Boat Reviews & Insights Menu

Boats that stood out to us, and might inspire your next adventure.

Windhawk 35 // Supplied
Boat Profile

Windhawk 35

With its classical lines, comfortable living areas and warm, nautical decor, the...
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Boat Profile

Chris-Craft Heritage Launch 32

Chris-Craft
First published in Boating New Zealand back in 2013, this article has lost none ...
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April 2026

Fair winds, farewell. On epiphanies, experiences and learning from them – selling a beloved boat.

What's the thing with epiphanies. You remember every last little detail. Aft...
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Mariner 290 vs Cresta 900
Boat Profile

Mariner 290 vs Cresta 900

Comparing boats is something that we rarely do. No two boats are the same and wh...
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Boat Profile

Diva, the cutter yacht

Not so long ago, when most yachts were crafted from wood and not just cloned in ...
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Fury unleashed. // Supplied
Boat Brief

Fury unleashed

In the most exclusive segment of the yachting sector, there are two very distinc...
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Feadship 826 launch. // Photo credit: Feadship
Boat Profile

Feadship Project 826: A new direction in superyacht design

Dutch yard Feadship has launched Project 826, an 80-metre superyacht that makes ...
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Maritimo M75 // Photo credit: Maritimo
Boat Profile

Maritimo 75, standing apart in the global 70-foot market

Maritimo
Maritimo’s 75-foot M75 and S75 represent a distinctly Australian interpretatio...
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Boat Profile

Code X reborn: Fabio Buzzi’s radical powerboat returns

A striking, angular powerboat that looks uncannily like a modern Tesla Cybertruc...
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Boat Profile

Coming home to a brand new boat: The story of Kōtare’s restoration

Rayglass
Recently a Rayglass client called Tim Tsoumas, head of our Premium Restora...
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Boat Profile

ILIAD Catamarans celebrates stunning collaboration with Baz Yacht Design

Iliad
ILIAD Catamarans has unveiled imagery of the first ILIAD 53F OffGrid Hybrid, fea...
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Boat Profile

U-Boat Worx unveils super sub during exclusive 24-hour exploration experience

U-Boat Worx, the world’s leading manufacturer of manned submersibles, has offici...
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Rigging up at the Wakatere Boating Club.
Boat Profile

The OK Dinghy: The New Zealand dominance

For nearly 70 years, the OK Dinghy has been one of this country’s most popular i...
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The Beast // Photo credit: Ikonic Yachts
Boat Profile

Superyacht The Beast sold: Kiwi-built expedition yacht changes hands

The iconic New Zealand-built explorer yacht finds a new owner, marking the next ...
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Maxi Edmond de Rothschild // Photo credit: Eloi Stichelbaut / PolaRYSE / GITANA S.A.
Boat Profile

First sea trials for the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild

Since her launch on the 14th of February, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild's first ...
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Auckland Boat Show

Bavaria E40 walkthrough with Busfield Marine, at the Auckland Boat Show

At the Auckland Boat Show we stepped aboard a 2018 Bavaria E40 for a quick walkt...
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Boat Profile

Stella Maris Motorsailer

Beeldsnijder (Pieter)
A motorsailer offers the best virtues of both wind and powered boats. With a ful...
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Flak Too at the show. Photos: Jack Shuttleworth.
Boat Profile

Flak Too: The hydroplane that broke 100mph on Lake Rotoiti

In April 1968, on the long freshwater reach of Lake Rotoiti near Nelson, Flak To...
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Boat Profile

Graham Dalton’s Owen Open 60, Hexagon

Kiwi Graham Dalton and his New Zealand-flagged Open 60 Hexagon will carry the ho...
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Boat Profile

Palm Beach XI Takes Flight on Sydney Harbour

Under sail off Shark Island with the port C-foil deployed, Palm Beach XI gathere...
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Wraith II // Photo credit: Sean Vernon
Boat Profile

Wraith II: The MOD70, from Beau Geste to near record-breaking victory at the Balokovic Cup

