Predictably, this is supplemented by that other 1990s styling choice of cream leather upholstery.

Article continues below…

4 of the best modern classic motor yachts on the market right now

4 of the best motor yachts on the market now for under £250,000

Exterior

Being outside and looking good is what this boat is all about, from the massive four-person sunpad concealing a tender garage aft to the large dinette opposite a wet bar to the curved seating next to the helm. With its flowing lines, sexy hips and curved stainless steel windscreen, it’s absolutely beautiful!

Performance

All twin shaft drive installations, Sunseeker offered Volvo Penta TAMD 122 or Caterpillar C12 diesels, both rated at 660hp. This boat has the former, we tested a Camargue 50 with the latter. The broker is claiming 28 knots but we achieved a little more from our similarly powered test boat.

The forward owner’s cabin still has the power to impress and all this for under £150k

Seakeeping

Low topsides, no flybridge or hardtop to catch the wind, shaftdrive and 19 tonnes of weight make this boat a doddle to manoeuvre. Out on the water we discovered steering that is quicker and more decisive than you might expect for a 50ft boat coupled with a very capable hull.

Sunseeker Camargue 50 specifications

Length: 50ft 8in (15.4m)
Beam: 14ft 7in (4.5m)
Draft: 4ft 7in (1.4m)
Displacement: 19 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 2,000 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta TAMD 122 660hp
For sale: Sunseeker Brokerage

Beneteau Antares 36

Built: 2010
Price: £139,950

British manufacturers major on high quality and luxury. Scandinavian builders are all about seakeeping and year-round capability, while the Italians like to dial up the flamboyance. The French, meanwhile, seem to delight in simply building very practical, sensible family boats, and this Antares 36 by Beneteau is a perfect example of that thinking.

Plentiful glazing and a galley-up layout makes for a bright and sociable main deck

Interior

As a family boat, this layout is brilliant. The galley up configuration means that the whole lower deck is simply given over to two cabins and a single heads, so despite being fairly compact, nothing feels particularly compromised.

The forward cabin has a centreline bed and the guest cabin to starboard has two single berths that infill to create a double if required. The heads being not quite large enough for a separate shower cubicle is perhaps the only notable concession. On the main deck, the galley is forward next to the helm, which is a sociable arrangement, leaving space for a small but comfortable saloon aft.

Exterior

Relatively short flybridge boats are always going to prove tricky to style. The necessity for standing headroom inside, plus the upper deck, add so much height, but Beneteau has done a good job with the visuals by keeping the flybridge low sided, with stainless steel rails adding security.

There’s another helm up here of course, but also a semi-circle of seating with a drop-flat backrest to create sunbathing up top. Meanwhile on the main deck, sliding doors link saloon and cockpit in the traditional way.

Performance

Sensible twin Volvo Penta D4 diesels on shafts are easy to service and maintain, as all the major mechanical bits are inside the hull and easy to reach. A modest mid-20 knot top speed will give an entirely sufficient 20-knot cruise with reasonable economy.

Flybridge helm is surrounded by seating with a folding backrest for sunbathing

Seakeeping

Shaft drive keeps the mass of the engines further forward for a flatter trim and improved weight distribution, while tunnelled props lower the shaft angle for more efficient thrust. Expect solid, sensible handling, in keeping with everything else on this boat. The bow and stern thrusters will also allow you to cheat when coming alongside.

Beneteau Antares 36 specifications

Length: 37ft 4in (11.4m)
Beam: 12ft 8in (3.8m)
Draft: 3ft 2in (1.0m)
Displacement: 7 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 650 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta D4 260 260hp diesel engines
For sale: One Marine

Sealine SC38

Built: 2009
Price: £149,950

In the 30 to 40ft hardtop sportscruiser category, the SC35 is the obvious Sealine offering, but there’s an intriguing alternative – the SC38. A more expensive boat when new, it was less popular for that reason as its smaller sister seemed to offer almost as much accommodation. However, secondhand values are similar and it’s a more spacious and arguably better-looking option.

The hard top has a full length fabric sunroof that can open up the cockpit to the elements

Interior

Layout is the usual owner’s cabin forward, guest cabin aft and saloon/galley in the middle, but with a couple of intriguing changes. As well as a heads forward to starboard, there’s a completely separate shower opposite to port, and both are accessed from the saloon and from the owner’s cabin.

Back aft, the athwartship mid cabin has the usual two single berths, but there’s a third lengthways berth which can either be a sofa or can increase the sleeping capacity of this space. In typical Sealine style, there’s acres of volume, both across the boat and in terms of headroom.

Exterior

That extra length creates a better balanced, if arguably slightly more dated, aesthetic. Although the SC35 launched just nine months after the bigger boat’s 2007 debut, it featured the more modern slab sides to the hull where the SC38 had the older moulded knuckle line.

The big news is the open-backed hardtop (there was a fully open S38 version also) with its almost full-length fabric opening roof section. Unusually, you can also remove the top sections of the side windows, giving a proper open feel.

Performance

Sealine offered both D4 and D6 Volvo Penta sterndrive options, and in this size of boat the D4 engines in 300hp guise make a lot of sense as they offer almost as much power as the D6-330 alternative but in a lighter and more compact format that reduces weight at the stern and creates more engine room space. Figure on a low to mid-30-knot top end.

Forward cabin has separate shower and heads to port and starboard respectively

Seakeeping

When we tested the SC38, its exceptionally level fore and aft trim was the standout feature, akin to a stepped hull, which helped deliver a ‘remarkably smooth ride’ that is likely to be a little softer and more sea-kindly than the SC35’s.

Sealine SC38 specifications

Length: 39ft 4in (12.0m)
Beam: 12ft 3in (3.7m)
Draft: 3ft 1in (0.9m)
Displacement: 8.5 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 678 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta D4-300 300hp diesel engines
For sale: Parker Adams Boat Sales

Windy 29 Coho

Built: 2015
Price: £149,950

As the saying has it, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Which left Windy with something of a dilemma, since its evergreen 28 Ghibli dated back to the Nineties, yet was nigh on the perfect sub-30ft cuddy cabin sports boat due to its combination of epic handling, bombproof build and sleek looks. It was time for a change but everything needed to stay the same, which is sort of what happened.

Fixed double bed and small galley make overnighting a more appealing prospect

Interior

This, like the Ghibli before it, is unashamedly a no-compromise cuddy cabin layout.

It’s a boat designed from the outside in, the cabin is simply the best use of what little space is left beneath the foredeck of a low, sleek cockpit-orientated boat. So forget standing headroom and forget any thoughts of a mid cabin.

There is a separate loo, but it’s sitting room only, and a tiny but useful galley. What did change was the seating. The Ghibli had a dinette that converted to a double bed. Given how compact this area was, Windy decided that a fixed double bed would be more comfortable; if you want somewhere to sit, go and sit in the cockpit.

Exterior

To facilitate cockpit living, Windy designed a canopy that’s easy to deploy and tensions at the push of a button. The layout of a sunbed aft, twin bucket seats forward and a dinette between was unchanged; the extra foot of length was due to the bathing platform.

Portholes were swapped for triple-flush mounted forward-raked hull windows and the helm was modified to make space for an inset MFD.

Performance

Windy offered the then-new 380hp Volvo Penta 6.0 litre V8 petrol engine which propelled our original test boat to 42 knots. But diesel power remained the more popular choice for UK buyers and the D6 400 unit fitted to this boat is both faster and more efficient, with Windy quoting a top speed of 43.7 knots.

Like its predecessor the Ghibli, the Coho is a cockpit focussed sporty weekender

Seakeeping

Resin-infused, but otherwise the same as the Ghibli, this is one area Windy definitely wasn’t going to mess with. As we surmised at the time, “This boat defines the word ‘thoroughbred’, performing with a quality that puts it in the big league.”

Windy 29 Coho specifications

Length: 29ft 2in (8.9m)
Beam: 8ft 9in (2.7m)
Draft: 2ft 11in (0.9m)
Displacement: 3.2 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 375 litres
Engine: Single Volvo Penta D6-400 400hp diesel engine
For sale: Berthon International

If you enjoyed this….

Motor Boat & Yachting is the world’s leading magazine for Motoryacht enthusiasts. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams, as well as tests and news of all the latest motorboats.

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This article 4 of the best sub £150k motor boats on the market appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

The greatest James Bond ever, in my opinion, is The Spy Who Loved Me. There are so many iconic moments, from the Lotus Esprit powering off the jetty and transforming into a submersible, to the skier flying straight off the side of a mountain and pulling a Union Jack parachute.

But who can forget our hero, played by Sir Roger Moore, heading for the villain’s offshore lair in full naval commander regalia, astride a Wetbike – the debut of the world’s first PWC.

Looking very much like a motorbike with fat skis instead of wheels, Spirit Marine’s Wetbike actually entered production a year later in 1978 – the one seen in the film was a prototype.

Since then, personal watercraft have taken on a very different style, with hulls akin to small boats, but the concept of a motorbike for the water is back once more, courtesy of Searider.

Searider’s latest model is the Searacer, a machine with styling that’s far more Lightcycle from Tron than 1970s James Bond. Dual electric motors produce a combined 33kW (about 45hp) creating over 40 knots of performance with up to 50 minutes of runtime from its removable battery.

It weighs in at 65kg and is available in three colours – white, grey or blue. And in a neat nod to the past, Seasider’s brochure actually includes a black and white photograph of Sir Roger in action astride the original Wetbike.

Searider Searacer

Price from: €27,950
Contact: searider.eu

If you enjoyed this….

Motor Boat & Yachting is the world’s leading magazine for Motoryacht enthusiasts. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams, as well as tests and news of all the latest motorboats.

Plus you’ll get our quarterly Custom Yachting supplement where we share the last on offer in the superyacht world and at the luxury end of the market.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

This article Toy of the month: The ‘motorbike for the sea’ inspired by James Bond appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

When I was at school back in the 1980s, one of my favourite publications was Autotrader. Since the internet didn’t exist (it was being invented at the time), Autotrader was the standard way to sell a used car and was therefore absolutely chock full of choice.

A popular game at school amongst us car nerds was to set a figure (almost always £1,000) and choose our favourite. I usually plumped for a 1970s Jaguar XJ6 or Rover SDi 3500, both of which offered a huge amount of swanky car to the 16-year-old untroubled with thoughts of actually maintaining it.

The same game gets played now with boats online, but it’s important to remember that the same is true, a large and aging prestige beauty poses the risk of higher running costs compared with smaller, newer options. But that said, an older Fairline or similar is still a far better bet than anything British Leyland was turning out in the 1970s!

Fairline 36 Sedan

Built: 1989
Price: £49,995

Recently, large boat manufacturers have become very excited about the concept of ‘platform sharing’. In boat terms, that mostly means sharing the hull and running gear between two or more models.

It makes a lot of sense as the cost and time involved in the design and tooling of these components is then spread. Princess Yachts, for example, spin the X80 and Y80 off the same hull, and Fairline does the same thing with the Squadron 68 and Phantom 65.

But as ever, there’s little that is new under the sun. Back in the late 1980s, Fairline was using the same hull for both the 36 Turbo and the 36 Sedan.

Interior

The big difference is that the Turbo was an aft cabin configuration with a raised aft deck. This 36 Sedan has the more conventional aft cockpit leading into a big saloon. It puts both of the cabins forward on the lower deck. The owner’s cabin is in the bow with a centreline double berth, and the twin bunk guest cabin is to starboard. They share a single heads rather than the Turbo’s twin heads configuration.

Exterior

The payback for the slightly compromised interior, compared with its more popular Turbo sister, is on the outside. You don’t have to walk up and down steps to move between the cabin and the cockpit, and the cockpit is far more sheltered than the windswept raised aft deck of the Turbo, not to mention far easier to rig with canopies. The flybridge is a little larger too, although access is via a ladder (typical of flybridge boats of this era) rather than the couple of steps up from the already raised aft deck.

Performance

Both boats were available with either the twin 40 or 60 series Volvo Penta diesels on shafts –
the vast majority getting the
larger 60 series. This boat gets the most powerful incarnation, the 61C at 306hp each, for which Fairline quoted a top speed of 28-31 knots when brand new.

The Sedan has a saloon and cockpit all on the same level, unlike the aft cabin Turbo

Seakeeping

Bernard Olesinski penned all Fairlines of this era, and all gave a reliable and stable ride.

Specifications

Length: 36ft 6in (11.1m)
Beam: 13ft 4in (4.0m)
Draft: 3ft 4in (1.0m)
Displacement: 9 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 1,055 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta TAMD 61C 306hp engines

Sea Ray 260 Sundancer

Built: 2008
Price: £46,950

Recently, large boat manufacturers have become very excited about the concept of ‘platform sharing’. In boat terms, that mostly means sharing the hull and running gear between two or more models.

It makes a lot of sense as the cost and time involved in the design and tooling of these components is then spread. Princess Yachts, for example, spin the X80 and Y80 off the same hull, and Fairline does the same thing with the Squadron 68 and Phantom 65.

But as ever, there’s little that is new under the sun. Back in the late 1980s, Fairline was using the same hull for both the 36 Turbo and the 36 Sedan.

Compact but well laid out interior is perfect for couples or young families

Interior

The interior is an entirely conventional mid 20ft sportscruiser layout – U-shaped dinette forward that converts to a double berth, compact galley opposite a usefully sized heads and a curtained-off mid cabin aft which features a double berth running transversely beneath the cockpit.

So no surprises there, but what is notable is the fit and finish down here. There’s virtually no exposed GRP anywhere, other than in the heads of course, everything is lined and soft trimmed. 

There’s some high-gloss wood dotted about the place, and neat details like the way the saloon table stows beneath the forward dinette cushions. It does feel a cut above the mainstream down here.

Exterior

It’s a similar story on the outside – check out the little metal toggle switches at the helm instead of the usual black plastic rockers. The cockpit upholstery is thick and tightly upholstered too, and there’s even a tiny wet bar in the corner. As is typical of American boats of this size, there are no side decks, access forward is via an opening section in the windscreen and steps built into the sliding cabin door. The radar arch is an unusual, very useful, feature and the grey hull looks great!

Performance

I’m imagining the original buyer of this particular boat, on being asked how much power he’d like, simply saying ‘Yes’. It would explain the monster 6.2 litre V8 Mercruiser beneath the cockpit sole! Its 320hp should have this pocket rocket nudging 40 knots.

Good quality upholstery and modern design ensures this 2008 boat still looks the part

Seakeeping

It’s a relatively short, medium vee hull boat so it’s not going to cut through waves like the Triana Tantarella but these Sea Rays put up a pretty good showing.

Specifications

Length: 26ft 7in (8.1m)
Beam: 8ft 6in (2.6m)
Draft: 3ft 5in (1.0m)
Displacement: 2.5 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 284 litres
Engine: Mercruiser 6.2MPi 320hp petrol engine

Rodman 900

Built: 2002
Price: £55,000

In the world of workmanlike sportfishers, heavily populated by the likes of Jeanneau’s Merry Fisher and Beneteau’s Antares ranges, Rodman tends to fly a little under the radar, but actually this type of boat is typical fare for this Spanish yard – the clue is in the name (rod-man). With its roots in commercial craft, from high speed ferries to military patrol boats, it builds a commendably solid, if rather functional looking, vessel, which is exactly what you want from this type of craft.

Touches of wood help lift the feel of this robust but well appointed sportfisher

Interior

The interior is a good example of this workmanlike ethos. There is no carpet on the floor in the saloon, just practical easy to clean decking, but it’s a comfortable layout with just enough high-gloss cherry in places like the doors and around the bed frames to stop it from feeling utilitarian.

The galley is squeezed in behind the port-side helm. With only a single burner it’s better suited to quick lunches than gourmet dinners but it’s conveniently located for the dinette opposite and it frees up the lower deck for a decent owner’s cabin in the bow and a twin bunk guest cabin to starboard opposite the heads.

Exterior

The exterior lends itself well to fishing and watersports, with rod holders decorating the cockpit and seats that fold flush against the coamings. However, there’s plenty of space for free-standing tables and chairs too. Side decks are easily accessed and feature secure-feeling bulwarks around the whole deck perimeter. Up top, a compact flybridge offers an external helm position and seating for two, although the widely spread rev counters are an unusual touch.

Performance

As conventional as the rest of the boat, the twin Volvo Penta KAMD 44 EDC diesels send their power down through nice simple straight shaft drives and punt this boat up to 30 knots, with a comfortable 20-knot cruising speed.

Uncluttered cockpit is ideal for fishing but remains versatile enough for family picnics too

Seakeeping

Rodman boats have a well-deserved reputation for solid, safe seakeeping out in the rough, and those twin shafts should make close quarters work pretty easy too.

Specifications

Length: 31ft 7in (9.6m)
Beam: 11ft 0in (3.3m)
Draft: 2ft 6in (0.8m)
Displacement: 7 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 600 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta KAMD 44 EDC 260hp diesel engines

Triana Tantarella

Built: 1999
Price: £47,950

Trident Marine launched the achingly pretty Triana 25 back in 1968 – a hugely successful boat, two examples of which took part in the gruelling 1969 Round Britain Race.

In 1970 production moved from Trident Marine to Triana Yachts, which wanted to introduce a larger version. In 1974, and following a move to Wimborne near Poole, the 35ft long Tantarella was born. This particular example was purchased as a hull and deck moulding, with fit-out completed in 1999.

The interior fitout was completed in 1999 even though the hull design is from 1974

Interior

Whereas the original 25 was a weekender at best, the Tantarella was designed to be a proper offshore long-legged cruiser, capable of extended trips. There is good headroom on the forward lower deck, a decent dinette to port opposite the galley and a double berth in the forepeak.

The heads is in the starboard aft corner. But step up into the cockpit and head aft and you’ll discover another cabin. This is a private owner’s dwelling, completely separate from the forward accommodation, and includes a double berth to starboard, a decent amount of storage and its own ensuite.

Exterior

A gorgeous boat of the old school, it’s low and sleek with a gently curving sheerline and a proper deep vee hull. This particular boat benefits from a thorough fit out in all areas except one. The cockpit is still bare.

So the helm sits in its usual place, in the forward port corner, but the rest of the cockpit ‘allows future owners to put their own stamp on it’ as estate agents always refer to anything unfinished. Originally this would have taken the guise of forward-facing seating at the front of the cockpit and bench seats along both sides further aft.

Performance

We tested a Tantarella with a pair of 250hp Ford Sabre engines and achieved an entirely credible 29 knots. This boat has been fitted with a pair of Nissan 6.5 litre V8 diesels that also produce 250hp each, and so should offer a similar top end.

The cockpit has been left bare for future owners to specify their choice of seating

Seakeeping

One of the key selling points of both this and the smaller Triana is that both were designed by powerboat legend Sonny Levi. That explains the looks, but it also explains why these boats have seriously good seakeeping!

Specifications

Length: 35ft 6in (10.9m)
Beam: 11ft 4in (3.5m)
Draft: 3ft 0in (0.9m)
Displacement: 5.6 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 1,200 litres
Engines: Twin Nissan V8 GMC 6.5 litre diesel engines

This article 4 of the best motor boats under £50k to buy right now appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

Why is the Hinckley Picnic Boat here? Well, just look at it, it’s gorgeous! It’s called a Picnic Boat because, unlike many modern boats that try to cram as much accommodation in as possible, Hinckley went its own way, citing that “the first duty of a boat is to be beautiful” and creating a proper gentleman’s motorboat of the old school that was ideally suited to a nice day out on the water with a picnic lunch.

Hinckley built its first boat 90 years ago, an elegant 36ft Fisherman. Based in Maine, USA, the company has been turning out a range of always-elegant sailing and motor boats ever since. The Picnic Boat concept dates back almost 30 years to 1995; the original was a 36-footer, although they have been building variations on the theme ever since.

The Hinckley Picnic is an American beauty that marries classic style with reassuring functionality

Shep McKenney, chairman of Hinckley at the time, said: “What I wanted to build was a boat that was beautiful, I wanted a boat that was to be built from the outside first, and then you saw what you could get into it.”

As a result, the accommodation was very straightforward; there’s a vee berth forward that converts to a double berth and a galley to port opposite a heads – all you need for a day out on the water but with the ability to make it a weekend if you choose. In the cockpit, the open-backed wheelhouse shelters a pair of helm seats and then there’s a big engine box in the centre and a bench seat aft. It couldn’t be simpler.

Interestingly, Hinckley opted to mate the 350hp Yanmar turbo diesel to a waterjet drive. The idea was to enable very shallow water running as there’s virtually nothing hanging beneath the hull, allowing the owner to get right in close to the beach, or even beach it.

Article continues below…

World's coolest boats: Oyster LD43/OM43

World's coolest boats: Safehaven Marine Barracuda SV11

It also makes it extremely manoeuvrable. Intriguingly, Hinckley fitted a foot-operated bow thruster, meaning the helmsman could keep one hand on the wheel, the other on the throttle and yet still invoke some sideways thrust of the bow when required.

Top speed was 27 knots. Sufficient, rather than scintillating, it enabled a very comfortable 20-knot cruise. But also of note was the handling and seakeeping. Being low and narrow, the boat was both stable and sea kindly.

The concept is still going strong and today Hinckley has three models in the Picnic Boat range: the 34S, 37S and 40S. All still subscribe to Shep’s original mandate, “When you walk down onto the dock or you look out to the anchorage, you can say, ‘Wow, that’s my boat!’”

Hinckley Picnic Boat specifications

Year: 1997 LOA: 11.1m
Beam: 3.0m
Power: Yanmar 6LYM-STE 350hp diesel engine
Speed: 27 knots
Price when launched: £185,000

To submit your suggestion for the world’s coolest boat, head over to the MBY forum.

This article World's coolest boats: Hinckley Picnic Boat appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

Most boats are a carefully considered compromise designed to cover as many bases as possible: floating holiday home, party island, offshore cruiser – jack of all trades, as the saying has it, master of none.

Safehaven Marine’s Barracuda SV11 eschews all those compromises, becoming the jack of a single trade, master of one. Its single dedicated purpose is to conquer rough water and transport its crew safely, regardless of conditions.

One cubic metre of water weighs one tonne. And a big wave comprises many cubic metres. It’s why the glass on the Barracuda is one inch thick! It’s also why the bow is so pointed that it can pierce all that water and punch clean through it, courtesy of a pair of Caterpillar C9 575hp diesels.

Article continues below…

World's coolest boats: Oyster LD43/OM43

World's coolest boats: Our ultimate cool boats hall of fame

Of course, what you tend to find on the other side of a huge wave, once you’ve blasted through it, is a lot of air and a serious drop. So the Barracuda has four-point harnesses to hold you in place during the inevitable descent, while a 22 degree deep-vee hull and X Craft C-Force suspension seats help cushion the landing.

Not to mention a heavy-duty hand-laid FRP composite hull (6,800g on hull bottom, 8,500g along the keel).

Such a focussed boat requires an equally focussed customer base, and customers don’t come much more focussed than the military, which is why Safehaven’s options list is rather different to that of Princess Yachts.

The Barracuda is a fearless wave machine

There are no hot tubs, no teak deck option, no rise and fall TV. But there is a rise and fall gyro stabilised machine gun platform that emerges from the foredeck, controlled from the wheelhouse. Bulletproofing and a gun rack for the AK47s are also on the menu, should its customer base require it.

But like the original Land Rover Defender, what’s really cool about this boat is its complete lack of style for style’s sake, it’s the shape it is because it’s the shape most fit for purpose. And that purpose, apart from going where no fast boat has gone before, is to do it in secret. Which is why every panel is designed to disperse radar reflections rather than beam them back to whence they came.

For all its super cool all-weather performance, perhaps the coolest thing of all about the Barracuda SV11 is that it’s a bona fide stealth boat!

Barracuda SV11 specifications

Year: 2015
LOA: 11m BEAM: 4.0m
Power: Twin Caterpillar C9 575hp diesel engines
Speed: 33 knots
Price when launched: £1 Million

To submit your suggestion for the world’s coolest boat, head over to the MBY forum.

This article World's coolest boats: Safehaven Marine Barracuda SV11 appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

UK-based Oyster Yachts has been building beautiful high quality world-girdling sailboats for half a century. If you want the ultimate in production sailing yachts, Oyster is likely to be on your list.

What it is less well known for is motor boats. But not completely unknown because in 2005, Oyster decided to create a motor boat targeted specifically at its discerning clientele.

If you were an Oyster person at heart, but wanted more speed, convenience or perhaps were just finding sailing a little much, then this was intended to be your go-to choice.

Called the 43LD and originally built by McDell Marine in New Zealand, the name referred to the fact that it was a 43ft picnic boat (LD stood for ‘lunch and dinner’), which is why it had just the one comfortable cabin with a centreline double bed, the heads and an oversized galley on the lower deck.

Article continues below…

World's coolest boats: Our ultimate cool boats hall of fame

World's coolest boats: Why the Princess V52 is the original ice queen

Two huge captain’s chairs graced the forward end of the main deck, one behind an expansive helm, the other adjacent. Behind those were your dining options, two C-shaped settees with individual tables in the saloon, or two L-shaped settees around a huge folding table in the cockpit.

Of course the LD43 wasn’t just about dining, it was about looking good and going fast and it did the former via a beautiful sweeping sheer line and a further swage
line that swept from the top of the windscreen down and into the cockpit coamings.

The OM43 had a more practical galley-up layout but still featured the quirky ‘Mouseboat’ joystick control

It is a great looking boat. The latter was performed via a pair of 480hp Yanmar diesels linked, unusually, to Hamilton jet drives. The idea was to enable running in shallow waters and improved manoeuvrability, in fact this boat was fitted with one of the very first joystick-type controls, although it looked more like a computer mouse and was indeed called Mouseboat.

But the idea was the same, you move the mouse the way you want the boat to go and it converts that input into instructions for the steering and gearboxes, and away you go. The top speed was 30 knots.

In 2008 Oyster launched an OM43 version (we never did discover what OM stood for). Built by Broom Boats in Norfolk, it featured two cabins on the lower deck, moving the galley up to the starboard side of the saloon behind the helm.

The saloon roof moulding was modified with an extended overhang and engines switched to twin Cummins 480hp diesels, still linked to the Hamilton jets.

Only 20 were ever built, 16 of the LD version and four of the OM model, ensuring that this rare gem remains as exclusive as it is beautiful.

Oyster LD43/OM43 specifications

Year: 2005
LOA: 13m
Beam: 4.1m
Power: Twin Yanmar or Cummins 480hp diesel engines
Speed: 30 knots
Price when launched: £650,000

To submit your suggestion for the world’s coolest boat, head over to the MBY forum.

This article World's coolest boats: Oyster LD43/OM43 appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

Here’s an interesting thing about flybridge boats. Almost nobody drives from the lower helm, ever! Cold, rain, wind – owners are still up on top keeping a good lookout. And here’s something even more intriguing.

Quite a few years ago, one or two manufacturers, upon canvassing their customers to discern exactly how they were using their boats and realising this, started offering flybridge boats without the lower helm, increasing the saloon area.

Inexplicably, the result of doing so was that no-one bought them, because there was no lower helm. All of which brings us to all-season boats because it appears that if you want a boat that people will actually drive from inside, you’d better make it a dedicated internal helm only.

Add a seriously capable hull to deal with more inclement winter sea conditions and you’ll likely end up with something like this month’s quartet of used boats chosen specifically for year-round all-season boating.

4 of the best all-season boats

Seaward 29

Built: 2000
Price: £65,000

Launched almost 30 years ago, the Seaward 29 is still part of the Seaward new boat fleet with only incremental upgrades along the way (mostly behind the scenes). It is the very epitome of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.

And that is because there is not a single nod to fashion about the whole vessel. It is simply a solid, practical, proper heavy weather motor boat.

Interior

A ‘proper motor boat’ is best defined as a vessel designed first and foremost to be a boat, rather than floating accommodation. Hull and decks are optimised for use afloat (indeed Seaward builds many boats for commercial use) and whatever that leaves as an interior is then fitted out simply and solidly.

Which is why the interior of this model lacks frills, and indeed lacks space compared with some circa 30ft offerings because (for example) the wide side decks pinch the cabin a little.

On the lower deck you’ll find vee berths in the forepeak with heads to port and galley to starboard. Step up to the deck saloon and there are a pair of businesslike helm seats, one either side, with guest seating behind them.

Vee berths in the forepeak are relatively spartan but there’s a decent amount of stowage

Exterior

The dividends for the compact internal volume are paid outside, where you’ll find a deep well-sheltered cockpit aft and wide non-slip side decks sloping gently upward toward the bow. Proper little bollards rather than cleats speak of the commercial roots of this boat.

Performance

When Seaward started making ‘baby Nelson’ compact pilot style boats, beginning with the Seaward 23 in 1989, it typically fitted Mermaid diesel engines. Oddly, a niche Japanese market sprang up for these quirky little boats which lead to a fruitful association with Japanese engine manufacturer Yanmar.

As a result, all Seaward 29s were fitted with twin Yanmars, from 160hp to 260hp each. This boat has twin 230hp Yanmars, good for a 20-knot top end.

Helm station, like the rest of the 29, prioritises competence and quality over style

Seakeeping

Now we’re getting to the real meat of this boat, and why Seawards are prized by commercial users: the semi-displacement hull. Designed by Arthur Mursell of TT Designs, it is a serious offshore bruiser, out punching almost everything else of its size in rough seas.

Specifications

LOA: 29ft 4in (9.0m)
Beam: 10ft 0in (3.0m)
Draft: 2ft 10in (0.9m)
Displacement: 7.8 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 700 litres
Engines: Twin Yanmar 4LH 230hp diesel
Location: Burnham-on-Crouch
Contact: BH Boat Sales

Article continues below…

How to go winter boating: Top tips for staying safe and warm

Best all-weather boats: Our pick of the secondhand market

Botnia Targa 27.2GT

Built: 2021
Price: £197,500

There’s a theme to these all-season boatbuilders and it’s one of very gentle model evolution. We once described Botnia as “tending to modernise at roughly the same pace as the Royal Family”.

So the option to fit some of its models with outboard engines, introduced first on the Botnia Targa 25.1 in 2019, was as big a departure for the builder as seeing King Charles with a mohawk. It comes in response to increased demand for the performance, low maintenance costs and ease of use that these power plants offer.

Interior

The Botnia Targa 27.2 traces its roots back to the 27 of 1991. The 27.2 of 2018 looked very similar, but sported a new hull with slightly more beam. The internal layout followed the same lines of a heads forward of the wheelhouse with a compact galley next to the helm and a bench seat aft.

Behind that you’ll discover a small cabin with a double berth on one side and two ‘head to head’ single berths on the other.

There’s a perfectly adequate cabin with a double berth and two single berths opposite

Exterior

Finnish built and with a typically Finnish deck layout, the cockpit is actually in the bow, with a horseshoe of seating containing deck lockers. Twin sliding doors, one each side lead into the wheelhouse, and traditionally the 27.2 has a small three-person external helm built into the trailing edge of the wheelhouse roof.

But this is where the GT designation comes into play because the GT swaps that external helm for a rear sliding door giving direct access from the stern cockpit to the wheelhouse.

Performance

Launched with single Volvo Penta diesel engines, choices were all D6 variants, typically 330hp, 370hp or 400hp and latterly the more recent 440hp version. We tested the boat with the D6 400 and achieved a heady 39 knots. The introduction of twin outboards kicked the performance up another notch.

This boat has a pair of Mercury Verado outboards that offer a combined 600hp, pushing the top end into the mid 40-knot arena.

It’s a well-packaged layout with a heads forward of the helm and a small galley to port

Seakeeping

A planing hull with a deep vee, all Botnia Targas are adroit at cleaving imperiously through big waves, leaving huge curtains of spray hanging in the air behind them.

Specifications

LOA: 30ft 1in (9.2m)
Beam: 10ft 2in (3.1m)
Draft: 3ft 6in (1.1m)
Displacement: 4.2 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 530 litres
Engines: Twin Mercury Verado 300hp outboards
Location: Poole
Contact: Wessex Marine

Dale Classic 35

Built: 2014
Price: £345,000

Dale boats are built in South West Wales, with direct access to the often challenging Irish Sea. Like Seaward, Dale turns to Arthur Mursell for the hull design, but the deck and superstructure of this one are worlds apart from the traditional pilot boat style.

This particular Dale Classic 35 was custom designed and built specifically for the original owner.

Interior

An open-backed wheelhouse layout means that all of the internal accommodation is on the lower deck, accessed by a beautiful polished wood folding door. The interior was designed to accommodate the owner’s 6ft 5in tall son, so there’s plenty of headroom for us lesser mortals.

As you’d expect from Dale, the American cherry woodwork is traditional but magnificent, with carefully fiddled storage for plates, glasses etc so that nothing becomes displaced at sea. Move forward past the heads to port and galley to starboard and you’ll discover a cozy hoop of seating in the bow that will convert to a double bed.

American cherry adds a touch of class while comfy bow seats convert to a double bed

Exterior

The flush flat foredeck dominates the look of this boat; even the cleats are folding to ensure as low a profile as possible, and the lack of guardrails was a deliberate choice by the owner who wanted to keep the profile as pure in appearance as he could.

The open backed wheelhouse means that the cockpit runs well forward, creating plenty of sheltered outdoor space. Dominating the helm position are a pair of gorgeous Release Marine chairs imported from the USA, and behind those, a pair of aft facing corner seats.

And apart from an aft bench seat and a nifty table that folds out of the floor, not a lot else, the owner choosing to keep this space as open and versatile as possible.

Performance

Unusually for a Mursell design, power from its single Volvo Penta D6-400 engine is delivered through a sterndrive, which gives it terrific agility out on the water. We achieved 33 knots when we tested this actual boat when it was brand new, so 20-25 knots is a comfortable cruising gait.

Open-backed wheelhouse gives the best of both worlds with plenty of socialising space

Seakeeping

“Absolutely superb” is how we described the handling, and of course that Mursell hull, honed in the no-nonsense seas off Pembrokeshire can handle the rough stuff too.

Specifications

LOA: 35ft 0in (11.1m)
Beam: 11ft 8in (3.4m)
Draft: 2ft 9in (0.9m)
Displacement: 6 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 580 litres
Engine: Volvo Penta D6-400 400hp diesel
Location: Beaulieu River
Contact: Dale Motor Yachts

Sargo 31 Explorer

Built: 2020
Price: £300,000

From the all-season boats selected for this article you could easily be forgiven for thinking that the UK and Finland dominate the all-weather boatbuilding genre, and barring a handful of notable exceptions, you wouldn’t be far wrong. For this boat, we’re back to Finland and the ever popular ‘commuter’ style of walkaround wheelhouse boats.

Interior

Very Finnish in concept, you’ve got your forward sloping windscreen and your sliding side doors for the wheelhouse, but you’ve also got a door in the rear bulkhead and crucially, a huge sliding roof.

For a wheelhouse boat, this is about as open air an experience as you’re ever likely to get, considering that you can close it all back up in less than 30 seconds – perfect for the British summer!

Two bucket seats nestle at the helm to starboard, a tiny galley in the forward port corner and a dinette behind. Vee berth and heads are on the lower deck forward, and lifting a seat base in the dinette reveals a small but entirely useable separate double guest cabin.

Vee berth on the lower deck forward with heads, and there’s a small double guest cabin too

Exterior

The ‘Explorer’ spec of this boat accounts for the distinctive grey topsides and wheelhouse roof in place of the standard plain white gelcoat, and many Explorer spec boats get matt black rails too, although the original owner of this boat opted for traditional stainless steel ones.

The walkaround decks are completely stepless, with just a gentle upward slope as you head forward along the safe and well protected side decks. Practical details include a very solid looking D-section rub-rail around the gunwale and bathing platform, and there is a lift section in the platform allowing easy access to the outdrive.

Performance

On the cusp of twin engines most of these got a single D6 in 330hp, 370hp or 400hp guise (this boat has the D6-400 for about 32 knots). But there was a single Yanmar V8 370hp option and twin engines were also available – a pair of D4-300s that punt the boat up to 45 knots!

Sliding side doors and sunroof open up the wheelhouse to the elements on warmer days

Seakeeping

It’s Finnish, it’s a walkaround, you’d expect it to be good and you’d be right. We described it as “a combination of RIB-baiting agility and prowess through the rough stuff that makes the boat a joy to drive”.

Specifications

LOA: 32ft 7in (10m)
Beam: 10ft 0in (3.3m)
Draft: 3ft 3in (1m)
Displacement: 5.1 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 500 litres
Engine: Volvo Penta D6-400 400hp diesel
Location: Hamble
Contact: Marco Marine

First published in the January 2024 issue of MBY.

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This article Best all-season boats: 4 reassuringly rugged options from the secondhand market appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

We don’t usually feature new water toys that are still in the design stage, but we made an exception for this one because it looks like it belongs in a Star Wars movie!

What’s more, prototypes of the Pelagion HydroBlade are up and running and there is a real manufacturing facility.

The concept is an electric hydrofoiling high speed PWC that’s far more stable and thus easier to ride than many of the products currently on the market.

There are handlebars to hang on to and steer it, and the Pelagion HydroBlade sits on three points like a tricycle.

Article continues below…

Toy of the month: You don’t have to be an athlete to master the Flitescooter

Toy of the Month: The 35-knot Mo-Jet is five electric water toys in one

The Pelagium Hydroblade weighs just over 100kg and will reach almost 40 knots apparently, thanks to twin electric motors with an 8kW peak and 5kW continuous rating.

Twin 5.5kWh batteries offer both a four-hour run time and a four-hour charge time courtesy of a 1,600W charger.

A handlebar phone mount gives access to music and navigation as well as a HydroBlade app to control performance, although the manufacturer suggests you fit a waterproof phone case to protect it!

Pelagion Hydroblade specifications

LOA: 11ft 6in / 3.5m
Weight: 104kg
Motor: 2 x 8kW peak
Top speed: 40 knots / 70km/h
Battery:  2 x 5.5kWh
Run time: 4 hours
Charge time: <4 hrs
Starting price: $18,999

This article Toy of the Month: Pelagion HydroBlade is the foiling tricycle of the future appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

In the 1970s, Princess Yachts and Sunseeker were two British leisure boat brands clearly defined by their product ranges.

Princess was the sensible one, building a worthy range of flybridge boats, whereas Sunseeker curated a slightly more maverick image, making low, sleek high-performance open sportscruisers that might lack the volume but made up for it with dazzling style and the promise of high performance.

It took until the mid-1980s before both manufacturers started eying up the competition and the lines started to get blurred.

Princess launched the 286 Riviera, an open sportscruiser that trod lightly on the toes of Sunseeker’s Portofino 31 but offered a little more internal comfort; Sunseeker launched its first flybridge boat, the Jamaican 35, that brushed gently against the Princess 35 but offered slightly more performance via its slimmer and more easily driven hull.

Princess’s Riviera range of open-cockpit boats grew to include models like the excellent shaftdrive 36 Riviera and the flagship 46 Riviera, but sensible, practical and unshowy vessels were always at the forefront.

Article continues below…

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Then, in 1994, Princess launched the V Class with two new boats that broke the mould: the Princess V39 and the Princess V52. Gone were the plain-Jane white hulls with double knuckles, in were smooth shapely topsides in dark blue or maroon (although white was still available).

The old-fashioned stainless steel windscreen frames were history, replaced by chunky white GRP, and radar arches jutted aggressively forward. The V52 was, by some margin, the largest and coolest open boat Princess had ever made. It didn’t just throw down the gauntlet in Sunseeker’s back garden, it lobbed an entire hand grenade into it.

On board, a large tender garage with built-in crane was hidden beneath a massive aft sunpad while down below, high-gloss burr maple or mahogany was referred to as a ‘superyacht finish’. And under the cockpit floor, two meaty MAN D2866 LE401 600hp engines gave it the bite to match the bark.

Top speed was mid-30 knots or more, and the rev band of the low-revving diesels was so narrow that it would do 6 knots at tick-over. On one engine! Snick the other into gear and you’d be closing on 8 knots.

That issue was solved by fitting larger MAN D2848 LE403 800hp engines as these would run on a single cylinder bank at low revs. Despite such overt styling, Princess ensured the V52 was a wide, comfortable and practical boat with three cabins and two heads as well as a huge saloon on the lower deck.

The V series was marketed with the rather pointed slogan ‘Performance without compromise’ and the Princess V52 became the coolest kid at the 1994 Southampton Boat Show. Job done.

Princess V52 specifications

Year: 1994
LOA: 16m
Beam: 4.2m
Power: Twin MAN D2866 LE401 600hp diesel engines
Speed: 35 knots
Price when launched: £317,000 (ex. VAT)

This article World's coolest boats: Why the Princess V52 is the original ice queen appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

Have you noticed how everyone is driving SUVs and MPVs instead of traditional family saloon or estate cars these days? Ford has stopped making the Mondeo altogether, a fact that would have been unimaginable two decades ago.

We’re seeing a similar shift in the boat world, with the rise of SUV (sport utility vessels) from the likes of Axopar and Saxdor becoming the default choice for family boats, a market segment once dominated by the likes of Fletcher and Bayliner.

But while they are here to stay, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of more traditional concepts like cuddy cabin boats, because they do such a brilliant job of bridging the gap between fun open boats and full-on sportscruisers.

The priority stays on performance, looks and cockpit space, but that cuddy gives you space to stow gear, get changed, shelter from the weather and even overnight if you can go without a few creature comforts. Here are four great options…

4 of the best cuddy cabin boats

Cranchi E26 Classic

Built: 2019
Price: £139,995

A doyen of cuddy cabin designs from way back when, Cranchi has a rich back catalogue of boats, like the 24 Turchese and 28CSL, so if anyone was primed to tap back into the cuddy cabin market, it was this Italian builder.

Launched in 2019, the Cranchi E26 comes in two forms. The Rider is an open-bow outboard engine version to tap into the modern zeitgeist. But the Classic is a proper old-school cuddy cabin inboard engine sportster.

Interior

The whole point of cuddy cabin boats is to have a small cabin beneath the foredeck, so it’s simply a fact rather than a criticism that there isn’t much to be found below decks. All you get is a crawl-in space with seating and infills to create a small double berth.

An optional sea toilet looks rather incongruous sat in the middle of the floor rather than hidden beneath a berth, but it’s a useful option, as is the fridge that reduces internal seating slightly. But it’s probably a worthwhile trade off, given that these interiors are rarely used for sleeping in.

The cuddy has seating with infills to create a double berth, plus an optional sea toilet

Exterior

The cockpit layout is very traditional. It has twin pedestal helm seats forward and a bench seat aft with an extended chaise longue section. There’s a sunpad above the engine hatch with a lift-out centre section to create a walk-through to the full-width bathing platform.

But it is beautifully executed. Cranchi has imbued it with a retro vibe that really suits the character of the boat. The upholstery is redolent of a 1960s Lamborghini, there’s striped teak on the floor and the single-spoke steering wheel is cool.

Performance

Cranchi offered the E26 with a single Volvo Penta D4-270, which produced about 32 knots when we tested it. There was also the option of Volvo Penta petrols – a 280hp V6 or 350hp V8. This boat is fitted with the V6 variant, which should give a similar 32-knot top end. The V8 would lift that to the high 30s.

The traditional layout of the helm features twin pedestal seats with cool retro styling

Seakeeping

We found the E26 to be “poised and alert” at speed, with a “tremendous running attitude and masses of grip”.

Specifications

LOA: 25ft 9in (7.8m)
Beam: 8ft 2in (2.5m)
Draft: 3ft 3in (1.0m)
Displacement: 2.5 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 270 litres
Engine: Volvo Penta V6 280hp petrol engine
Location: Windermere
Contact: boats.co.uk

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Marex 270 Estremo

Built: 2011
Price: £79,950

Norwegian company, Marex, builds some of the most sensible motor cruisers on the ocean, specialising in hard-top wheelhouse cruisers with manual sliding roofs, big windows and easy-to-deploy canopies.

In fact, there’s even a promotional video for the recent Marex 330 Scandinavia that shows the owner putting a fender out! If you can show me just one Sunseeker video where the owner is handling any deck gear, I’d be amazed!

And then one day, someone in the Marex design team (I’m presuming) woke up full of existential crisis, drove to work, pausing only to trade his Volvo estate for a Harley Davidson, penned the Marex 270 Estremo, threw it at the company bosses and ran off with Ingrid from accounts.

Unsure what to do with this strange apparition that looked a bit like a boat but didn’t have a roof, they built it! It’s a rare beast. There’s only one in the UK and we love it!

Interior

This is a proper cuddy cabin boat, so below decks there is just a vee-shaped dinette that converts to a double bed. But of course it is a Marex, so the quality of fit-out is first class and there are lots of practical touches such as a separate heads compartment and plenty of storage.

The fit-out in the cuddy is every bit as high-end as you’d expect from Marex

Exterior

In the cockpit, there’s a similar sense of Lamborghini by Volvo. The floor is low, dropping the centre of gravity and keeping the lines of the craft sleek, but in the forward port corner is a very useful galley, complete with hob, fridge and sink.

The helm has a pair of bucket seats snuggled up against each other and back aft, a long sunpad over the engine compartment has a backrest that slides forward to create a bench seat or aft to maximise lounging space.

Performance

The standard engine is a perfectly adequate Volvo Penta D4-260, but if you really want to impress, opt for the D6-370 fitted to this boat. We described the acceleration on test as “outrageous” on its way to a 40+ knot top end!

Behind the helm seats, the aft bench uses a sliding backrest so you can expand your sunpad

Seakeeping

A very deep vee hull gives great seakeeping, “limpet-like” grip and spectacular high-speed cornering angles.

Specifications

LOA: 26ft 9in (8.2m)
Beam: 9ft 2in (2.8m)
Draft: 3ft 1in (0.9m)
Displacement: 2.8 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 400 litres
Engine: Volvo Penta D6-370 370hp diesel
Location: Poole
Contact: Wessex Marine

Rinker 232 Captiva

Built: 2005
Price: £25,995

Rinker is an American brand that actually dates back to the 1950s, when farmer Lossie L.E Rinker of the Midwest began building fishing boats and then racing boats on the White River.

It was when Rinker’s sons joined the business that Rinkerbuilt was founded in Syracuse, Indiana, becoming one of the first manufacturers to build boats using fibreglass.

More recently, part of the Polaris Group, production halted in 2020 after “considering market dynamics and the continued uncertainty around the sustained impact of the COVID-19 pandemic”. Ironically, the boat market then exploded in popularity shortly afterwards.

Interior

It’s a cuddy cabin boat so the usual caveats of limited headroom and facilities apply, but actually this is a pretty nice space. It’s well trimmed with a tiny porthole to each side, as well as an opening hatch in the ceiling. The U-shaped seating area also has a table on a demountable leg and infills to create a double berth.

The full-beam cockpit features an L-shaped sofa with a neat little recess for a cooler

Exterior

As ever, the outside is the place to be. This boat has the extended bathing platform, perfect for watersports enthusiasts, and the cockpit extends right to the edges, with an opening windscreen giving easy access onto the foredeck.

There’s a fair bit of seating ahead of the sunpad over the engine space. An L-shaped settee to starboard has a cooler beneath it and there’s a built-in seat to port, as well as twin helm seats that can swivel to join the party.

A colour-coded red camper canopy matches the scarlet topsides and encloses this whole area. Or you can take the sides out and leave the top up as a bimini to provide some shade.

Performance

The ubiquitous Mercruiser 350 Magnum V8 petrol engine is de rigueur in an American sportsboat of this size and type. That 350 refers to swept size in cubic inches (it’s 5.7 litres). It actually produces 300hp to give a top speed of about 40 knots.

The helm seats swivel so you can join the cockpit party

Seakeeping

The whole point of a cuddy cabin boat is its low-slung sporty stance, and the Rinker 232 Captiva takes full advantage of that with fast, confident handling and strong agility through the turns.

Specifications

LOA: 23ft 6in (7.2m)
Beam: 8ft 3in (2.5m)
Draft: 2ft 9in (0.9m)
Displacement: 2 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 284 litres
Engine: Mercruiser 350 Magnum 300hp petrol engine
Location: Brixham
Contact: One Marine

Yamarin 68DC

Built: 2014
Price: £59,950

Geographically, Finland isn’t actually part of Scandinavia but in boat building terms, boats from Finland fall squarely into the practical, high quality, ultra-capable subset we call Scandinavian boats.

Dating back to 1972, the name Yamarin derives from the fact that its parent company was a Yamaha outboard engine dealer. Rather than having to buy an outboard engine and then find a boat to put it on, it made sense to provide customers with a complete boating package.

And since the boats would all have Yamaha engines, the decision was made to combine Yamaha with Marine, thus creating Yamarin.

There are three model ranges: SC are open boats with a side console, BR are open bow riders and the cuddy cabin boats sail under the DC moniker for Day Cruiser. The number denotes the length, so at 6.8m, this is a 68DC.

Interior

That Day Cruiser badge sums up the cuddy cabin boat philosophy rather well. Yes, of course you can sleep on board, but these boats are mostly used for day cruising, with the cabin reserved as a handy place to tuck yourself away or use the facilities.

In this case, when you lift the centre of the forward bed, you will find a plumbed-in sea toilet. That’s a major blessing during the day, but you might not make yourself too popular with whoever you’re sharing the cabin with if you need to use it at night!

A plumbed-in sea toilet is located beneath the centre of the bed

Exterior

In common with most Scandinavian boats, the cockpit is deemed the living space, which is why the compact galley (a fridge and a sink) is up here rather than down below. The double helm is opposite and there’s a swinging backrest allowing this seating area to join the sociable U-shaped settees aft.

The fact that the 68DC is outboard-powered means this area reaches almost all the way to the back of the boat, so a sunpad over the engine space is not required. The canopy stows neatly into the transom area, making it quick and easy to deploy.

Performance

Expect Yamaha outboards from 115hp to 250hp. This one has the top-rated 250hp unit for a 40-knot top end.

A wraparound seating zone with compact wet bar creates a very sociable day space

Seakeeping

Back to where we came in, this might not technically be a Scandinavian boat, but it exhibits the superior seakeeping you would expect of a boat from this region.

Specifications

LOA: 22ft 4in (6.8m)
Beam: 8ft 2in (2.5m)
Draft: 3ft 3in (1m)
Displacement: 1.8 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 190 litres
Engine: Yamaha F250 250hp petrol engine
Location: Torquay
Contact: One Marine

First published in the December 2023 issue of MBY.

This article Best cuddy cabin boats: 4 surprisingly cool options on the used market appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

In 1999 two distinctive boats featured in the new James Bond film The World Is Not Enough. The basic premise was a failed assassination attempt at MI6 from the River Thames, and the gunning platform was a Sunseeker Superhawk 34. But arguably the coolest boat in that sequence was the Q Boat that 007 gave chase in.

Built by Riddle Marine of Idaho, USA, 15 craft were supplied for filming duties, all powered by 300hp V8 petrol engines which gave them a 50-knot top speed. Simon Crane and Vic Armstrong headed up the ‘Second Unit’ stunt team, and they soon discovered that these powerful little craft offered a wealth of opportunity.

Jet boats produce a constant flow of water, the speed of flow and direction allowing the boat to manoeuvre rather than a gearbox with forward, neutral and reverse of a conventional drive.

So with a jet, it’s possible to engage reverse at full throttle, the boat stopping so suddenly that it can dip the bow under. They used this for a stunt where 007 appears to dive the boat under a barrier.

They also fitted high pressure nitrogen nozzles at each end of the transom, one pointing up, the other down, which could flip an airborne boat 360 degrees in the air.

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A ramp was fitted to the Sunseeker out of sight and the jet boat jumped it, performing the barrel roll in mid-air before landing and delivering a glancing blow to the dockside (edited out in the film).

Six cameras captured it in a single take. The chase climaxed at the Millennium Dome, still under construction in 1999.

Having torpedoed the Superhawk, causing it to be rammed into the shore so that the assassin could escape in a hot air balloon, the last jet boat stunt was to jump the burning Sunseeker, clear a low wall and land in a small lake, Bond – played by Pierce Brosnan – having decamped mid-flight onto the balloon.

The stunt team had a five-minute window of slack water to make the jump, allowing just one attempt per day. Six attempts later it was in the bag, completing six weeks of filming for six screen minutes of spectacular boating stunts.

Q Boat specifications

YEAR: 1999
LOA: 4.6m
BEAM: 1.5m
POWER: Single 300hp V8 petrol engine
TOP SPEED: 50 knots

This article World's coolest boats: Why the Q Boat from The World Is Not Enough is 007's ultimate pocket rocket appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

Yamaha has upgraded almost all of its Waverunner Personal Water Craft for 2024, with nine of its 11-strong fleet featuring modifications and upgrades.

Chief of which is a new 1.9-litre High Output naturally aspirated engine which will be fitted to many of the new jet ski models.

Up 25hp and almost 100cc, Yamaha says it is ‘a quieter, more efficient engine, higher in power and offering more torque’.

There is also a brand-new seven-inch touch screen Connext® display with Security and Enhanced Drive Control Modes – including Economy, Towing, Performance, Comfort and Customisable Drive Modes – which will be fitted to all of the new FX models.

Yamaha’s Waverunner PWC collection is split into three categories. The Cruising range of larger vessels, designed for ‘exploration and adventure’, will get the new engines in its HO models.

There are also new colour schemes, from Dusty Navy to its Limited Edition in Black Solid with fresh new dark orange matte details.

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£10899

Sport is the high-performance series, featuring two sit-on machines plus a stand-up sled.

The SVHO model gets a new Deep Purplish Blue Metallic colour scheme while the GP HO gets Black Solid with Torch Red Metallic hull and Matte Bluish White details.

Finally, the single Recreation model, the restyled Jetblaster, is designed, Yamaha says, “for a relaxed, fun and enjoyable experience”.

This article Toy of the month: Yamaha goes upgrade crazy on 2024 Waverunner range appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

Neighbours of mine have possibly the most beautiful 1960s Porsche 911 I’ve ever seen. Period-perfect details include the Fuchs alloys it sits on, the delicate chromed vents in the front, the chrome overriders on the rear bumper and the twin stainless steel exhausts jetting out of the centre of the rear.

Inside there is beautiful chequered upholstery and a period-appropriate three-spoke Momo-style steering wheel. But what’s really interesting is that it’s not a Sixties car at all, it’s a Nineties 964 version 911 and that means that it drives like a far more modern car and has such modern niceties as heated seats and air conditioning.

The result is all the style of the Sixties era but with the comfort and dynamics of a far more modern car. And it’s a combination that isn’t exclusive to the automotive industry. Here are three beautifully retro-styled vessels that evoke times past, plus one genuine classic for those who really do insist upon the real deal.

Supermarine Spearfish 32

Built: 2021
Price: £258,000

If you want authenticity to go with your retro-styled boat then you’ve come to the right place. The Spearfish name dates back to the late 1960s when Fairey Marine commissioned Alan Burnard to come up with a GRP boat that followed the concept of its ‘instant classics’ Swordsman and Huntsman.

The Spearfish 30 was born, plus a military version called the Spear. Northshore, in Chichester, builds the current version utilising the original Spearfish 30 mould tools.

Interior

In the same vein as those early boats, this is a vessel designed from the outside in. Make the boat look great (and it really does look great) and fit out whatever is inside as a cabin, a far cry from the modern concept of making a huge cabin and then trying to style a boat around it.

As a result there is no mid cabin, just a converting dinette in the forepeak and a galley opposite the heads. It is beautifully executed, with a clean modern aesthetic that makes the most of the space.

Space below is limited but what there is has been beautifully designed and executed

Exterior

That no-compromise philosophy results in arguably the best looking circa 30ft boat on the water. It absolutely nails the classic Fairey vibe with its rounded heavily flared bow, low coachroof and beautiful curve of stainless steel windscreen frame, topped with a radar wing supported by pale grey spars.

Lack of a mid cabin means that the cockpit sole is sat deep into the hull, lowering the centre of gravity as well as maintaining the low profile look. Three SHOX 6300 shock absorbing helm seats dominate the forward section of the cockpit with a dinette aft ahead of two long sunloungers that stretch out to the transom.

Performance

Twin Mercruiser TDI 4.2L V8 diesels produce 370hp apiece, giving strong acceleration – 3,200rpm is a 30 knot canter and 4,200rpm a 46 knot flat-out blast!

Modern navigation equipment and suspension seats make it fast, comfortable and fun

Seakeeping

We tested this boat in a choppy Solent, finding it “genuinely more comfortable at higher speeds, when the hull fell into step with the rhythm of the crests, nonchalantly ironing them out,” concluding that, “In the Spearfish 32, the legend lives on.”

Specifications

Length: 35ft 2in (11m)
Beam: 9ft 8in (3m)
Draft: 2ft 9in (0.8m)
Displacement: 4.5 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 600 litres
Engines: Twin Mercruiser TDI 4.2L V8 370hp diesel engines
Location: Chichester
Contact: Supermarine Motor Yachts Ltd

Article continues below…

Spirit P70 test drive: This British beauty is more than worth the wait

Secondhand boat buyers’ guide: 4 of the best practical classics for sale

Spirit P40 2+2

Built: 2016
Price: £580,000

If you’ve seen either of the James Bond films Casino Royale or the (treacherous) No Time To Die, you’ll have seen a Spirit yacht in action. It’s what the movie producers put Daniel Craig aboard when they wanted to place the world’s classiest secret agent in the nautical equivalent of his classic Aston Martins.

Perhaps best known for its classically styled wood epoxy sailing yachts, the Suffolk-based boat builder also produces a handful of wooden motor launches and cruisers, the largest of which is the utterly beautiful Spirit P70. And a little further down the range, this Spirit P40 is another exquisite example of master craftsmanship.

Interior

Intriguingly, the P40 is an open cockpit sportscruiser with a single wood-framed ensuite owner’s cabin beneath the foredeck. Intriguing because that’s clearly not what you are looking at here.

This ‘2+2’ version was built for an owner who wanted more weather protection. So the owner’s cabin beneath the foredeck remains, but instead of the open cockpit, this particular boat has a ‘summer house’, an enclosed deck saloon with a small galley area just aft of the central helm position and then two settees running along either side.

Now that is what an owner’s cabin on all wooden motor yachts should look like!

Exterior

The result of the ‘summer house’ is to put most of the usually outside areas inside, making this a true all-year-round proposition. There is, however, an aft deck outside, and of course the fabulous looking flat topped flush foredeck. The hull retains its magnificent bow flare and unusual vertically stowed Ultra anchor.

Performance

Epoxy wood sounds heavy but is surprisingly light, which is why this boat weighs the same as the considerably smaller Supermarine Spearfish 32. And although not as fast, it still manages a commendable 35 knots from far smaller 260hp Yanmar diesels running through sterndrives.

The deck saloon ‘summer house’ is finished to the same exquisite standards as the hull

Seakeeping

A true planing lightweight hull and a narrow beam (the Spirit P40 is actually narrower than the Spearfish) combine with outdrives to give lively performance very much in
the ethos of the gentleman’s sports yacht conception.

Specifications

Length: 40ft 4in (12.3m)
Beam: 9ft 6in (2.9m)
Draft: 3ft 1in (0.9m)
Displacement: 4.5 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 700 litres
Engines: Twin Yanmar 260hp diesel engines
Location: UK
Contact: Sandeman

Duchy 35

Built: 2019
Price: £630,000 (ex. VAT)

Visit Cockwells in Cornwall and you’re likely to find founder and managing director Dave Cockwell in overalls in the factory helping to build some of the finest custom made boats in the country. He is a proper boat builder and he builds proper boats, from one-off superyacht tenders to private yacht commissions.

A few years ago the company started producing a series production boat called the Duchy 27 which could be built on spec rather than requiring a firm order. So successful was it that a larger version was launched in 2017, the Duchy 35.

Interior

Two layout options were offered, either two cabins, each with a double berth, plus the heads on the lower deck and the galley in the saloon, or this version, which has a single cabin forward and the galley on the lower deck, clearing the saloon for seating, dining and of course the helm.

And it’s at the helm where you realise that behind the classic lines lies bang-up-to-date engineering. The entire switching for the boat, for example, is handled by an Empress Canbus system, so everything from fuel levels to lighting can be monitored or switched from one of the two Raymarine screens at the helm.

This particular boat also sports full air conditioning, a Seakeeper stabiliser and solar panels.

Galley down layout frees up the wheelhouse for a pair of long sofas and a dining table

Exterior

The hull was originally created in wood as a plug for the mould from which the GRP hulls are formed. It’s an extremely easy boat to access and work, with doors everywhere – a transom door, side door from cockpit to side deck, saloon doors that bifold against the sides and a further door next to the helm. This particular boat has polished wooden cabin sides too.

Performance

Standard engines are a pair of 270hp Nanni diesels on shaft drive which gave 26 knots when we tested the first boat. This particular example has the upgraded 350hp motors which should nudge 30 knots.

Wonderfully sociable cockpit is perfect for picnics at anchor with the Seakeeper running

Seakeeping

We tested this boat in near gale force winds and discovered that the semi-displacement hull gave the wipers a workout but delivered a rock solid and ultra confident ride.

Specifications

Length: 38ft 0in (11.5m)
Beam: 12ft 6in (3.8m)
Draft: 2ft 9in (0.8m)
Displacement: 8.8 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 600 litres
Engines: Twin Nanni T8V350 350hp diesel engines
Location: Guernsey
Contact: Cockwells

Thornycroft Battle Class

Built: 1944
Price: £199,999

There are, of course, two ways of getting a retro-styled boat with facilities more modern than the exterior might have you believe. The first, as demonstrated above, is to build a modern boat with retro styling, but the second, as evidenced here, is to start with an old boat and add some modern comforts.

This particular vessel started life as one of 14 Battlefield Class high-speed target towing launches built by Thornycroft for the MOD in 1944 and is believed to be the only seagoing vessel left of her class.

There is some incredible history behind this boat from her service days with the Royal Army Service Corp as well as her time in commercial use as a survey vessel when she surveyed the sea floor for the Channel Tunnel.

Interior

The interior is where the biggest changes have been made, transforming what was once a utilitarian working ship into something far more cosy and comfortable.

So there’s now a large air conditioned saloon aft, a galley equipped with mod cons such as a dishwasher, and six berths in three cabins, including a huge owner’s cabin complete with ensuite – luxuries that those crewing her around the end of World War Two could barely have dreamt of.

Saloon now boasts unheard of luxuries for a former MOD high-speed target towing craft

Exterior

Sensibly, the exterior has been left very traditional – surely the point of a classic boat like this. Diagonal wooden planking is clearly evident in the topsides, protected by a heavy duty mahogany rubbing strake. A flybridge with repeater engine controls and wheel has been added so sympathetically that you’d think it was original.

Performance

Rolls-Royce supercharged C6SFLM diesel engines on shafts with hydraulic Self-Change gearboxes were apparently rebuilt by Perkins prior to sale in 1994 and give an 8-10 knot cruising speed with a maximum speed of about 14 knots.

The mix of old and new works surprisingly well in the revamped wheelhouse

Seakeeping

At nearly 70ft long and built out of wood with an eye for strength over performance, it’s fair to expect seakeeping to be every bit as stately as the rest of this fine ship.

Specifications

Length: 69ft 0in (21m)
Beam: 15ft 8in (4.8m)
Draft: 4ft 7in (1.4m)
Displacement: 36 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 19,000 litres
Engines: Twin Rolls Royce supercharged C6SFLM diesel inboard engines
Location: Kent
Contact: Waterside Boat Sales

First published in the November 2023 issue of MBY.

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This article Best retro boats: 4 appealingly old fashioned options available on the used market appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

Using lightweight high-tensile fabrics based on kite surfing technology, the smallest 250 model of the EzRaft weighs just 11kg, and measures 80x30x30cm when packed up, making it back-packable.

Its construction means strength, safety and durability are assured while the patented three-tube design requires no heavy structural parts. Even the paddles are telescopic.

EzRaft says it takes about five minutes to inflate and deflate. Inflated, the 250 is 250cm long, the 280 is 280cm long and the 310 is, well… you get the picture.

Article continues below…

Toy of the month: Silent Tender 400 is a breath of fresh air

Toy of the month: The multi-functional Walker Bay 14 Venture RIB tender

Once afloat, the trimaran design means it’s more like a raft than a conventional inflatable boat. You sit high, and since the floor is above the waterline, it self-drains.

There’s a removable transom mounting plate for an outboard engine, with all three sizes taking up to 4hp (3kW).

The 250 model can carry four people/350kg, with the 280 and 310 carrying five and six people respectively.

The EzRaft could prove to be a real boon for smaller boats unable to carry a normal inflatable. Prices start from €880.

EzRaft 250 specifications

Dimensions (inflated): 250 x 145 x 52 cm
Dimensions (packed): 80 x 30 x 30cm
Weight: 11kg
Engine capacity: Up to 4hp outboard
Maximum payload: 350kg
Starting price: €880

This article Toy of the Month: EzRaft is the ideal micro-tender for smaller boats appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

We often talk about what makes a boat cool. Often it’s simply the way it looks, or perhaps a storied history or an appearance in a notable movie or TV show.

But sometimes it’s simply what it can do, and how it does it. For example, the ability to deliver over 250 people from point to point at over 35 knots in surprising style and comfort.

If you’ve ever boated in the Southampton area you’ll almost certainly have seen the Red Jet ferries thundering down Southampton Water and across the Solent to Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

Three fast ferries combine to give a 19-hour-a-day schedule. Operated by Red Funnel, which also runs somewhat more sedate car ferries, the company has been bridging the gap between the mainland and the island since the mid 1800s, when paddle steamers plied their trade.

Journey times took a significant cut when the first fast ferries were introduced in 1969. Carrying 54 passengers, the Italian-designed Shearwater and Shearwater 2 sported hydrofoils that lifted the hulls clear of the water at speed.

Larger hydrofoil boats followed, running for over two decades before the first fast catamarans entered service in 1991, Red Jet 1 and Red Jet 2.

Article continues below…

World's coolest boats: Our ultimate cool boats hall of fame

World’s coolest boats: Virgin Atlantic Challenger 2 is as cool as the icebergs it dodged

The latest boat to join the fleet is Red Jet 7. Built by Wight Shipyard in East Cowes and measuring 134ft 10in by 35ft 9in, it carries 260 foot passengers, two wheelchairs and includes a bike rack for two-wheeled commuters.

Each hull packs a pair of MTU 2000 Series diesel engines, all four of which combine to provide almost 5,000hp to four water jets.

Interestingly, previous Red Jet ferries had one MTU 4,000 Series engine per hull. Changing to two per side gives a better power to weight ratio, greater efficiency and the ability to continue a reduced speed service in the event of a single engine failure.

The Hamilton water jets offer incredible manoeuvrability (it’s possible to dock the entire ship using a single joystick in a similar way to an IPS joystick), low draft (4ft 3in) and the useful side effect of being able to crash stop by simply dropping the reverse thrust buckets at high speed, effectively going from full ahead to full astern so quickly that the ferry will stop within its own length, a factor that’s both extremely cool and reassuring given the amount of traffic in the Solent.

We’d certainly like to see it but would rather not experience it!

Red Jet 7 specifications

Year: 2018
LOA: 134ft 10in (41.1m)
Beam: 35ft 9in (10.9m)
Power: 4 x MTU 10V 2000 M72 1,200hp diesel engines
Speed: 40 knots
Price when launched: £7 million

First published in the November 2023 issue of MBY.

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This article World’s coolest boats: Why Red Jet 7 is the next best thing to Red Arrow appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

While prices seem broadly steady, it is beginning to feel like a little more choice at least is beginning to creep into the used boat market. Where 12 months ago most of the good stuff was sold before it even got as far as broker’s websites, there is now more of a selection to choose from, which is good news for buyers and for anyone writing a used boat column.

What it means in particular is that we’ve been able to bring you a really interesting and varied selection for your delectation this month. Your £100,000 will put you behind the wheel of one of the best built and best-handling driving machines on the water, or at the helm of a mid-40ft Princess cruiser with home-from-home accommodation.

Or perhaps you’d opt for the brilliantly practical hard top Grandezza or the quirky but intriguing Nimbus 380 Commander? You pays your money and you gets plenty of choice.

4 of the best boats under £100,000

Grandezza 27OC

Built: 2012
Price: £89,950

Finnish company Grandezza makes two versions of this boat (to be precise, they currently make two versions of the 28, but it’s basically an upgrade of this 27 model).

There’s an open version with removable canopies over the cockpit, known as the 27DC and this, the enclosed (albeit open-backed) hardtop version known as the Grandezza 27OC. And it’s this version in particular that lends itself so very well to the British climate.

Interior

The lower deck of the 27 (in open or hardtop version) is a simple, cosy and nicely finished affair. Open plan, it sports a pair of double berths, one in the forepeak offset to port and another further aft that runs back beneath the cockpit.

It’s unusual in that most four-berth sub-30 footers require at least one bed to convert from seating but these are both permanent (as well as a small separate settee). There’s also a compact but perfectly functional heads down here.

Permanent double berth foward is unusual on a boat of this size and style

Exterior

Those two permanent doubles are made possible by putting all of the living accommodation on the main deck in the cockpit, but sheltered by that hardtop. So the galley is to starboard behind a single seat alongside the helm, and the helm itself features a double seat with a small settee behind it facing aft across a table to a larger settee.

This starboard area is raised, which gives a better view, but also more headroom for the bed beneath it. All of this is protected by that hardtop which arches right back to the transom. And by giving that such a big roof, it’s created space for a pretty decent sliding opening section above the helm.

Performance

Grandezza offered various options, from a 320hp V8 petrol through three Volvo Penta diesel engines of 220hp, 260hp or 300hp. All are single installations mated to a sterndrive.

We tested this boat in the beautiful Finnish archipelago with the same specification mid-range D4-260 that this boat has, and it ran surprisingly well, giving us 34 knots flat-out which means that even with a bit of age and growth, 30 knots should still be on the cards.

Covered cockpit can be used all year round and is both practical and smartly finished

Seakeeping

We also discovered that it was blesssed with a comfortable ride, sure-footed handling and a very sheltered helm position.

Specifications

LOA: 27ft 2in (8.3m)
Beam: 9ft 3in (2.8m)
Draft: 3ft 3in (1.0m)
Displacement: 3.3 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 265 litres
Engine: Volvo Penta D4-260 260hp diesel engine
Location: Southampton
Contact: Approved Boats

Article continues below…

Best boats around £150k: Our pick of the secondhand market

Secondhand boat buyers’ guide: 4 of the best boats for sale for under £80,000

Princess 435

Built: 1991
Price: £99,950

Launched in 1987, the 435 is a rare beast, an aft cabin Princess that offers accommodation the full length of the boat. It wasn’t the first, it followed the Princess 414 (1981-1987) that evolved from the 41 (1977-1982), but it was the last.

When production ceased in 1992 it bought to a close a 15-year unbroken run of aft cabin models from what was then known as Marine Projects. The yard has never revisited the idea since.

Interior

That aft cabin layout is key because it creates space for a huge square owner’s cabin right at the back of the boat complete, of course, with its own en suite. Steps lead up forward to the main deck with a sizeable saloon, featuring a C-shaped seating area opposite a sideboard plus a lower helm – then further steps drop you down to the forward lower deck.

The galley was always placed to port, but opposite there was the option of either a dinette or a third cabin. The dinette of this boat is the preferred option as it opens this area out and can always be used for sleeping if required. Finally, cabin two is in the bow with its central island bed and en suite access to the day head.

The aft cabin is a wonderfully private space with its own en suite bathroom

Exterior

While its predecessors had been John Bennett designs, Bernard Olesinski designed this one, having started penning Princesses just a few years earlier.

That aft cabin layout means a raised aft deck instead of a cockpit, but that does put it closer to the flybridge, meaning moulded stairs rather than the ladder that most flybridge boats of this era got. There are some neat design flourishes too, like the strakes around the aft cabin windows – very 1980s Ferrari Testarossa.

Performance

Twin Volvo Penta TAMD 61 306hp engines were standard, an upgrade to TAMD 71s an option. Originally these were 71A at 358hp but later boats (like this one) got the 380hp 71B motors for a top speed approaching 30 knots.

The galley is on the lower deck but so is the dinette, leaving the saloon free for lounging

Seakeeping

Big boat, shaft drive and an Olesinski hull is now a proven formula, and it gained that reputation on the backs of solid performers like this boat.

Specifications

LOA: 41ft 9in (12.7m)
Beam: 13ft 11in (4.2m)
Draft: 3ft 5in (1.1m)
Displacement: 10 tonnes Fuel capacity: 1,364 litres
Engines: Volvo Penta TAMD 71B 380hp diesel engines
Location: Plymouth
Contact: Ancasta

Windy 28 Ghibli

Built: 2008
Price: £92,500

When I was looking to buy my last boat, the one I wanted – really wanted – was a Windy 28 Ghibli, and six years later I still get slightly unnecessary when I see one. It’s a winning combination of looks, Scandinavian build quality, legendary seakeeping and very strong performance.

Interior

First the bad news. Although it’s nearly 30ft long, this is still very much a cuddy cabin boat. Forget mid cabins and standing headroom, what you get down here is a V-shaped dinette with a table that drops, allowing infills to make up a double, and a heads that you need to reverse into to sit down.

There’s also a small galley area. What it is, however, is beautifully trimmed with some great details like the embossed star in the deeply lacquered table.

The cabin is tight but nicely finished and comfortable enough for weekending

Exterior

And now the good news. Since the cabin is so compact, it leaves the rest of the boat (perhaps 70% of the length) as a huge and comfortable outdoor space.

Helm and navigator seats sit deep, protected by a beautiful stainless steel rimmed wrap-around windscreen complete with trademark inner grab rail, while the centre of the cockpit is a comfortable lounging area around another (detachable) table.

Finally, a sunpad stretches back across the engine space with a walkway next to it to create an easy stroll to the bathing platform. A lack of side decks maximises space and the boat’s low profile might not do much for headroom but pays dividends for the boat’s looks – low, sleek and beautiful.

Performance

The majority of 28 Ghiblis are single-engine, most notably the KAD 44/300 series giving 260/285hp. When the D series engines came on stream, the D4-260 was available but most single engine customers opted for D6 350 and 370 motors.

Twin engines were also on the options list, initially a pair of D3 160s but later twin engine boats (including this one) had D3-190 diesels, which give well over 40 knots but also a very efficient 42 litres per hour at about 30 knots – both a corollary of its low profile, narrow beam and easily driven hull.

Driver-focussed helm and big open cockpit make this ideal for sunny days at sea

Seakeeping

Legendary. A Hans J Johnsen hull like most Windy boats of this era, it’s a boat designed not to need to slow down when the sea gets up.

Specifications

LOA: 27ft 9in (8.5m)
Beam: 8ft 10in (2.7m)
Draft: 2ft 9in (0.8m)
Displacement: 2.7 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 375 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta D3-190 190hp diesel engines
Location: Lymington
Contact: Berthon International

Nimbus 380 Commander

Built: 2001
Price: £105,000

The Nimbus 380 Commander is a (very) gentle evolution of the 370 Commander, the key visual difference being the far chunkier bathing platform of the newer model.

Beyond that and a few other tweaks, this is the same quirky lovable pilothouse cruiser we know and love – almost a cut-price Fleming in terms of the layout (although that sells it short as the Nimbus is a fine quality boat in its own right).

Interior

It’s inside where it earns its ‘quirky’ spurs because this is a layout unlike almost any other (except the aforementioned, far larger, far more expensive Fleming).

Enter the saloon through the aft doors and you’ll actually have to step down a couple of rungs despite this being ostensibly the main deck. There’s a dinette to port with a table that halves in size and lowers to turn this into a lounge area.

Opposite, the entire starboard side is taken up with a huge galley, meaning this can even double as a sort of kitchen diner. Move forward and it’s back up a couple of steps to a separate pilothouse with sliding doors either side and internal access straight up to the flybridge.

Down again to the lower deck forward for two cabins and the heads. It’s a layout that on paper shouldn’t work, yet it does. Brilliantly.

There’s room for two cabins and a heads compartment forward on the lower deck

Exterior

The flybridge is interesting because it’s behind the lower helm rather than over it. Suddenly the reason for that sunken saloon makes sense, it keeps the flybridge low and stops the boat looking ungainly.

With all the doors (aft, two side and one directly between the two helm stations), access is probably the best you’re likely to find on any sub-40ft flybridge cruiser.

Performance

A pair of Volvo Penta KAMD 43 230hp six-cylinder diesel engines live beneath the aft deck, power driving forwards into vee boxes that then send it back through conventional shaft drives beneath the engines. The broker reckons on 25 knots flat-out with a 20-knot cruise.

The main saloon seating and dining area is actually a few steps down from the deck

Seakeeping

Twin shafts combine with a shallow hull keel to make this a very steady boat at low speeds with excellent manoeuvrability. Pick up the speed to discover a solid and steady semi-displacement feel.

Specifications

LOA: 37ft 8in (11.3m)
Beam: 11ft 9in (3.6m)
Draft: 3ft 7in (1.1m)
Displacement: 7 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 755 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta KAMD 43 230hp diesels
Location: Swansea
Contact: yachts.co

First published in the October 2023 issue of MBY.

Four more boats under £100,000 from the October 2022 issue

Beneteau Antares 10.80

Built: 2002
Price: £89,995

Beneteau offers a variety of ranges, all subdivided into different sizes. Flyers are the sportsboats, Gran Turismos the sportscruisers, Swift Trawlers the, err, trawlers that are quite swift and so forth.

The Antares range has always been about practical living and pragmatic looks, and this Beneteau Antares 10.80 is no exception with upright conservative styling and sensible detailing. It’s also, according to the broker, “beautifully presented”, and if the photos are to be believed, it certainly looks to be in turn-key condition.

Interior

“Warm and traditional”, was how we described the interior of the 10.80 when we reviewed it in 2007, and it’s as true today, with its polished wood and cream leather. In fact this model dates back to 1998, which would explain the more traditional feel.

Beneteau eked out space for two decent cabins on the lower deck, one a twin and the other a double, which creates the perfect family configuration. There’s a heads on the lower deck too, but no galley – that lives on the main deck along the starboard side of the saloon.

Forward double cabin isn’t huge but provides a good set-up for familes of four

Exterior

That 1990s styling is particularly evident on the outside but none the worse for it; although slightly dated in places by things like the eyebrow over the windscreens that extends down either side, this is a well proportioned, family-friendly boat.

There’s more than a nod to fishing in the plethora of rod holders but the cockpit includes a small bench seat, and scaling the flybridge ladder introduces you to more seating and a second helm position aloft.

Performance

A pair of Volvo Penta’s ubiquitous KAMD 44 EDC diesel engines lie beneath the saloon floor, pushing 285hp aside through a pair of new five-bladed propellers for a top speed of circa 30 knots and a low to mid 20-knot cruising gait.

Big windows and thin mullions maximise light and views in the traditionally styled saloon

Seakeeping

Shaft drive is another nod to traditionalism, and a good one on a used boat as this is about the simplest layout available. It also keeps the weight of the engines further forward in the hull, which Beneteau combined with a fine entry for good upwind performance, while a shallow keel aids low-speed directional stability.

Specifications

LOA: 35ft 5in (10.8m)
Beam: 11ft 4in (3.4m)
Draught: 3ft 4in (1.0m)
Displacement: 6 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 640 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta KAMD 44EDC 285hp diesels
Location: Southampton
Contact: Parker Adams Boat Sales

Nimbus 370

Built: 1998
Price: £99,950

Scandinavians are not afraid to do things differently, and this Nimbus 370, a model first launched in 1995, is a case in point. It might not follow established concepts and layouts, but it does offer something genuinely different and genuinely useful.

Specifically, three entrances to the interior, six berths, a separate wheelhouse as well as a flybridge – linked via an internal stairway – all within 40ft.

Interior

The interior of this boat is fascinating. Stepping from the aft cockpit into the saloon feels reasonably normal. The galley is on the starboard side, opposite a dinette which converts to create a double bed.

It’s when you head forward that things get interesting because, instead of stepping down to the lower deck, you step up to a proper little wheelhouse, complete with sliding doors on either side – great for access of course, but also brilliant for airflow on a warm day.

Forward again, and finally you head down to a lower deck that utilises the raised wheelhouse to create extra headroom in part of the second cabin, plus the owner’s cabin and the heads.

The forward cabin is one of three sleeping spaces on board the Nimbus 370

Exterior

You’d think that the raised pilothouse might make the Nimbus 370 look top heavy, but cunningly, Nimbus positioned the flybridge behind the raised section and above the saloon so in fact there are no obvious flybridge sides, just stainless steel rails with canvas dodgers, the tops of which are level with the wheelhouse roof.

And it’s that low level position behind the wheelhouse that allows easy access from the flybridge straight down to the lower helm.

Performance

All twin installations, early versions of the 370, were powered by Volvo Penta’s TAMD 41 200hp. These were later replaced by the Yanmar 230hp motors fitted to this boat, and then Volvo’s KAMD 43 230hp engines with D4 260hp engines fitted to the last ones. Figure on up to about 26 knots, depending on engine option.

The saloon and galley have steps leading up to a raised pilothouse and cabins beyond

Seakeeping

One of the many packaging tricks utilised was installing the engines right aft beneath the cockpit, leaving space for accommodation beneath the saloon floor. Although this shifts the centre of gravity aft, seakeeping is still good.

Specifications

LOA: 37ft 8in (11.5m)
Beam: 11ft 9in (3.6m)
Draught: 3ft 6in (1.1m)
Displacement: 7 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 755 litres
Engines: Twin Yanmar 4LH STE 230hp diesel engines
Location: Mylor
Contact: Ancasta

Four Winns 255 Vista

Built: 2017
Price: £98,500

Four Winns is a long established American boat builder based in Cadillac, Michigan, with a rich history of sportscruiser models marketed under the Vista label that once stretched as high as 45ft in length.

Interestingly, every Vista model has now been deleted from the line up, which currently consists entirely of bow-rider sportsboats and a solitary outboard powered wheelhouse model. The reason for this change of direction is down to the Beneteau Group’s takeover in 2014, meaning this Vista 255 is one of the last of an illustrious line.

Interior

The layout of the 255 Vista is an entirely conventional U-shaped dinette forward with a galley opposite the heads at the bottom of the companionway and a double berth running transversely beneath the forward section of the cockpit. What’s more interesting is the finish, because this is a surprisingly attractive and well-trimmed boat inside.

Dark woods, pale fabrics, cream leather and a hardwood floor lend it an entirely upmarket and contemporary vibe. It’s well specced too, although strangely, there appears to be no hob.

Smartly finished cabin is bright, modern and classy for a mass market production boat

Exterior

In fact, there is a hob, but it’s in the cockpit, an electric unit mounted on the wet bar fitted behind the helm seat. It’s a pretty spacious cockpit, with aft seating that turns into a sunbed and a small dinette area.

In part this is due to the favourite American trick on boats of this size of taking the cockpit right to the edges of the boat – access to the foredeck is via an opening section in the windscreen rather than traditional side decks, but also the bathing platform is kept pretty short, again maximising the floorspace in the cockpit.

Performance

A single Mercruiser 4.3 litre V6 lives beneath the cockpit floor, producing up to 240hp on demand for a top speed of about 30 knots and a reasonably economical 20-knot cruise.

Cockpit wetbar includes an electric hob for cooking meals outdoors

Seakeeping

Inevitably, tall and narrow boats such as these can be prone to being a little sensitive to a beam wind, but trim tabs are fitted to return it to an even keel again.

Specifications

LOA: 25ft 2in (7.7m)
Beam: 8ft 4in (2.5m)
Draught: 3ft 0in (0.9m)
Displacement: 3 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 265 litres
Engine: Mercruiser 4.3 litre V6 240hp petrol engine
Location: Southampton
Contact: Argo Yachting

Sealine S34

Built: 1998
Price: £89,950

The mid 30ft sportscruiser market, these days mostly the preserve of the French, was a hard fought sector for British builders back in the 1990s. Fairline fielded its Targa 35, Princess Yachts offered the excellent 346/366 Riviera and Sealine produced over 300 of these practical and likeable Sealine S34s.

Interior

Sealine always majors on interior space and practicality, and this model is no exception. The layout is the usual owner’s cabin forward with a second cabin aft, running beneath the cockpit. A galley, dinette and heads split them.

But it is noticeable for its storage solutions, such as a split mattress in the forward cabin making it easy to lift one section to access a huge locker beneath the berth.

The forward master cabin is complemented by a second guest cabin under the cockpit

Exterior

Neat details include a clamshell opening to the radar arch, allowing the aft section of canopy to be simply rolled up in situ and stowed away, while at the other end of the boat the anchor is concealed by a neat ‘beak’ at the bow.

Unusually, the cockpit floor is one single level (most boats of this type have a raised forward section to increase headroom in the mid cabin) and there are excellent rails on deck, such as those along the edge of the windscreen, making access forward far easier.

Performance

Sealine fitted a huge range of engines to these boats, all twin installations, including petrol, diesel, Mercruiser and Volvo Penta. Some of the very last boats got the later D4 series engines but the vast majority were fitted with the earlier KAD series.

KAD 44 260hp motors were the largest, KAD 43 230hp were also popular. But most (about two thirds in fact) went out with the KAD 32 170hp motors that this boat has.

Whilst not as fast, they still achieve a respectable high 20-knot max and a low 20-knot cruise, and being four-cylinder engines they are lighter and smaller, offering more space in the engine room.

A full set of covers and plenty of seating make the cockpit useable in most weathers

Seakeeping

The hull was shared with the Sealine F33 flybridge model. A lower profile and centre of gravity means that the S34 feels far more stable.

Specifications

LOA: 34ft 6in (10.5m)
Beam: 11ft 10in (3.3m)
Draught: 3ft 1in (0.9m)
Displacement: 5.3 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 564 litres
Engines: Volvo Penta KAD32 170hp diesel engines
Location: Chatham
Contact: Network Yacht Brokers

First published in the October 2022 issue of MBY.

Four more boats under £100,000 from the June 2021 issue

Fairline Targa 37

Built: 1997
Price: £94,950

Introduced as the Targa 36 in 1994, an extended bathing platform saw it quickly morph into the Targa 37, a successful addition to the Fairline range that ran until 2000, by which time almost 200 had been built.

Interior

The layout is entirely typical. A cabin each end of the accommodation, the forward one with a central double berth and the mid-cabin aft burrowing beneath the forward section of the cockpit and featuring a pair of single berths that convert to a double plus a tiny settee, dressing table and hanging locker.

Between them, a dinette (converting to take the sleeping to six) sits opposite the galley. But what sets this boat apart is the build quality — the fit out mirrors the more expensive Fairline Squadron boats of this period with beautifully formed cherry or maple woodwork.

High-quality finish of the woodwork in the lower saloon is a ture Fairline hallmark

Interior

The two arching GRP spars framing the side windows of the windscreen define Fairline Targas of this era. Hull topsides were available in white, teal or blue, the former the most practical (it hides marks and won’t fade), the teal the least popular and the dark blue the smartest and most sought after.

The cockpit layout works well, a lower entertaining area aft and then a raised section further forward that affords the helm a better view as well as adding a vital few inches of headroom to the mid-cabin below.

Performance

Twin V8 petrol engines were on the options list, which would give smooth lively performance at the expense (literally) of increased fuel consumption.

Which is why the majority of Targa 37s went out with a pair of Volvo Penta diesel engines, either the KAD 42 at 230hp aside for low to mid 30 knots performance or the slightly more powerful KAD 44 motors that pushed out 260hp and gave a couple more knots.

The forward owners’ cabin is supplemented by a twin guest cabin and convertible dinette

Seakeeping

Fairline opted for a medium to deep-vee hull form and a wide beam to prioritise internal accommodation. But this is still a willing and able driver’s machine that handles well.

Specification

LOA: 36ft 6in (11.1m)
Beam: 11ft 8in (3.5m)
Draught: 3ft 2in (1.0m)
Displacement: 6.5 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 640 litres
Engines: Twin 230hp Volvo Penta KAD 42 diesels
Contact: TBS Boats

Finnmaster T8

Built: 2017
Price: £95,000

There are two distinct lines in the Finnish boat builder’s Finn-Marin stable. Finnmaster is its sensible range of smaller sportier craft whilst Grandezza is the flagship brand of larger and more glamorous sportscruisers.

Launched in 2014, the T8 was the first of a new ‘T-Series’ of Finnmaster sportsboats designed to fuse the practical of the former with the glamour of the latter.

Interior

Ostensibly a sportsboat rather than a cruiser, there is in fact more going on below decks than you might expect. Instead of the usual horseshoe dinette, there’s a proper fixed double bed forward, and a small settee opposite a usefully generous heads.

The surprise, however, is when you look aft as Finnmaster has squeezed a further double berth lengthways back under the cockpit. Normally you’d need a full on sportscruiser to get a mid-berth at this size point.

Seating for eight around the large folding table with easy to access storage lockers

Exterior

There is no space sapping sunpad at the stern, the cockpit dinette extends right to the transom. In conjunction with a small seat to starboard and two swivelling helm seats, this allows eight people to sit around the large folding table, which also converts to a sunpad with the help of a cushion.

There are plenty of storage lockers under the seats, accessed by hinging the bases forward rather than having to remove them, and there’s a small galley to starboard, complete with a diesel hob, sink and fridge.

Performance

You’d expect 300hp to provide ample urge and it does. We tested this model with an equally potent 300hp Suzuki, which punted the T8 quickly onto the plane and wound out past 40 knots. Cruising at 30 knots was effortless at 4,700rpm — over 1,000rpm down on maximum.

Fixed double bed forward is complemented by another double under the cockpit

Seakeeping

The T8 feels 100% sportsboat. Despite the slightly raised forward cockpit you still sit low and well protected by the high wraparound screen, giving you the confidence to exploit the performance of the 21-degree deadrise hull.

Specification

LOA: 26ft 7in (8.1m)
Beam: 8ft 11in (2.7m)
Draught: 2ft 0in (0.6m)
Displacement: 2.2 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 261 litres
Engine: Yamaha F300 BETX 300hp outboard
Contact: Approved Boats

Intercruiser Cabrio 28

Built: 2013
Price: £95,000

There seems to be a real desire amongst the Dutch (surely the most relaxed and laid back people in the world) to be outside in the fresh air, and it is reflected in their boats. Rather than the buttoned down closed-up go faster craft of the UK, where even sportscruisers are sporting lids these days, the typical Dutch boat is a small, low, and rather elegant displacement craft with the helm right aft like a yacht and a single diesel engine. They call them sloops and Holland’s massive waterway system is full of them.

Interior

The cabin top is low profile so as not to spoil the purity of the lines or the view from the cockpit. It keeps the air draft low for river cruising too. Inside, headroom is compromised as a result, but the deck hatch opening runs well forward so you can stand at the galley.

Opposite this is a simple heads compartment and at the front is a large dinette, the table dropping to create a double berth. It’s all very straightforward and sensible but the quality of finish and construction is superb, with solid feeling cabinetry and high grade upholstery.

The forward dinette next to the galley converts to a double berth for overnighting duties

Exterior

With an elegantly rounded stern and a large bathing platform, the cockpit features a large comfy settee that loops around an aft-mounted centre console with a big vertical wooden wheel, instrumentation and engine controls.

It puts the helmsman right at the back of the boat, making for particularly social cruising. Side decks are wide and easily accessed, and there’s a full length canopy to protect the cockpit that can also be used as a spray hood.

Performance

The Vetus 52hp diesel engine gives a very river friendly 5-knot cruising speed with a top end a knot or two more. In fact Intercruiser fits a range of engines up to 170hp for offshore performance if you need it.

Sociable cockpit has the helm centre stage with a long settee looping all the way round it

Seakeeping

A long keel aids directional stability and protects the propeller, which is particularly useful in the type of shallow inland areas this boat is likely to find itself.

Specification

LOA: 27ft 9in (8.5m)
Beam: 9ft 10in (3.0m)
Draught: 2ft 8in (0.8m)
Displacement: 4.5 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 100 litres
Engine: Vetus 52hp diesel engine
Contact: Val Wyatt Marine

Sealine S38

Built: 2003
Price: £97,500

Launched at the Earl’s Court Boat Show (remember that?) in 2003, the Sealine S38 replaced the long running S37 (itself previously the 360 Ambassador) in Sealine’s range. It sounds very similar but was actually a roomier and far more advanced boat — the traditional wiring loom replaced by multiplex technology, for example.

Interior

The layout is the typical owner’s cabin forward and mid-cabin aft, separated by the galley and dinette, but there are a couple of standout features rare in sub 40-foot boats.

The most obvious is in the mid-cabin, where the usual twin singles running athwartships are present and correct, but you’ll also discover a third berth tucked away in here, brilliant for anyone with more than two kids (or for children’s friends to be able to come along). Further forward, the heads is split between a separate shower cubicle on one side and a toilet on the other.

The lower saloon is big and bright enough for day time use but still cosy at night

Exterior

There is seating for four at the helm, two on a double bench facing it, and two more adjacent on a port side settee, and back aft on the single level cockpit you’ll find a dinette that can convert to a sunpad. The oversized radar arch offers a little shade as well as canopy storage. Up at the bow, anchor storage built into the stem rather than hanging over the foredeck is a neat solution.

Performance

Engine choices were all based around Volvo Penta’s KAD 40 series sterndrive units. All twin installations, you could choose from 43 (230hp), 44 (260hp) or 300 (285hp). The largest option achieved 35 knots, the smaller 44 motors fitted to this boat should be within a few knots of this.

Forward owner’s cabin is generous in size with good storage and quality finishing

Seakeeping

For our test we improvised by using the wash of a 42ft photo boat. Our helmsman said: “Whatever we threw at it, the boat remained controllable, responding to wheel inputs even through the wash.

“There was the odd muted complaint through the hull as we levelled it into a steep one, but by and large it gave an impressive performance”.

Specification

LOA: 37ft 1in (11.3m)
Beam: 12ft 3in (3.7m)
Draught: 3ft 1in (0.9m)
Displacement: 6.3 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 678 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta KAD 44 260hp diesels
Contact: Hutchins Marine

First published in the June 2021 issue of Motor Boat & Yachting.

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This article Best boats under £100,000 from the secondhand market appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

The Blue Riband of the Atlantic Trophy dates back to 1890. It’s an accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest average speed. The Queen Mary held it for a while back in 1938 with an impressive average of 31.69 knots, beaten a few years later by United States at 35.59 knots.

Richard Branson thought it sounded a good wheeze and commissioned a fast boat to blast across and claim the title, himself on board as a paying passenger in a bid to qualify as a passenger-carrying ship.

In 1985 he set out from New York with an experienced crew in a custom-built 65ft powerboat called Virgin Atlantic Challenger and after three-and-a-half days was just 100 miles from the Bishop Rock finish line when it hit a submerged object and sank.

Ironically, the rescue helicopter passed the finish line with the crew within a record-breaking time, but it was generally felt that they really should have brought the boat with them!

Branson commissioned another boat, Virgin Atlantic Challenger 2. Slightly larger at 75ft and designed by Sonny Levi, it was powered by a pair of 2,000hp MTU engines, carried 12 tonnes of diesel, had a top speed of 50 knots and could cruise for 1,200 miles at 40 knots.

On board were yachtsman, Chay Blyth; powerboat racer, weatherman, navigator and MBY contributor Dag Pike; project CEO, Steve Ridgeway; engineer Eckhard Mostig, BBC reporter Peter McCann and, of course, Richard Branson.

Article continues below…

World’s coolest boats: Bluebird K7 was as cool as it was fast

Fastest boat: The current holder and contenders for the world water-speed record

On 26 June 1986 the throttles were buried as the Ambrose Light Tower was passed and the challenge was on once more. The first refuelling stop, 800 miles in, was 20 miles off Halifax, Nova Scotia. Setting off again, the challenges included icebergs and fog.

The second refuelling ship met them at Grand Banks, after that it was out into the Atlantic proper. It became apparent (via stopped engines!) that the fuel was contaminated by water. With a Force 10 approaching from behind, they pressed on, changing filters every 30 minutes (the RAF dropping a canister of fresh filters!).

The Irish Navy refuelled them mid-Atlantic at midnight (including a large pot of Irish stew for the crew) but they were 10 hours down at this point with weather building to a force six.

A tough night followed, none more so than for the two engineers in the engine room still swapping filters. The Bishop Rock finish line was passed the following day at 50 knots, the record broken by two hours with an average speed of almost 36 knots.

The Blue Riband record has since been broken by Tom Gentry’s Gentry Eagle (47.4 knots in 1989) and the Aga Khan’s Destriero (53 knots in 1991) but for our money, Virgin Atlantic Challenger 2 is still the coolest ocean crossing speed machine.

Virgin Atlantic Challenger 2 specifications

Year: 1986
LOA: 75ft
Beam: 7ft 10in
Engines: 2 x 2,000hp MTU diesel
Top speed: 50 knots

This article World’s coolest boats: Virgin Atlantic Challenger 2 is as cool as the icebergs it dodged appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

We’ve seen shadow boats for carrying superyacht toys and helicopters, amphibious tenders that can drive up the beach to avoid soggy feet, and golfballs made of fish food to allow driving practice from the deck.

Today we turn our attention to the urgent question of foredeck basketball – a solution for all those poor billionaires whose only wish in life is to shoot some hoops whilst aboard.

Owner of MY Ocean charters, Jonny Dodge, initially commissioned Superyacht Inflatables to create a basketball court for guests to enjoy aboard the company’s 46m Pina Marine superyacht Navis One, but now they can be custom made to order.

They can be produced in any shape and size, and as a single unit or divided into separate panels, enabling configuration for almost any sport, including football.

The inflatable supports are produced using a 10cm drop-stitch material ensuring a safe, rigid structure. All netting is integrated, as are all D-loop tie points and straps. Zip doors allow for easy access and goals are available in any size.

This is very much a custom item, so prices will vary depending on the size of your boat, but if you want to charter Navis One for the week, that will set you back $200,000 in the off season and €200,000 in the summer.

Toy of the month: Roam Shadow 35 is a huge floating toy box

MY Ohana superyacht tour: Captain/owner shows us around his €100,000p/w charter yacht

This article Toy of the month: Inflatable games deck brings basketball to the high seas appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

Offshore boats can certainly venture upstream, but dedicated river boats are optimised for inland cruising. So this month, we are back on the river, decked out in a straw boater and striped blazer, glass of Pimm’s in hand (once safely moored for the afternoon, of course).

Key features to look for in the best river boats include easily accessible decks, as docking (be that in locks or outside waterside pubs) tends to be far more frequent; a hull designed to run efficiently at displacement speeds whilst creating minimal wash; larger rudders that operate well at low speeds; and layouts aimed at living aboard and socialising more than wave-bashing and sunbathing.

Here are three great examples that offer all of this, plus one modern take on dayboat river cruising.

4 of the best river boats on the market right now

Broom Ocean 29

Built: 1995
Price: £67,000

Ocean 29 is an interesting name for a boat so clearly intended for inland use. Although there’s no reason at all why this boat couldn’t put to sea, its performance and its hull configuration are ideal for gentle river cruising. Even the builder was based by a river – Broom’s yard was situated on the picturesque Norfolk Broads at Brundall.

We say ‘was’ because although the company still exists, and indeed is in the same location, boat building has now ceased after more than 100 years of production. The business now focuses on its marina and boat hire operations.

Interior

The layout is straightforward and effective. A clear sliding cabin door and a couple of steps lead down to a saloon with an L- shaped dinette to starboard converting to a double berth and a galley to port.

There is a separate forward cabin with a transverse double berth and a pretty decent hanging locker. The heads doubles as a wet room with a shower.

The forward transverse double has plenty of storage lockers

Exterior

That optimisation for river boat use is most clearly evident in the fact that, not only does the radar arch fold flat to reduce height for bridge clearance, the windscreen does as well, enabling it to limbo beneath really low structures. Decent side decks make deck work easy and there’s a small bathing platform as well.

The cockpit itself is sociable for such a small boat, with a big hoop of wrap-around seating aft and a removable canopy. There’s plenty of storage too, beneath the cockpit seating but also in a large lazarette below the cockpit sole.

Performance

The Nanni 4.150 releases its rampaging 35hp down a single shaft drive for a top speed of about 7 knots and a river-friendly 5-knot cruise. As mentioned, you could certainly put to sea with these levels of performance but it really is better suited to river cruising.

The straightforward layout features a functional dinette that converts to a double berth

Seakeeping

A small keel and big rudder aid stability and manoeuvrability – a bow thruster assisting with the latter.

Specifications

LOA: 29ft 0in (8.8m)
Beam: 10ft 4in (3.2m)
Draft: 3ft 6in (0.8m)
Displacement: 4 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 100 litres
Engine: Nanni 4.150 35hp diesel
Location: River Thames
Contact: Val Wyatt Marine

Sheerline 950AC

Built: 1995
Price: £64,950

Another Norfolk Broads-based business, Sheerline, like Broom, has a rich back catalogue stuffed full of river boats built for both hire fleet and private ownership. And like Broom, the business dates back more than a century, having started as George Smith and Co back in 1910.

Interior

The layout of the standard boat is not dissimilar to the Broom Ocean 29 in that it has the owner’s cabin forward, a dinette that converts to a double berth in the saloon opposite the galley, and a single heads.

But the AC (aft cabin) version gains a useful second guest cabin just aft of the saloon, where you’ll find a double berth running transversely beneath the forward section of the cockpit.

The AC version has a second cabin to complement this one

Exterior

Most examples of the Sheerline 950 feature a large open cockpit beneath a canopy (although there was also a centre cockpit version popular with hire fleets). This one is slightly unusual in that it features an open-backed wheelhouse, giving a more protected, yet still open to the elements, helm.

The roof stretches about halfway back across the generous 10ft by 9ft cockpit, leaving the oblong of cockpit seating alfresco, although there are canopies to enclose this area and turn the whole cockpit into a further interior space. Wide side decks are essential on waterways with locks to negotiate.

Performance

A 43hp diesel suits this style of boat perfectly, offering ample river-friendly performance with meagre fuel consumption. Unusually, in order to create space for that extra cabin, the engine is mounted transversely, with a hydraulic drive to the shaft rather than the usual straight shaft drive. Expect about 7 knots flat out with a 5-knot cruise.

Saloon is opposite the galley with a convertible dinette

Seakeeping

Sheerline has always focussed on river boats (although there has been the occasional dedicated offshore machine, like the 1050). This one’s hull is optimised for low-speed running in order to maximise fuel economy and minimise wash. Bow and stern thrusters help with close quarter manoeuvring in locks and marinas.

Specifications

LOA: 31ft 1in (9.5m)
Beam: 13ft 5in (4.1m)
Draft: 3ft 2in (1.0m)
Displacement: 4.4 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 170 litres
Engine: Nanni 4190 43hp diesel engines
Location: River Thames
Contact: Tingdene Boating

Aquanaut 110OK

Built: 2010
Price: £165,000

The Dutch really understand inland cruising and tend to favour steel hulls over moulded GRP ones. The Aquanaut Yachting shipyard is a prime example, which has been building steel boats in the heart of Sneek since 1961. Its current range reaches up past 50ft.

There are various advantages and disadvantages to steel boats. The disadvantage is weight, but that doesn’t really matter when you are sticking to displacement cruising speeds.

And the advantages are inherent strength (out of control hire boats are a threat to paintwork, but rarely structure) and a vast amount of available customisation, since the build process is not constrained by mouldings.

Interior

Aquanaut build aft-cabin and aft-cockpit boats, the benefit of the former being a private cabin at each end of the boat. The advantage of the latter, seen here, is a cockpit on the same level as the saloon with wide opening doors connecting these two areas.

In fact, the doors bifold right up against the cockpit sides, creating a single seamless socialising space, while a removable cockpit canopy means the whole area that can be used in all weathers.

River boat credentials include a free-standing stool for the skipper to perch on and opening windscreen panes for increased ventilation. There’s a decent sized galley on the lower deck opposite a heads large enough to feature a separate shower area.

The owner’s cabin in the bow has a central island bed

Exterior

That aft cockpit configuration keeps the air draft down, an important consideration inland. High rails with gates either side encircle wide decks, making deck work easy, and a dark blue hull is the finishing touch.

Performance

Top speed is limited by the hull speed, which is why the 87hp Perkins M92B is more than sufficient to power this boat to her 7-knot maximum.

Wooden bi-fold doors link the cockpit with the saloon

Seakeeping

Dutch-built steel boats come in one of three hull forms. Hard-chine cruisers are the cheapest to build, offer good volume and stability. Round bilge boats offer strength and stability. But the multi chine hull of this boat (think of the profile a little like the edge of a 50 pence coin) combines the benefits of both.

Specifications

LOA: 36ft 4in (11.1m)
Beam: 11ft 6in (3.5m)
Draft: 2ft 9in (0.8m)
Displacement: 11 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 500 litres
Engine: Perkins M92B 87hp diesel engine
Location: River Thames
Contact: Bray Marine Sales

Rand Picnic 18

Built: 2021
Price: £36,995

At the risk of upsetting the rag and stick brigade, I find sailing mostly rubbish but occasionally brilliant. There’s never enough wind except when there is too much, and when there is the right amount it’s in the wrong direction, meaning you have to zig-zag everywhere at a jaunty angle.

But when everything works, the magical feel of gently cruising along in virtual silence with just the noise of the wake bubbling at the forefoot is utterly beguiling. Imagine if you could have that whilst upright and travelling in a straight line?

Electric boats are the answer and it’s been with us for a surprisingly long time – the Rand 18 Picnic was launched in 2015.

Interior

As an open day boat there is no interior as such, but there is a full-length cockpit to enjoy. A big horseshoe of seating takes up the front half, giving loads of space for up to ten people to relax or dine at a large table that can drop and infill to create a comfy sunbed, with space for a cooler underneath.

The helm is aft, sloop-style, meaning that whoever is in control remains very much a part of the party. Storage beneath the seats adds to the practicality.

Soft grey finish and inlaid teak gives this day boat a chic, modern appeal

Exterior

The boat has an attractive yet simple Scandinavian design, and is finished in pale grey with a faux teak inlaid bathing platform. This is a sharp and distinctly modern-looking boat, as befits something as 21st century as an electric-powered boat.

Performance

Rand developed this boat for both inboard and outboard solutions, and petrol or electric power. With the largest 60hp outboard fitted, a 60hp Mercury EFI, it’s good for 30 knots.

This boat has the somewhat less powerful but considerably quieter Torqeedo Cruise 4.0FP inboard engine, its 25kW motor powered by a 9.1 kWh AGM battery for a river-appropriate maximum speed of 5 knots.

Huge U-shaped dining table drops and transforms into a comfortable sunpad

Seakeeping

Rand describes the Picnic 18 as “simple to operate, with perfect steering capabilities and a high degree of stability.”

Specifications

LOA: 17ft 5in (5.3m)
Beam: 6ft 10in (2.1m)
Draft: 1ft 0in (0.3m)
Displacement: 0.4 tonnes
Battery capacity: 9.1 kWh Motor Torqeedo Cruise 4.0FP 25kW
Location: River Thames
Contact: Bates Wharf

First published in the September 2023 issue of MBY.

Four more river boats from the August 2022 issue

Super Van Craft 13.80

Built: 1988
Price: £159,950

Occasionally I stumble upon a boat so wonderful that I actually build one of these articles around it, just so that I can bring it to your attention.

The fantastically monikered Super Van Craft 13.80 is a case in point. Built by Klaassen Shipwards, Voorschoten in 1988, this Dutch steel motor yacht is surely the finest and most elegant way to cruise any inland water.

Interior

An aft cabin layout, the interior stretches from stem to stern. There are three berths in the forepeak in a vee configuration (bunk beds on one side, a single on the other), plus an ensuite heads.

Further aft on the lower deck a long straight galley to port lives opposite a comfortable looking dinette that converts into extra sleeping. There’s a separate washing machine and dryer on this level too, handy for longer-term cruising.

Head up and aft through the saloon and you’ll drop down to the owner’s cabin with a central island double bed and another ensuite split between a toilet and sink to port and a separate shower to starboard.

The wood panelled aft cabin enjoys wonderful space and privacy

Exterior

Classy and elegant though the interior is, it’s the exterior that provides the initial siren call. Long and low with a painted white hull, teak-laid decks and varnished wooden superstructure and handrails, it’s a genuinely beautiful boat that wouldn’t look out of place moored in St Tropez in the 1960s.

The aft deck would make a great entertaining space with its full beam aft seat, and the helm lives here too with its “proper little ship” vertical wooden wheel and varnished wooden dashboard with its row of organ stop switches set in a stainless steel strip.

Performance

A full displacement boat, the pair of DAF 120hp engines top out at a leisurely 8.5 knots and she cruises at just under 6 knots.

The huge twin-level saloon features an upper lounge plus a lower galley and dinette

Seakeeping

A solid steel motor boat, you don’t need to worry too much about being blown around in a breeze, but you do need to plan ahead a little as she’ll carry some way. Bow and stern thrusters have been fitted which should help to lower the pulse in close quarters.

Specifications

LOA: 47ft 2in (14.4m)
Beam: 12ft 6in (3.9m)
Draught: 4ft 3in (1.3m)
Displacement: 18 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 1,000 litres
Engines: DAF 120hp diesels
Location: River Thames
Contact: Val Wyatt Marine

Broom 33

Built: 1994
Price: £89,000

Charles Broom began creating “beautifully crafted sailing cruisers for gentlemen” in Brundall on the Norfolk Broads in 1898, and the company has remained on exactly the same spot throughout its illustrious history.

Motor boat production began in the 1920s with a 30-footer powered by a Morris petrol engine. The company started fibreglass boat production 40 years later in the 1960s, then,
in 1989, the 33 was introduced as a successor to the highly successful 9/70 and 10/70, and featured an all-new hull design from Andrew Wolstenholme.

The company still exists, but now runs a marina and a hire boat fleet.

Interior

An aft cabin layout splits the two main sleeping areas with an ensuite owner’s cabin back aft and a vee-berthed guest cabin forward. A decent sized galley and heads also live up front on the lower deck, with the main deck saloon featuring an internal helm position, making this a true year-round proposition.

The aft cabin layout provides good privacy both for the owner and the guests

Exterior

Putting the outside helm on the aft deck instead of on a separate flybridge above the saloon reduces deck space a little, but it does lower the height of the boat, important for inland waterway use.

In fact it’s possible to drop the radar arch and the windscreen to limbo beneath lower structures, a fact that has helped this boat cruise the River Thames, the Broads and France.

Performance

The Broom 33 came with a variety of twin shaft drive diesels, usually between 180hp and 230hp, including Volvo TAMD41s, KAMD 40s and Mercruiser 180s and 220s, although the basic boat was actually quoted with 100hp TAMD31s, which offered about 10 knots.

The largest reached 25 knots and the twin 150hp engines on this boat are probably giving mid-teen performance.

Rather dated interior but the gentlemanly Broom 33 is a very capable sea boat too

Seakeeping

Obviously you’re not going to be using that level of performance on inland waterways, but they do give Channel crossing reach, great for Europe’s waterways. When we tested the boat in 1990 we found that the hull gave a soft ride into the waves and handled well with seas on the beam or stern.

Specifications

LOA: 34ft 3in (10.4m)
Beam: 12ft 2in (3.7m)
Draught: 3ft 3in (1.0m)
Displacement: 7.5 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 720 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta TMD 41B 150hp diesel engines
Location: River Thames
Contact: Boat Showrooms

Aquanaut Drifter 1150AK

Built: 2003
Price: £159,950

Built entirely with inland cruising in mind, this is a big strong metal boat designed to take the knocks of a commercial lock gate or a badly driven hire boat. That steel construction means that the builder is not tied to the specifics of a mould in determining the shape, so there’s a huge amount of variation available.

Interior

A steel boat broker once told me that clients often specify an internal helm position when they order their first inland cruiser, but never on the second as the reality is that these seldom get used.

The lack of one here results in a fairly palatial saloon area with plenty of social seating. This being another aft cabin boat, there is a big owner’s cabin beneath the aft deck.

An island double bed and separate compartments for shower and toilet give a ‘home from home’ vibe, as do masses of storage. There’s a good sized galley with a dinette opposite forward on the lower deck, and ahead of that is the guest cabin with vee berths.

The absence of an internal helm results in a very large and sociable saloon

Exterior

A centrally mounted helm reduces air draught and also makes it easy to enclose the helm with canopies. On the coachroof forward is a mast for navigation lights and antennas, but this can be lowered and the windscreen hinges down in sections.

Side decks are wide and there’s a central break in the guardrails on both sides allowing easy access to a dockside, exactly what you need for inland waters.

Performance

The single Perkins M135 shaft drive diesel engine is both naturally aspirated and mechanical, keeping everything simple and easy to maintain as well as being suitable for very low speed long distance cruising (something turbo diesels are less keen on for extended periods).

You can plan for 8-10 knots flat out, but more important is the boat’s ability to run at 4 or 5 knots for hour after gentle hour.

The convertible lower deck dinette expands the Aquanaut’s sleeping capacity

Seakeeping

Although designed with inland cruising in mind, the Drifter series all have a multi-chine hull (think of the edge of a 50 pence piece – remember coins?) which improves sea keeping for the odd occasion you want to head from one inland waterway to another.

Specifications

LOA: 38ft 1in (11.6m)
Beam: 12ft 6in (3.8m)
Draught: 3ft 3in (1.0m)
Displacement: 9 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 495 litres
Engine: Perkins M135 135hp diesel engines
Location: River Thames
Contact: Bray Marine Sales

Banks Martin Beaulieu 30

Built: 2017
Price: £159,950

Until almost a decade ago, one of Kidderminster’s most famous exports was Sealine boats. They’d been built there for 40 years before going into administration and being absorbed by Hanse Yachts AG and moved to Germany.

River boat builder Banks Martin is based in Kidderminster and sure enough, one of its principle directors was a long-standing Sealine man as are many of the staff – there’s a lot of boat building skill to be found in Kidderminster.

The avowed aim of Banks Martin is to “combine the undoubtedly higher quality, standards and design of sea going vessels, and bring this to the river and estuary.”

Interior

The Beaulieu 30 is the first model to be launched by this fledging company. The styling is smart, but traditional, a flat-roofed cabin with huge windows down both sides and across the front which throw plenty of light into the cabin, not to mention allow a great view out.

The cabin itself is open plan with a double bed forward and a dinette to port. There’s a tiny mid cabin too, which just has a single bed running back beneath the cockpit. The galley is opposite and the heads is back aft, just inside the door.

The open-plan cabin makes amazing use of space for a sub-30ft boat

Exterior

The aft cockpit has an open-backed wheelhouse, so there is a roof over the helm and side windows, but nothing between it and the open rear of the cockpit (although the whole area can be enclosed with canopies). There’s a bathing platform too, arguably less useful on a river but it points to the Category C nature that includes estuaries and coastal use.

Performance

Banks Martin are offering inboard or outboard engine options. This particular boat is fitted with a 75hp Volvo Penta diesel which gives a maximum speed of about 9 knots for an easy, and river- friendly, 6-knot cruise.

With big views and an efficient six-knot cruise, this is a great boat for relaxed inland fun

Seakeeping

A semi-displacement hull is designed to give good low speed handling and a powerful bow thruster makes close-quarters manoeuvrability far easier.

Specifications

LOA: 29ft 2in (8.9m)
Beam: 9ft 9in (3.0m)
Draught: 2ft 5in (0.7m)
Displacement: 4.2 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 145 litres
Engine: Volvo Penta 75hp diesel
Location: River Thames
Contact: Bates Wharf

First published in the August 2022 issue of MBY.

Four more river boats from the November 2020 issue

Linssen 34.9 Sedan

Built: 2010
Price: £169,999

Based in Maasbracht, Holland, Linssen Yachts was originally set up by Jac Linssen as a small-scale woodwork and ship repair business. Over the years it developed into a significant steel yacht building yard with a strong reputation for high quality motor cruisers.

Family run from the beginning, it’s now into its third generation and builds boats from 30-50ft. The Linssen 34.9 was available in two versions, an aft cabin cruiser or a Sedan, which features an aft cockpit and reduced air draught, enabling it to slip underneath lower bridges.

Interior

Double doors lead into a very high quality interior lined in classic cherry wood. The galley is on the port side, opposite a dinette that features an ‘Easy Sleep Convert System’ that allows it to be quickly converted into a slatted double berth for occasional guests.

Intriguingly, there’s a small desk area ahead of the dinette opposite the helm position, complete with club chair. Head down to the lower deck and you’ll find the heads on one side, shower on the other and a central double bed in the fore cabin.

The Linssen 34.9 Sedan has only one dedicated sleeping cabin but the settee in the saloon also converts to a bed

Exterior

Unlike the aft cabin variant with its raised aft deck, the Linssen 34.9 Sedan has the cockpit on the same level as the saloon. Protected by a large framed canopy, it extends the living area even in inclement weather. On better days, drop the canopy and slide back the roof section over the helm to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine.

Performance

A heavy and strictly displacement speed boat, don’t expect fireworks from the Volvo Penta D2 75hp. However, it is a very quiet riverboat with a top speed of 10 knots.

Beautifully finished saloon enjoys fine views out but still feels cosy in all weathers

Seakeeping

There’s not much seakeeping to be done inland, but given the low speed and steel construction you can expect your gin and tonic to be stirred but not shaken.

Specification

Length: 35ft 0in (10.7m)
Beam: 11ft 0in (3.3m)
Draught: 3ft 4in (1.0m)
Displacement: 8 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 240 litres
Engine: Volvo Penta D2 75hp diesel
Location: River Thames
Contact: Boat Showrooms

Aquanaut Drifter CS1300 AK

Built: 2014
Price: £349,950

Dutch builder Aquanaut is proud of the level of customisation it offers. Because steel boats don’t require the inflexible moulds and fixed structural bulkheads of GRP craft, the company is free to do whatever it wants within reason.

As UK boat dealer (and vendor of this boat) TBS Boats once told me, “With a steel boat you don’t require new mouldings to make fundamental changes, all you need is a good CAD designer and plenty of imagination. All of the Aquanauts we’ve supplied have basically been bespoke builds; no two have been the same.”

Interior

Aquanaut Drifters are available in both aft cabin (AK) and aft cockpit (AC) layouts. European Voyagers are aft cockpit flybridge variants and the Privilege range are the same below the waterline but with softer sexier styling. So the AK designation of this model highlights the huge aft master cabin with separate ensuite toilet and shower compartments.

Guests are taken care of at the opposite end of the boat via vee berths in the forward cabin. A very generous galley, also on the forward lower deck, has a dinette opposite. Up on the main deck you’ll find a large saloon area.

Spectacular aft cabin makes this an ideal liveaboard for cruising European waterways

Exterior

Step up and aft from the saloon to find yourself on a massive aft deck above the master cabin. The single helm is here with a pair of comfortable captain’s chairs and there’s a large U-shaped seating area behind it around a table. Decks are wide and flat. The windscreen is hinged, allowing it to fold to reduce air draught for low bridges.

Performance

Expect about 8 knots from the single Perkins 148hp diesel, which allows easy river speed cruising of between 4-6 knots.

High quality bespoke interior can be customised to suit the owner’s requirements

Seakeeping

Although ostensibly an inland boat, multi chine underwater sections and twin keels aid seakeeping and stability for offshore passages.

Specification

LOA: 42ft 6in (13.1m)
Beam: 14ft 3in (4.4m)
Draught: 3ft 6in (1.1m)
Displacement: 16 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 800 litres
Engine: Perkins M115Ti 148hp diesel
Location: River Thames
Contact: TBS Boats

Intercruiser 27 Cabin

Built: 2011
Price: £79,950

Another riverboat, another Dutch builder. Interboat is a small family business employing about 50 people and building boats from 21ft through to 34ft. Its smallest are the Intertender and Interboat models – the 27 is the smallest of its luxurious Intercruiser range.

Interior

Designed very much as an open dayboat, the 27 Cabin does, nonetheless, have a small sleeping area and toilet in the bow. A discreet door right at the front of the cockpit drops you down to a lower level with a toilet compartment through a further door ahead of that.

On either side, a single berth burrows back beneath the cockpit seating allowing two to sleep. It might not be ideal for a week on board, but overnighting is possible, and an afternoon nap a definite.

