Boat Reviews & Insights Menu
BOAT REVIEWS
Discover New Zealand’s best boats with expert reviews, specs, and local insights—sailboats, powerboats, and yachts covered.
LATEST NEWS
Boat Review
Roger Hill Camp Cruiser
The Camp Cruiser concept reminds us that boats come in all shapes and sizes and that there are still...
Horsepower (HP):
60 (50hp design spec)
Length Over All (M):
6.54
YEAR:
2025
Displacement (M):
1800
Construction:
Timber or composite
Length Over All (M):
7.43
CONSTRUCTION:
Strip paulownia sheated in fibreglass
Boat Review
Elliott 1250 Tourer
This Aussie-built, Kiwi-designed deckhouse cruiser has the legs for fast passagemaking around the ba...
Boat Review
Beneteau First 36.7
In March 2006, the latest model in Beneteau's First cruiser/racer range looked set to follow the suc...
Boat Review
Beneteau Oceanis 411
Decades of chartering know-how have been synthesised in the Beneteau Oceanis 411's crisp lines, grea...
Boat Review
Waverunner FX140 (2006)
With the impressive Yamaha R1 engine powering the WaveRunner FX140, Mark Bracks in 2006 discovers th...
Boat Review
Smartwave 4800 Poly Boat
The biggest boat in the Smartwave lineup, the Smartwave 4800 has a softer, more rounded hull that ha...
Horsepower (HP):
50
Length Over All (M):
4.8
CONSTRUCTION:
Linear medium-density polyethylene with foam-filled voids
Boat Review
Smartwave 4200 Poly Boat
Our Smartwave 4200 centre-console came in a serious-looking but sensible battleship grey, but is ava...
Horsepower (HP):
40
Length Over All (M):
4.2
CONSTRUCTION:
Linear medium-density polyethylene with foam-filled voids
Boat Review
Smartwave 3500 Poly Boat
The Smartwave 3500 E-Fish model was fitted with a Tohatsu 30hp two stroke outboard motor, again with...
Horsepower (HP):
30
Length Over All (M):
3.5
Innovision Explorer 707
Overall, this boat is another example of the high standard that Innovision holds itself to.
Horsepower (HP):
350
Length Over All (M):
11.15
YEAR:
2025
Construction:
6mm bottom, 4mm sides, deck
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
Offshore 100 HTC
Outahere took approximately two years from concept to launch, with Mike and Offshore Boats having co...
Horsepower (HP):
700
Length Over All (M):
11
YEAR:
2025
Displacement (M):
7500 (dry)
Construction:
Aluminium planing powercat with foil assistance.
CONSTRUCTION:
Amuninium
Saxdor 400 GTO
This is a seriously fast boat intended for socialising and impressing friends.
Horsepower (HP):
800
Length Over All (M):
12.4
YEAR:
2025
Displacement (M):
10,000
Construction:
Boats
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
OceanPro 533 Cuddy Cabin
OceanPro is not really a name that springs to mind when thinking about New Zealand-built aluminium t...
Horsepower (HP):
70-100
Length Over All (M):
5.5
YEAR:
2025
Construction:
Pontoon-style aluminium monohull
Length Over All (M):
5.33
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
XO Crossover DFNDR 9 Expedition
The DFNDR’s adventure-ready spirit is reflected in its layout.
Horsepower (HP):
450
Length Over All (M):
8.8
YEAR:
2025
Displacement (M):
2710kg, plus engines
Construction:
Amuminium hull, GRP decks, superstructure
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium/GRP
Smuggler Strata 800SS
New Zealand has led the world in the development of small amphibious recreational boats, and hundred...
Horsepower (HP):
300
Length Over All (M):
8
YEAR:
2024
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP hull and decks, Hypalon tubes
Riviera 4300 Sports Express
Building large, multimillion-dollar bluewater motoryachts for a global market is a serious business,...
Length Over All (M):
13.88
YEAR:
2025
Displacement (M):
15,500
CONSTRUCTION:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Viknes 10
Now headed to our shores, is this clever new family cruiser the ultimate all-rounder?
Very few bo...
Length Over All (M):
10.60
Displacement (M):
6,300
Construction:
Fibreglass (GPR)
Prestige M48
Showing your hand too early in poker, or indeed in any emerging market, is a gamble, so the Beneteau...
Length Over All (M):
14.79
Displacement (M):
17.5
Boat Review
Buccaneer 605 Exeed
The 605 Exeed impresses with its quiet, dry, and supremely comfortable ride.
Horsepower (HP):
150-200
Length Over All (M):
6.46
YEAR:
2025
Length Over All (M):
6.05
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
Purekraft Rova 29 Amphibious
The Purekraft Rova 29 Amphibious is an impressive beast however you look at it, whether on the hard ...
Horsepower (HP):
600
Length Over All (M):
9.92
YEAR:
2025
Displacement (M):
5000
Length Over All (M):
9.0
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
Dufour 44: Très Bon
Helming the Dufour 44 during a club race was both exhilarating and surprising, reports our Australia...