Wraith II, the MOD70 trimaran formerly known as Beau Geste and Snowflake, made a...
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Boat Profile

Gitana 18 launched in Lorient as next generation Ultim enters service

The Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, Gitana 18, was launched on 14 February in Lorient...
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Boat Profile

X3 Centreboard Yacht

First discussed on our pages in 2006, the X3 has resurfaced at just the right ti...
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The Seawind 1170 under way
Boat Profile

Seawind 1170 production insight as Turkish facility comes online

Seawind
Seawind Catamarans has released a detailed factory video outlining how the Seawi...
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// Patea Boats
Boat Profile

The Pātea 830, built from experience, guided by legacy

The Pātea 830 is more than a trailerable cruiser—it’s a boat built for rugged co...
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Boat Profile

Laissez Faire, a seriously capable 2012 Beneteau Oceanis 58 cruiser with the comfort to stay onboard...

A 2012 Beneteau Oceanis 58 designed for proper cruising When the Oceanis 58 was...
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Boat Profile

Beneteau First 30 at 50: how the yacht that launched the First range evolved

Next year, in 2027, the Beneteau First 30 turns 50. Few production yachts can cl...
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Flagship has been tweaked in mutiple ways to demonstrate cruising options.
Boat Profile

Riviera 58 Sports Motor Yacht: Tuned by experience

Riviera
Luxury Motor Yacht
Launched in 2025, the 19.8m Flagship is the first of Riviera's new 58 Sports Mot...
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Boat Profile

From niche to norm: multihulls emerge as a dominant force in global boating

Multihull boating has moved decisively from niche to mainstream, and in early 20...
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Eugen Seibold // Photo credit: Dominic Jack
Boat Profile

Inside the making of Eugen Seibold: the yacht built to work where research ships cannot

YYachts
Sloop
A yacht built for a very unusual brief When the Max Planck Society set out to c...
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Nereyda 580 Regal
Boat Profile

The 580 Regal, twenty years on

The 580 Regal first appeared on the New Zealand boating scene under the Sea Nymp...
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Boat Profile

Why we kept coming back to the Fi-Glass Warrior

The first time Boating New Zealand reviewed the Fi-Glass Warrior, the conditions...
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Dickey Semifly 36
Boat Profile

Eight years on, the Dickey Semifly 36 still proves the point

Dickey
New Zealand’s marine industry is beginning to find its feet after a tough early-...
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// Photo credit: Paul Spencer / Facebook
Boat Profile

Human powered circumnavigation boat built in New Zealand rewrites ocean endurance rules

The New Zealand-built pedal boat designed to fix a flaw in human powered circumn...
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Whekenui // Photo credit: Baird Maritime / Facebook
Boat Profile

Whekenui arrives and gets to work

Whekenui has arrived in Marlborough. Built for daily offshore work, the 24m serv...
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Rayglass 4000 Majestic // Photo credit: Rayglass
Boat Profile

From a 3500 tour to a Rayglass 4000 restoration

Rayglass
Sport Boat
What began as a routine factory tour of a Rayglass 3500 quickly evolved into a f...
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Boat Profile

Built to go south: Palm Beach 65 takes on the Sydney to Hobart passage

Palm Beach
After months of major modifications ahead of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, Palm ...
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Runaway repower
Boat Profile

Runaway repower

Runaway is an extended Formula 33 owned by fastidious engineer and businessman M...
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The new Gran Turismo range available from 36 Degrees Brokers
Boat Profile

Beneteau Gran Turismo range redefined for modern New Zealand boating

Beneteau
Three new express cruisers built around space, ease of use, and time spent outsi...
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1965 ALAN SMITH ALAN SMITH // Photo credit: The Vining Group
Boat Profile

Alan Smith launch Muritai: a Northland classic with real pedigree

Alan Smith (Claude Allen Smith)
A 1965 Alan Smith launch that captures the best of mid century kauri craftsmansh...
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