The forward door leads down to the two-person sleeping area and heads compartment

Exterior

Most of the boat is cockpit, with enough space for 10 people. It’s a ‘sloop’ configuration, which is the Dutch term for a boat with the helm right at the back like a sailing boat. It works well for idle river pottering, allowing the helmsman to engage and chat with his or her guests rather than being at the front with everyone else behind.

Ahead of the helm is a small galley unit with a stove and sink while a fridge drawer can be found beneath the seating. An optional upgrade on this boat is the fitted windscreen forward and adaptable canopy system.

Performance

A four-cylinder Vetus diesel engine puts out 52hp, giving a top speed of 8 knots and allowing cruising anywhere between 3–6 knots. Interboat will actually fit these with anything between 22hp and 170hp, the latter giving about 18 knots and intended for coastal work – unleashing all 170hp on the upper Thames might raise an eyebrow or two!

The aft helm position makes for a very sociable cockpit with all your guests ahead of you

Seakeeping

Although built for inland cruising, the 27 Cabin has plenty of scope for coastal running provided that (just like any other boat) conditions are right.

Specification

LOA: 27ft 9in (8.5m)
Beam: 9ft 8in (3.0m)
Draught: 2ft 6in (0.8m)
Displacement: 5 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 100 litres
Engine: Vetus 52hp diesel
Location: River Thames
Contact: Val Wyatt Marine

Stevens 1350 Vlet

Built: 2011
Price: €397,500

Taking customisation to a new level, UK Stevens dealer Karl Farrant Marine Sales regards the brochure as little more than a ‘suggestions’ guide. Want an inch more headroom or three inches off the LOA when you order a new boat? You got it.

As a result, no two boats are the same. The Dutch-built boats are actually called Smelne in other countries; Karl adopted the name Stevens for the UK as he felt Smelne didn’t translate well!

Interior

All Stevens boats are available with either an aft cabin and a raised aft deck or aft cockpit on the same level as the saloon. This is the former. The standard layout is an offset double forward and a dinette opposite the galley but this owner has opted for vee berths forward and lost the lower dinette in favour of a massive galley that utilises both sides of the lower deck.

With no inside helm, the saloon on the main deck is a great size too, and the master suite occupies the lower deck beneath the raised aft cockpit.

Rich woodwork makes for a very classy aft cabin with its own ensuite bathroom

Exterior

The 13 refers to the fact that this is a 13m boat. The second half of the numerals refers to the transom arrangement. Versions include 1300, 1350, 1395 and so on, and buyers can opt for a flat transom with no platform, a large platform with sweeping staircases either side or anything in-between. The full beam aft deck houses the helm, with canopies providing weather protection.

Performance

Volvo Penta, Perkins or Vetus Deutz in single or twin engine format were offered. Twin engines don’t give more performance but do give offshore back-up reassurance. This boat has a pair of Vetus Deutz DT44 114hp engines which give about 10 knots.

Big saloon and galley creates a fabulous open-plan living area on this customised model

Seakeeping

Vlet in the title refers to the hull shape, which is multi-chined rather than a flat vee, creating additional internal volume low in the hull for more space and a lower centre of gravity for greater stability, improved further by the Magnus Master stabilisers. The result is a very capable sea boat.

Specification

LOA: 45ft 6in (13.88m)
Beam: 14ft 5in (4.4m)
Draught: 3ft 11in (1.2m)
Displacement: 20 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 1,200 litres
Engines: Twin Vetus Deutz DT44 114
Location: Holland
Contact: Karl Farrant Marine Sales

Four more river boats from the June 2019 issue

Stevens VLET 950 Special

Built: 2003
Price: £75,000

Built by the Smelne yard in the Netherlands, this steel cruiser is badged a Stevens (rather than Smelne) which means it was built to a high UK-specific standard specification and is British Safety Scheme compliant from the off.

Being a Smelne built boat, a huge amount of personal customisation would have been available to the original owner; no two Smelne boats are ever exactly the same.

Interior

With two permanent vee berths tucked way in the fore cabin (an infill turns these into a double berth) and the rest of the beautifully trimmed interior given over to living space, this is a terrific day cruiser or a great escape boat for a couple.

The beautifully trimmed interior offers ample living space

There’s a decent sized, well equipped galley on the lower deck opposite the heads, leaving the main deck almost entirely as living space. Deep windows down both sides enable you to watch the world go by even when seated at the dinette. The indoor helm does without a fixed seat so you can either stand or pull up a chair.

Exterior

Wide-opening saloon doors connect the interior and cockpit. Side decks are low, broad and well protected by high rails. Of particular note is a generous lazarette beneath the cockpit sole with plenty of space for folding bikes and bulky items.

Performance

The boat’s standard engine is a single Volvo Penta shaft drive diesel. It’s very well insulated, keeping noise levels to a minimum, and gives the 950 a maximum speed of about 7 knots flat out, with an easy cruising speed of up to 6 knots and a level of fuel consumption that’s simply not worth worrying about.

An infill turns the permanent vee berth into a double

Seakeeping

Seakeeping might be largely irrelevant for a riverboat, but actually the Stevens Vlet 950 is pretty good. A very low saloon floor means that you get little of the pendulum effect that exaggerates the roll you’d experience higher up on the aft deck of an aft cabin boat, and it’s a very solid, steady performer capable of admittedly low speed estuary or coastal work.

Bilge keels were also an option (in fact pretty much anything on a Smelne built boat was an option) but were rarely specified.

Specification

LOA: 31ft 1in (9.5m)
Beam: 10ft 1in (3.1m)
Draught: 3ft 0in (0.9m)
Displacement: 6 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 300 litres
Engines: Volvo Penta D2 55hp diesel
Contact: TBS Boats

Haines 26

Built: 2016
Price: £109,950

‘A VW camper van on the water’ was the thinking behind the Haines 26, according to the manufacturer’s managing director Justin Haines, who describes the boat as a ‘perfect weekender’.

Built at the family-run Haines yard in Catford, Norfolk, the Haines 26 is the smallest boat in the range but every bit the quality build of its larger siblings.

Interior

Two layouts were offered, one with a small single cabin to starboard and a double forward and the other the open-plan layout you see here.

In reality, every boat built so far has had the open-plan option, which puts a neat dinette at the front of the cabin and a settee/berth opposite the galley, which pulls out to create a double berth creating sleeping inside for four people.

The open-plan layout makes the most of the boat’s length and feels fresh and modern

The wood interior is available in a lighter oak finish or the classy darker walnut of this boat, and a fixed glass ‘skyscreen’ in the cabin roof as well as a perspex foredeck hatch allow plenty of natural light into the interior.

Exterior

A simple cockpit, wide non-slip side decks and a double foredeck seat sum up the exterior of the Haines 26. A transom door gives easy access to the bathing platform and the canopy is quick and easy to erect. Bonded windows and the powder coated black framed windscreen (which folds flat) give the boat a contemporary look.

Performance

The single Nanni N4.38 38hp diesel engine of this boat is an upgrade on the standard N3.30. Both are shaft drive for simplicity and reliability. An entirely river friendly top speed of 7 to 8 knots makes typical 5 knot inland cruising a doddle and even with a fuel capacity of just 135 litres, you’ll rarely need to stop for a refill.

The snug-fitting canopy turns the cockpit into a comfortable all-weather seating area

Seakeeping

The hull majors on low wash and stability, exactly what’s needed for inland waters. Manoeuvrability is also a prerequisite and a bow thruster is a must with a single shaft drive. Amazingly, most Haines 26 models left the factory with not just this but a stern thruster too, allowing the boat to go completely sideways at the touch of the thruster controls.

Specification

LOA: 26ft 0in (7.9m)
Beam: 10ft 6in (3.2m)
Draught: 2ft 6in (0.8m)
Displacement: 3.75 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 135 litres
Engine: Nanni N4.38 38hp diesel
Contact: Norfolk Yacht Agency

Aintree Wide Beam

Built: 2017
Price: £203,000

If you’re going to cruise inland, why not buy a proper narrow boat? The name gives away the build location of this one – Aintree riverboats are constructed a mile away from the famous Grand National steeplechase in Merseyside.

Rather than a model range, Aintree will supply a boat in any length up to 70ft and to different levels of completion, from a basic hull and deck requiring fitting out through to a finished vessel.

And those lengths can be had in two widths. Standard narrowboats are 6ft 10in wide. The wide beam boats from Aintree are 12ft across, gifting massively more interior volume at the expense of not being able to access some of the narrower inland waterways.

Interior

That wide beam really makes itself felt with ‘home from home’ accommodation. Accessed from the aft cockpit, steps lead down to a large kitchen area with domestic appliances, and ahead of that is a saloon with two sofas and a wood burning stove (surely a first for an MBY used boat review!)

A full-beam master is located in the bow

A passageway to starboard takes you past a guest cabin and the heads to the full-beam master cabin in the bow, complete with built-in wardrobes.

Exterior

As is typical for a narrowboat, most of its length is taken up with the cabin, leaving just a small cockpit aft. But rather than a flat deck as many boats of this type have, this has the shelter of a sunken well with seating around the stern and protection from a canopy that encloses this area. The helm position is here too, with a wheel rather than the tiller that many narrowboats usually get.

Performance

Performance is probably the wrong word – it might have a 90hp Beta engine, but this is 65ft of steel barge. Nevertheless, it’s fit for purpose, allowing the boat to cruise at the kind of brisk walking pace appropriate for inland cruising.

The homely accommodation is super comfortable

Seakeeping

Again, it’s not really about seakeeping with a boat like this. Sheer length should make it track straight, and there are bow and stern thrusters that will help position the boat. All you really need to get used to are the slow reactions of a long, heavy steel boat carrying this much momentum.

Specification

LOA: 65ft 0in (19.8m)
Beam: 12ft 0in (3.7m)
Draught: 2ft 2in (0.7m)
Displacement: 28 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 400 litres
Engine: Beta 90hp diesel
Contact: TBS Boats

Halvorsen Gourmet 32

Built: 2003
Price: £89,950

Halvorsen has a fascinating history. Founded originally by a Norwegian in 1870, the family ended up building boats in Australia where they’re still based. The boats, however, are now built in China. The 32 shows more than a nod to ‘down east’ styling, with its classic simulated planking to the topsides, sweeping sheer lines and traditional superstructure with peaked overhang to the deck saloon roof.

Interior

Halvorsen has resisted the temptation to cram in two cabins. The result is a wonderfully indulgent boat for two with a big centreline double berth in the forward cabin and separate toilet and shower compartments.

Galley aft layout is unusual for a boat from this era

Interestingly, the main deck is a galley aft layout, way before these became fashionable, tucked behind the helm on the starboard side. The port side of the deck saloon is given over to a large dinette that will convert to an occasional double if required.

Exterior

The ‘old school’ profile means low, easily accessed teak-capped side decks leading up to a foredeck with a good old-fashioned Sampson post. There’s a single central door in the aft bulkhead of the deck saloon, rather than wider-opening double doors, which reduces the connection between saloon and cockpit but does create space for two sheltered aft-facing seats – a great place to tuck yourself away with a wonderful view aft.

Performance

Although the low air draught and single engine make this boat ideal for inland work, it’s more powerful than a typical riverboat at 315hp. What that creates is genuine offshore reach and a top speed of 15 knots, making this a great boat for zipping across the Channel before diving into Europe’s inland waterways. In fact Halvorsen also offered twin engined versions with a pair of 155hp or 250hp engines.

The centreline double is a generous size

Seakeeping

It’s a semi-displacement hull, giving good seakeeping and a comfortable ride at the expense of pushing plenty of water as it barrels through big waves rather than bouncing over them like a planing hull. At low speeds the boat tracks beautifully and a standard fit bow thruster helps with close quarter work.

Specification

LOA: 32ft 0in (9.8m)
Beam: 12ft 0in (3.7m)
Draught: 3ft 8in (1.2m)
Displacement: 7 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 719 litres
Engine: Cummins 315hp diesel
Contact: Norfolk Yacht Agency

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This article Best river boats: Tempting used options for exploring inland waterways appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

Twenty years ago if you wanted a fast 30ft+ sportsboat then your choices were limited to basically which kind of inboard engine and outdrive combination you preferred.

Then we started seeing outboards, previously the go-to on smaller runabouts, RIBs and speedboats, start to appear on ever larger and faster vessels. Firstly it was all-American offshore center console boats, often with multiple outboards across the transom.

Then the kind of high performance racer that traditionally wouldn’t be seen afloat without a pair of high capacity petrol V8 inboards started turning up with a set of outboards powering them past 60 knots. Now we’re even seeing 40ft flybridge cruisers with outboard engines.

The reasons generally revolve around packaging (with the engine mounted directly above the drive leg, virtually none of it is actually inside the boat), reliability, accessibility (a crane and some tools is mostly all that’s required for an engine swap), lower servicing costs and choice (design a boat for an outboard and you can choose from any make that offers the correct horsepower).

Outboard manufacturers have responded keenly to the increased demand, bolstering their ranges with ever more powerful and glamorous offerings, and one of the latest, most powerful and most glamorous has just been launched by Mercury.

In fact it’s almost the most powerful outboard engine in the world. Since Seven Marine, builders of the awesome 627hp outboard was bought by Volvo Penta in 2017, only to inexplicably stop making outboards in 2021, only Mercury’s own 7.6 litre V12 600hp Verado beats it. But that’s a big heavy unit at over half a tonne, more suited to cruisers.

Power to weight ratio

The new 500R outboard by comparison starts at a svelte 326kg, and is fitted with a 4.6 litre V8 engine, boosted by a Mercury Racing supercharger. Connecting rods, rod bearings and pistons are strengthened to handle increased combustion pressure and a higher 6,600rpm redline.

It’s a set-up designed for high-performance applications where the power-to-weight ratio is critical. Indeed Mercury claims it ‘establishes a new benchmark for outboard power density’.

Mercury Racing has designed an all-new gearcase for the 500R outboard. R-Drive is available in two versions, both featuring a crescent shaped leading edge and long aspect torpedo hydrodynamically tuned for high speeds. The new 5.9in gearcase can house propellers up to 17in in diameter.

Article continues below…

Most powerful outboard? Mercury's 600hp V12 monster

450hp outboard: Everything you need to know about the new monster Merc

The R-Drive Sport version is for faster boats. Mercury describes it as “optimised for ultra-high-speed surfacing applications, primarily high-performance catamarans and centre consoles capable of speeds beyond 100 mph”.

It features a longer skeg than the R-Drive version, which allows it to maintain steering control while operating in surface piercing mode at the high mounting positions needed for these hull designs.

The 500R outboard is available in four lengths – 20”, 25”, 30” and 35”. The 26in centre-to-centre mounting distance on multi-engine transoms “enables easy installations on new boats and repower applications. Tech includes Digital Throttle and Shift (DTS) with available Mercury Racing Digital Zero Effort controls.

Available in Phantom Black or Cold Fusion White, as standard they are finished with Mercury Racing graphics and Devil Eye Red trim. For anyone planning a custom paint application, the 500R outboard is also available in “ready for paint” in Phantom Black with no applied graphics or trim panel.

The Mercury V8 500R outboard is covered by a three-year limited factory warranty, but up to five additional years of Mercury Product Protection extended factory warranty is available in the UK.

Mercury V8 500R outboard specifications

Power: 500hp / 372KW
RPM (WOT): 6000-6600
Engine type: V8 (64 Degree) with 32-Valve Dual Overhead Cam (DOHC)
Displacement: 4.6L
Induction system: Supercharged with Charge Air Cooling and Electronic Boost Control
Fuel requirements: Unleaded Regular 89 Octane Minimum (R+M/2) or 95 RON
Charging: 115 amp / 1,449W
Throttle and shift: Digital Throttle & Shift (DTS)
Midsection: Advanced Racing Core (ARC)
Shaft lengths: 20”, 25”, 30”, & 35”
Gearcase: R-Drive, R-Drive Sport
Gearcase ratio: 1.60:1
Dry weight: 326 kg / 726lbs
Warranty: 3-year limited as standard, 5-year available

This article What makes Mercury Racing’s new V8 500R outboard engine so special? appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

Imagine, if you will, the front half of a personal water craft. It’s got no motive power, but it does have handlebars to steer it with and a seat to sit on. All it needs is the lower back half to make it go.

That’s the idea behind the YuJet JetSki – all you need to do is plug in your YuJet XT Surfer electric surfboard and you can turn it into a fully functioning jet ski.

It’s powered by the YuJet surfboard’s 14hp motor, so the top speed is a fairly modest 19 knots.

Article continues below…

Toy of the month: YuJet electric surfboard promises endless surfing without waves

How does an electric surfboard work? And how easy is it to ride one?

There’s a slow mode for beginners and children, and it has a range of just over 8nm, but you can swap in fresh batteries to keep the fun going.

We like the fact that it adds an extra dimension to a fun toy and makes it more accessible for those who struggle to balance on a board.

Once you have the JetSki, you can buy a YuCat 20 catamaran and plug your YuCat JetSki into that to power it along.

Prices for the YuJet JetSki start from $2,490 (not including the electric surfboard, which will set you back an extra $7,600).

YuJet JetSki specifications

Max load: 100 kg / 220lbs
Range: 15 km / 8nm
Top speed: 35 km/h / 19 knots
Starting price: $2,490 (ex. propulsion system)

This article Toy of the Month: YuJet JetSki lets you turn your electric surfboard into a jet ski appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

What makes a boat cool? The styling, the vintage, the history, the performance? Well it can be any, all or none of these things. It could just be a very iconic model from a manufacturer’s back catalogue, such as the Fairline Targa 33 we had recently or the Mk1 Princess 45 we featured last year.

What we’ve never featured is a Sunseeker, and that’s not down to a paucity of choice, if anything the opposite is true.

What to pick? The race-developed (and utterly beguiling) Thunderhawk 43? The outrageous jet-driven Renegade 60 that punched 32,000 gallons of water per minute through its twin jets? The evergreen Portofino 31? All worthy choices, but I’m plumping for the Sunseeker Mustang 20.

Launched in October 1986 (notice how every single boat mentioned is from the 1980s? The coolest decade ever that also begat the Lotus Esprit Turbo, Miami Vice and the Sony Walkman), it wasn’t the first trailerable Sunseeker – a mind-blowing concept today.

The Sunseeker Sovereign 17, XPS 21 and 235 Offshore predated it. But it was the first (and only) to successfully downsize the DNA of its larger, glamorous siblings like the Tomahawk 37.

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The helm seats, for example, are pretty much Tomahawk 37 Mk1 seats on shorter pedestals. Even the layout mimicked the Tomahawk. Sunpad over the engine space, a bench seat ahead of it, a pair of helm seats and a small cabin beneath the foredeck.

It’s just that in a Tomahawk 37 that cabin offered seating, a bed, a small galley and a heads. In the Sunseeker Mustang 20 it holds a vee-shaped mattress on the floor. The Mustang wasn’t for living on, it was for looking good and going fast.

That sunpad powered up at the push of a button (just like the Tomahawk’s) to reveal a V8 Volvo Penta of 210hp up to 275hp (again like the Tomahawk, except the latter had two
of them). The largest pushed the top end to 50 knots.

Best of all, it handled like a proper Sunseeker, since it was penned by the same legendary ex powerboat racer Don Shead who designed the bigger Sunseekers of that era. And that’s probably the coolest facet of all.

For all the looks and the speed that this boat has in spades, get it out on the water and it has the sheer capability to confirm that this actually is the real deal. And in a 20ft boat, that’s seriously cool.

Sunseeker Mustang 20 specifications

Year: 1986
LOA: 21ft 3in (6.5m)
Beam: 7ft 10in (2.4m)
Power: Single Volvo Penta V8 petrol up to 275hp

This article World’s coolest boats: Why the Sunseeker Mustang 20 is an ice-cold 80s classic appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

There is simply no finer place to be on a hot sunny day than at the helm of a proper old-school open-topped sportscruiser. Yes, a flybridge is more practical, yes a hardtop sportscruiser with a powered sunroof is a thousand times easier than wrestling with canopies, and yes, most of the year (in the UK at least) they’re probably both a better bet.

But nothing else on the water connects you with the sea and the warm fresh air whilst maintaining that sense of speed and fun (think Lotus Elise at 60mph compared to a Range Rover at the same velocity). So right now, open sportscruisers are where it’s at and here are four tempting options currently for sale at a suitably wide spread of prices.

4 of the best open sportscruisers for sale right now

Fairline Targa 30

Built: 1990
Price: £44,995

Fairline’s Targa range began with the Targa 33 back in 1984. After a mild tweak to take the interior layout from two to three cabins, the boat proved a huge success, so much so that by the end of the 1980s Fairline was looking to extend its new model range.

Launched in January 1990, the original Fairline Targa 30 was the answer. And I say ‘original’ because there was another very different Targa 30 about a decade later.

To confuse things further, this particular model then morphed unchanged into the Targa 33 to reflect the true hull length, including the integral bathing platform. The original Targa 33 had a ‘bolt-on’ version, which was replaced with a 34 that had an integral platform, a model that then segued into the Targa 35.

Interior

Fairline squeezed the same two cabins as its bigger sister into this boat, one at each end of the accommodation. Being a little smaller meant inevitable compromise, the forward cabin has very little floor space unless you remove a section of bed reducing it to a single, and the dinette between the two cabins is an L shape rather than a full U shape.

But it’s a worthwhile trade off, enabling up to four berths in two cabins plus a further two on the converting dinette.

L shaped dinette still has comfortable seating for four

Exterior

The Targa 30’s styling is a lot more modern than the original 33, with a curved windscreen rather than flat panes and square edges, integral bathing platform that is part of the hull moulding and a transom door. Even today, over 30 years on, this is still a great-looking boat.

Performance

The three twin petrol options were thirsty but fast, the largest being a pair of 7.4 litre V8 Volvo Pentas that topped out at over 40 knots.

Of the two diesel options, twin Volvo Penta AD31 motors were a little lightweight for offshore use, the Goldilocks option being the twin AQAD 41s fitted to this boat. We achieved 37 knots from a similar boat when it was launched, and good cruising economy.

The forward cabin has very little floor space

Seakeeping

Our sea trial took us across the Channel to Jersey, where we concluded that “her fine forward sections gave a smooth ride through all but the biggest lumps”.

Specifications

LOA: 34ft 1in (10.4m)
Beam: 11ft 2in (3.4m)
Draft: 3ft 2in (1.0m)
Displacement: 6 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 500 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta AQAD 41 200hp diesels
Location: Poole
Contact: Origin Yachts

Sunseeker Portofino 400

Built: 1997
Price: £112,500

Back in the day, you couldn’t move for British-built 40ft sportscruisers. Fairline fielded its Targa 38/39, Princess Yachts paraded its ultra successful V39/V40/V42 triumvirate, Sealine sold many of its S37 models, and Sunseeker; well Sunseeker had this, the 400 Portofino.

Interior

The basic layout of all of these British boats followed broadly similar lines. The owner’s cabin was up front, a mid cabin for guests further aft beneath the forward section of the cockpit, and a dinette opposite the galley in the middle plus, of course, the heads with its toilet and shower.

What stood the Sunseeker apart was its classic and beautiful high-gloss cherry woodwork. Although Sunseeker wasn’t the only company using these materials, somehow the organic curves and thick cappings elevated the look and feel above its rivals.

Organic curves and high quality finishes helped lift the look and feel

Exterior

A great-looking boat, there’s a sense that real care went into ensuring that the sweep of the forward sloping radar arch integrated perfectly with the stern quarters of the hull, and the decadent sweep of stainless steel windscreen is a joy.

Interestingly, this particular boat has black topsides and black canopies. Ahead of its time in the 1990s (when navy blue, also an option on the 400 Portofino, seemed to be the only alternative to white), these help to ensure that the boat still looks fresh today.

Performance

While most manufacturers offered sterndrive options only, Sunseeker was unusual in also offering a shaft-drive format. Achieved by utilising vee drive gearboxes to push the engines back aft, where they would be with the usual sterndrive layout, it created a simpler drive system.

That said, most opted for the more efficient and more responsive twin sterndrive option fitted to this boat. Sunseeker offered Yanmar and Volvo Penta options, the 230hp KAD 42 supercharged and turbocharged motors fitted to this boat giving 30+ knot performance.

High gloss cherry woodwork may be out of fashion now but it still looks wonderfully decadent

Seakeeping

Long, low and pointy, there’s a bias toward performance and seakeeping, which means the Portofino 400 is a reassuring companion offshore.

Specifications

LOA: 40ft 0in (12.2m)
Beam: 13ft 5in (4.1m)
Draft: 3ft 3in (1.0m)
Displacement: 12 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 986 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta KAD42 230hp diesel engines
Location: Brixham
Contact: RPA Boat Sales

Crownline CR340

Built: 2008
Price: £164,995

Having carefully explained how British sportscruisers tend to all have very similar layouts, this Crownline, hailing as it does from the USA, rather hammers the point home with a completely different take on how the thirty-ish-foot sportscruiser ought to be laid out. As ever with American boats, it’s all about the social spaces and it offers an intriguing alternative.

Interior

Although there is plenty of ubiquitous cherry wood in here, the first thing that strikes you upon entering is that it’s quite a bit more subtle than (for example) the Sunseeker, with a less mirror-gloss sheen plus fabric feature panels to break it up a little.

Pivot 180 degrees at the foot of the steps and you’ll discover another big difference. Whilst there is a mid cabin of sorts, it’s open plan to the saloon – basically just an open-fronted double bed that stretches beneath the cockpit.

The reason for this is that with no door or lobby area, it maximises living space. There is a separate forward cabin though, with a fairly high bed to allow it to fit further into the nose of the boat, again prioritising saloon space. As a result, the saloon itself is excellent for a sub 35ft boat.

Cherry wood is broken up with fabric feature panels

Exterior

It’s a similar story on the outside, where the lack of side decks push the cockpit right out to the edges. If you want to go forward, you climb a couple of steps next to the helm and step through an opening section in the windscreen (which is actually quite useful if you’re shorthanded as you can go directly forward from the helm rather than heading aft first to access the side decks). The result is acres of space and masses of seating in the comfortable split level cockpit.

Performance

Prod the correct button at the helm and most of the aft cockpit floor raises hydraulically giving good access to the pair of white Cummins Mercruiser QSD4.2-litre diesel engines. The likely top speed is in the 30-knot range.

The forward cabin has a transverse bed

Seakeeping

With the priority on social living, Windy is unlikely to lose too much sleep over the Crownline’s seakeeping ability, but a boat of this size and beam is unlikely to disappoint.

Specification

LOA: 36ft 1in (11.0m)
Beam: 11ft 8in (3.6m)
Draft: 3ft 0in (1.0m)
Displacement: 8.0 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 731 litres
Engines: Twin Cummins Mercruiser QSD 4.2 320hp diesel engines
Location: Torquay
Contact: One Marine

Fairline Targa 43

Built: 2004
Price: £149,950

It’s not often we feature two models from one manufacturer, and especially not from the same model line but this Targa 43 shows just how far Fairline had progressed the Targa line by 1997, when this model launched.

Whilst keeping the open cockpit ethos (now lost on the latest Targas – every current model comes with a hard top) this is a larger, more sophisticated boat than its forebears.

Interior

Described in our 1998 boat test as “among the snappiest we have seen”, the Targa 43 offers a really useful two cabin, two heads layout with excellent headroom for a sportscruiser, only the mid cabin being inevitably a little compromised by its position beneath the cockpit.

A lighter maple wood was offered but the majority got the ubiquitous high- gloss American cherry finish you see here. Fairline was really big on curves during this period, which looks great. I don’t know about ‘snappy’, I’d call it voluptuous.

Curved design details and glossy American cherry wood were favoured by Fairline during this era

Exterior

By the mid 1990s boat manufacturers had started to realise that it was possible to make windscreen frames out of something other than stainless steel, so this boat has the rather more modern GRP surround. Away from the cosmetics, its mid-40ft LOA provides length for a decent garage capable of swallowing a 2.8m tender.

Fairline modified the bathing platform on later boats like this so that a section lifted with the garage door allowing a RIB to be slid in (earlier versions required the tender to be lifted over the platform).

Performance

When we tested the boat at its launch, Fairline only offered twin 370hp Volvo Penta TAMD 63P engines, which gave us 31 knots flat out, although there were rumblings about a more powerful option. Sure enough, by the time this boat was built, an upgrade to twin TAMD 75P 480hp motors offered a useful performance hike.

The two-cabin, two-heads layout features more curves

Seakeeping

Straight shaft drive is another benefit of the larger size, putting the engines further forward for better weight distribution, and giving simpler running gear than outdrives. Combined with an Olesinski-designed hull, it makes for a very planted ride.

Specifications

LOA: 43ft 7in (13.5m)
Beam: 12ft 6in (3.8m)
Draft: 3ft 3in (1.0m)
Displacement: 9.5 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 1,247 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta TAMD 75P 480hp diesel engines
Location: Jersey
Contact: JD Yachts

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Neptunus Carlton S41

Built: 2002
Price: £95,000

Neptunus is a marque that you may not have come across. A Dutch yard, it built some very solid craft, mostly big flybridge boats but also the occasional sportscruiser, like this one.

Interior

A broadly conventional interior for a 40ft sportscruiser, it has the owner’s cabin in the bow, a mid cabin back aft with two single beds that run transversely beneath the cockpit, and a dinette opposite the galley between them. But it did have one AUSP (almost unique selling point). A second heads.

Pretty much unheard of at the time, it was ensuite to the mid cabin, giving your guests total privacy, not something you’d have found on a Princess V42 or Fairline Targa 43 of the same era. (The Sealine S41 had one, hence ‘almost’, but that was a far bulkier looking boat).

The two-cabins, two-heads layout is rare for a 40ft sportscruiser of this era

Exterior

With its powerful haunches, raked transom and chunky GRP sweep of windscreen frame (positioned such that it’s easy to see over when stood, although it can limit vision when seated), the Carlton S41 is a distinctive-looking boat.

It’s practical, too – the side rails extend right aft so that access to the side decks feels secure and protected, and the boarding ladder has hand rails that extend vertically above the swim platform to aid egress from the water.

Unusually, there is a small breakfast bar arrangement on the port side of the cockpit, and it’s this that creates the headroom for that second heads.

Performance

We tested a Carlton S41 with a pair of Volvo Penta KAD 44 EDC engines. With a maximum speed of 30 knots (although the manufacturer claimed to have seen 34 knots), we felt that the larger KAD 300 EDC engines coming on line at that point might be a better match. Fortunately, that is the engine option fitted to this boat.

The forward master features a fixed double berth and high quality fixtures and fittings

Seakeeping

We put the slightly breathless performance down to the sheer weight of the boat (a Princess V42 of that era with KAD 44EDC was achieving 37 knots). However, it is a sturdily built craft offering refined cruising.

Specifications

LOA: 42ft 8in (13.0m)
Beam: 12ft 4in (3.8m)
Draught: 3ft 2in (1.0m)
Displacement: 8.2 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 750 litres
Engines: Volvo Penta KAD 44EDC 260hp diesels
Location: Channel Islands
Contact: Moore Yachts

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Sunseeker Superhawk 50

Built: 2001
Price: £199,950

The Superhawk 50 was originally launched as the Superhawk 48 and could be purchased with anything from a pair of 230hp diesels through to triple 300hp Yanmar diesels.

Naturally, Sunseeker (heavily performance-orientated at the time) opined that a little more performance would be lovely, so it developed the 50.

A longer bathing platform allowed triple surface drives to be connected to 420hp Yanmar 6LY2-STE engines, putting 50 knots within reach.

Interior

Designed by Don Shead and an evolution of the Thunderhawk 43, itself based on Shead’s race-winning Rejuga offshore powerboat design, the Superhawk has a pencil of a hull; narrow, low and deep of vee.

It’s why there is a gently curving channel to walk along through the centre of the cabin to gain a little extra headroom. There’s no mid cabin as the cockpit is also kept low. It is trimmed in classic Sunseeker high-gloss cherry with the thick cappings the company did so well. Yes, it’s small inside, but so is an Aston Martin Vantage.

Exterior

Again the narrow beam makes itself felt, but the cockpit of the Superhawk 50 is a lovely place to be. There’s a huge sunpad aft above the motors, with a walkway past it to port, a deeply sunk dinette opposite a wet bar and three heavily padded stand/sit bolsters at the business end.

The helm is a plethora of gauges – this boat predates electronic instruments so the full analog dial display is repeated three times, and six levers control the engines – three throttles and three gear shifters.

Performance

It’s fast. Seriously fast. And with those surface-piercing Rolla propellers, other boaters get treated to the sight of a huge rooster tail of spray as you leave them for dead.

The interior isn’t particularly spacious but it reeks of early 2000s Sunseeker quality

Seakeeping

Out at sea is where that narrow beam and low profile pay off. The race-boat DNA creates a hull that scythes through the rough stuff, allowing all of that towering performance to be unleashed.

Specifications

LOA: 52ft 1in (15.9m)
Beam: 10ft 10in (3.3m)
Draught: 3ft 0in (0.9m)
Displacement: 11.5 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 1,000 litres
Engines: Triple Yanmar 6LY2-STE 420hp diesel engines
Location: Essex
Contact: boats.co.uk

Windy 37 Grand Mistral

Built: 2008
Price: £165,000

Quite often there is a single boat that inspires this feature, and this month it’s this boat. The vast majority of Windy 37 Grand Mistrals went out with the optional hard top, which makes good sense. But when I saw this open version I immediately thought “she’s just about perfect”.

Interior

Some makes of boat have an unmistakeable vibe, and Windy is no exception. I could be lead aboard blindfolded, but once inside I’d know exactly what it was. The combination of beautiful woodwork, including the practical wooden floor, the well-fitted linings and the subtle colour scheme just scream, or more accurately whisper, “Windy”.

The layout is snug but entirely conventional and none the worse for it – double cabins at either end are split by the saloon and galley. The centreline bed in the owner’s cabin forward is a nice touch in a sub-40ft boat.

A smart dinette and galley split the two double cabins; the quality is excellent

Exterior

It’s a similar deal in the cockpit where neatly paired instruments down either side of the helm console, plenty of chunky grab rails, a thick wooden cockpit table and practical touches such as the steps up to the port side deck let you know you’re aboard a proper boat from a proper builder.

Performance

Although early Grand Mistrals (the boat launched in 1997) were offered with a variety of twin Yanmar, Mercruiser or Volvo Penta engines, the vast majority got the Volvos, and in fact the other makes soon disappeared from the options form.

In production for well over a decade, the KAD 44 260hp and KAD 300 285hp engines were usurped in 2004 by Volvo Penta’s brand new D Series motors, hence the D4-260 engines in this example, which should push the top speed into the high 30s.

A centreline double bed on a sub-40ft boat is a desirable addition for a boat of the era

Seakeeping

Designed by Hans J Johnsen, this is an extremely capable boat. When we asked powerboat racer Steve Curtis to test a number of like-sized sportscruisers in June 2005, he concluded that the 37 “had the best combination of ride comfort and agility of all the boats tested”.

Specifications

LOA: 36ft 7in (11.1m)
Beam: 10ft 6in (3.5m)
Draught: 3ft 2in (1.0m)
Displacement: 6.5 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 800 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta D4-260 260hp diesel engines
Location: Poole
Contact: Salterns Brokerage

Sealine 360 Ambassador

Built: 1995
Price: £69,950

In 1993, when the 360 Ambassador was launched, Sealine’s range stretched from a 21ft 210 Senator that you could put on a trailer through to the 450 Statesman – a 45ft flybridge cruiser, putting this model firmly into the centre and encapsulating exactly what Sealine did so well: good-value user-friendly boats.

Despite it being almost 30 years old, this is still a great looking boat – well proportioned and curvaceous.

Interior

The user-friendliness is particularly evident inside the boat. Whilst many other manufacturers were still filling their interiors with dour and heavy- looking teak, the 360 Ambassador welcomes you in with light woods and pale fabrics.

It’s well equipped, too, with a three-burner hob, gas oven and grill, plus a microwave, and there is a stack of storage. A conventional layout sees a master cabin forward and guests in the mid cabin aft.

The forward cabin gets a centreline double bed instead of being squashed against one side and the mid cabin has a single and a double berth, making this area particularly adaptable. Even the toilet and the shower are split off into two separate units.

Headroom and levels of natural light are excellent in the generous forward master

Exterior

The cockpit is on one level, without any steps to trip up or stumble down, and the backrest of the aft seat can be configured to provide seating or sunbathing space. There’s even a little wet bar with a sink and fridge.

Performance

Unusually, Sealine offered this boat with Mercruiser (petrol or diesel) or Yamaha diesel engines, as well as the more commonly found Volvo Penta KAD 42 230hp diesels fitted to this boat.

All were twin installations, and all running outdrives. We tested the boat with 247hp Yamahas and reached a fraction over 31 knots.

The bright interior used light woods in stark contrast to many of its competitors

Seakeeping

Sealines of this era vary greatly in terms of seakeeping ability, but the 360 Ambassador (and later S37) has one of the best hulls Sealine produced at the time, with a soft ride and capable handling.

Specifications

LOA: 37ft 1in (11.3m)
Beam: 12ft 2in (3.7m)
Draught: 3ft 1in (0.9m)
Displacement: 7 tonnes
Fuel capacity: 660 litres
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta KAD 42 230hp diesels
Location: River Thames
Contact: Tingdene Boat Sales

First published in the July 2022 issue of MBY.

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This article Best open sportscruisers: 4 tempting options for wind-in-your-hair boating appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.

The 1950s in the USA was a time of great optimism. World War II was over, the economy was booming and more people than ever before were able to buy new cars, consumer goods and boats. Manufacturers rode this tidal wave of prosperity like surfers, bringing out new and exciting products with which to wow their customers.

It was the era that famously begat the daring and stylish, if somewhat impractical, Chevrolet Corvette in 1953, a statement of power, style and success from a previously conservative mainstream manufacturer.

Chris-Craft, also keen to make a stylistic name for itself, watched with interest and decided it wanted a slice of that glamour. GRP (glass reinforced plastic) was just starting to make itself felt in the marine world, but this traditional wooden builder wasn’t about to start building boats out of it.

Instead, it used the flexibility of this new wonder material to crown its fabulous new boat with a gold fin; the Chris-Craft Cobra was born.

The concept was the brainchild of Don Mortrude, a Chris-Craft freelance industrial designer. A.W. Mackerer led a team within Chris-Craft to design the Cobra’s naval architecture. They already had a successful Mackerer hull so they based it around that.

Launched two years after the Corvette in 1955, the Chris-Craft Cobra was also all about style and glamour over practicality.

It was a statement, a calling card designed to grab the eye of anyone beholding it and that fabulous gold fin was just the start. It adorned a stunningly pretty hull made of fine varnished wood and built in two sizes, 18 feet and 21 feet.

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Both sported a ‘bull nose’ and a sheer line that swept aft to an impossibly low transom. With that famous fin sweeping so far forward, there was room for only a single row of seats, another nod to the style (and the impracticality) of the then brand new Corvette.

Seating was gold vinyl to match the fin, and the cockpit edges were padded like an aircraft but in an alligator-style fabric. A floor shifter selected forward, neutral or reverse in another nod to the automotive sports car world.

It’s no coincidence that the helm looks like the dashboard of a 1950s American sportscar. Photo: Alamy

A 340hp Chrysler V8 Hemi engine powered most of the 21ft boats, a few going out with the a 285hp Cadillac Crusader engine. The 18ft got a Hercules KBL 131hp
6-cylinder engine.

The Cobra was built for one year only, and just 55 of the 21ft version and 51 of the 18ft boat were actually built. Whilst it was far from Chris-Craft’s most popular model (some sources suggest that the company never actually made a profit from them), that rather misses the point.

The intention was to put Chris-Craft on the maritime map in the same way that the Corvette had for the automotive world. Mission accomplished.

Chris-Craft Cobra specifications

LOA: 18-21ft
Beam: 6ft 2in-6ft 10in
Power: 131hp Hercules KBL/ 285hp Cadillac Crusader / 340hp Chrysler Hemi V8 petrol
Top speed (approx): 30 knots
Price: $3,950 (when launched in 1955)

This article World’s coolest boats: Why the Chris-Craft Cobra is the Corvette of the seas appeared first on Motor Boat & Yachting.