Length Over All (M):
13.91
Superbly Senator
Hawkes Bay’s Senator Boats is best known for its range of strong, capable, trailerable aluminium ‘ch...
Horsepower (HP):
90-115hp
Length Over All (M):
3.9
YEAR:
2025
Construction:
5mm bottom, 3mm chambers, 4mm sides & decks, 3/4mm hardtop
Length Over All (M):
5.65
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
Maritimo M50
Maritimo’s new M50 is the result of a lot of intensity, born out of a singular purpose – namely, to ...
Horsepower (HP):
1600
Length Over All (M):
15.69
YEAR:
2025
Displacement (M):
26,500 (dry)
Construction:
Solid GRP hull
Length Over All (M):
15.2
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
Fin Chaser 700HTA
I have always been impressed with the hull performance of FC Boats and a change of name hasn’t alter...
Horsepower (HP):
250/27
Length Over All (M):
9
YEAR:
2025
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
Boat Review
Catalyst 45 Render
Lloyd Stevenson Boatbuilders’ latest iteration of the popular Catalyst high-performance powercat is ...
Horsepower (HP):
1200
Length Over All (M):
14.3
YEAR:
2025
Displacement (M):
7,300 (light)
Construction:
Carbon/E-glass and epoxy laminates, foam cores
CONSTRUCTION:
Composite
Boat Review
Assault 920 Amphibious
Assault Boats’ new Pursuit 920 Amphibious is a great all-rounder. Suitable for fishing, scuba diving...
Horsepower (HP):
350
Length Over All (M):
8.4
YEAR:
2025
Displacement (M):
2,800
Construction:
GRP hull, Hypalon tubes
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
Innovision 616 Venture
It is over a decade since we reviewed the first production boat from Innovision, and in many respect...
Horsepower (HP):
200-250
Length Over All (M):
6.27
YEAR:
2025
Construction:
6mm bottom plates, 4mm sides
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
Rayglass Legend 2700
Rayglass Boats’ new Legend 2700 is the spiritual (and, eventually, literal) successor to the Legend ...
Horsepower (HP):
270-450
Length Over All (M):
8.8
YEAR:
2025
Construction:
Moulded GRP with integrated liner and foam buoyancy
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
Boat Review
Elliott 1150 Tourer
Denim is a classic Kiwi tale. Start with a solitary man and a dream, pile on the challenges, stir in...
Construction:
Composite
CONSTRUCTION:
E-glass/epoxy/foam core (deck) and plywood (hull)
Stabicraft 2050 Frontier Profish
Where this model really excels is fishability.
Horsepower (HP):
150-200
Length Over All (M):
6.3
YEAR:
2025
Displacement (M):
875kg (dry, no motor)
Construction:
Arrow pontoons, wide-body hull
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
Matera 40 cruising catamaran
This build philosophy—and its practical result—is best shown in the wide, uninterrupted arch of the ...
Horsepower (HP):
40
Length Over All (M):
13.5
YEAR:
2025
Displacement (M):
4800 loaded
Construction:
Carbon fibre, PVC core, West System resins
Length Over All (M):
12.2
CONSTRUCTION:
Composite
Elite 13.8m Sedan Kaeā
The vessel will be Wellington-based but is destined to spend much of her cruising life in the Marlbo...
Horsepower (HP):
960hp
Length Over All (M):
13.8
YEAR:
2025
Displacement (M):
13,900
Construction:
Three layers marine ply, glued, vacuum-bagged for the hull; ply, foam, ply sandwich decks
CONSTRUCTION:
Composite
Boat Review
Candela C-8 Hardtop
The Candela C-8 is clearly a much more mature and technologically advanced model than its predecesso...
Horsepower (HP):
45/50kW
Length Over All (M):
8.5
YEAR:
2025
Displacement (M):
1850
Construction:
Vacumm-infused carbon fibre
CONSTRUCTION:
Carbon fibre
Dickey Pacific 62
Passage making is about long days at sea, often with swell and waves running at different angles, or...
Horsepower (HP):
300
Length Over All (M):
18.75
Displacement (M):
18,000
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
Dibley 7.5m Sportsboat
Despite the lack of gennaker it’s still a fun and fantastic ride down the harbour, and reminds me ho...
Construction:
Vacuum-infused
CONSTRUCTION:
Carbon fibre hull & decks
Boat Review
Axopar 29 XC Cross Cabin
The ultimate multi-purpose craft for boaters who demand more from their vessel.
Horsepower (HP):
350
YEAR:
2025
Displacement (M):
3220 (including engine)
Length Over All (M):
9.31
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
Sargo 33
This is a cleverly designed boat with great space for a 33-footer.
Horsepower (HP):
680
Length Over All (M):
10.99
YEAR:
2025
Displacement (M):
7400
CONSTRUCTION:
GRO
Maritimo M600 Black Edition
The Black Edition of Maritimo’s M600 Offshore Flybridge Motor Yacht is no mere badge-engineering sol...
Horsepower (HP):
1600 (std)
Length Over All (M):
17.31
YEAR:
2024
Displacement (M):
31,700
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP