BOAT REVIEWS
Discover New Zealand’s best boats with expert reviews, specs, and local insights—sailboats, powerboats, and yachts covered.
Whittley CW 1600 Cuddy
Australia’s Whittley Boats is best known for its cruisers – family-sized cabin boats with sterndrive...
Length Over All (M):
5.0
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
Senator RH770
Napier aluminium boatbuilder Senator Boats is happy to customise any model in its extensive range to...
Length Over All (M):
7.93
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
Beneteau Oceanis 41.1
When it comes to creating cruising yachts, you’d expect Beneteau to know their stuff. The new 12.4-m...
Length Over All (M):
11.98
Displacement (M):
8777
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
Polyester hull, composite decks
Riviera 5400 Sport Yacht
Riviera’s latest Sport Yacht, the impressive 5400, takes the boating lifestyle very seriously.
Length Over All (M):
17.46
Displacement (M):
24725
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
Tristram 701 Vanquish
The 701 is the latest model release from Hamilton-based Tristram Marine, available in a soft top con...
Horsepower (HP):
225
Length Over All (M):
7.1
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
Caribbean 35 Mk III
Proving that there is always room for improvement, the new Caribbean 35 Mk III expands her fishing-f...
Length Over All (M):
12
Displacement (M):
850
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
Jeanneau 54
Fortunate indeed is the boatbuilder who announces a proposed, new model and immediately sells out th...
Length Over All (M):
16.5
Displacement (M):
17164
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
14.25
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
Mac 470 Sportfisher
The newest model from Mac Boats is a versatile family runabout that lends itself equally easily to f...
Horsepower (HP):
70
Length Over All (M):
4.7
Construction:
Other
CONSTRUCTION:
Roto-moulded PE
Southern XP896
Smart looking, nicely finished and boasting great performance and handling, the top of the range twi...
Horsepower (HP):
400
Length Over All (M):
9.43
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium with GRP hardtop
Stabicraft 2500 Ultracab XL
Just when you think Stabicraft’s design team has settled into a conventional frame-of-mind, along c...
Horsepower (HP):
300
Length Over All (M):
7.62
Displacement (M):
2500
Construction:
Aluminium
Length Over All (M):
7.62
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
Smuggler Strata 750 RIB
With a tight deadline to review the new Smuggler Strata 750 Cabin, the weather wasn’t playing ball. ...
Horsepower (HP):
250
Length Over All (M):
7.5
Construction:
Inflatable
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP and Hypalon
White Pointer 970 Pro Sportsman
Boating New Zealand · Review
Boat Review / Aluminium Trailer Boats
Straight to the Poi...
Cora 48 Catamaran
Performance is modest, as expected for its power-to-weight ratio, but nearly 17 knots of speed was a...
Length Over All (M):
14.75
Displacement (M):
24000
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Buccaneer Five Seven Five HT
The spacious cockpit is uncluttered but has plenty of seating. The cockpit sole is covered in SeaDek...
Horsepower (HP):
150
Length Over All (M):
5.75
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
5.4
Beneteau First 44
Fifteen knots eased back to about 10 knots and the boat felt light on the helm, responding nicely to...
Length Over All (M):
14.15
Displacement (M):
10500
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
13.17
Haines Hunter SP635
The hardtop SP635 shares the same underpinnings as the popular SF 635 which was a completely new mod...
Horsepower (HP):
200
Length Over All (M):
6.76
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
6.35
Sealegs 12RC
‘Behemoth’ is a word which springs to mind or, perhaps more nautically, ‘leviathan’.
Length Over All (M):
12.3
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
Alloy RIB, amphibious
Rayglass 3000
There are two different powerplant configurations currently available: either twin outboards or sing...
Horsepower (HP):
600
Length Over All (M):
8
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Ballistic 1950KC
Ballistic Boats has released the latest ski-boat to hit the market and Geoff Green thinks this Craig...
Horsepower (HP):
140-300
Length Over All (M):
5.9
Displacement (M):
660
Construction:
Composite
CONSTRUCTION:
Carbon and Kevlar with foam cores
Haines Hunter Overlander OP725
The Anura system is not only pleasingly quiet in operation (no noisy internal combustion engine in t...
Horsepower (HP):
300
Length Over All (M):
7.5
Displacement (M):
2400
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
7.25
CONSTRUCTION:
E-glass with carbon fibre reinforcement
Beneteau First 36
The First 36 has a pleasingly yacht-like cockpit: this is a boat that is meant to be sailed.
Length Over All (M):
11.98
Displacement (M):
4800
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
10.25
Elite 18m Mid Pilothouse
The loving care and attention that has gone into every detail is clearly evident.
Length Over All (M):
18
Displacement (M):
28000
Construction:
Composite
Length Over All (M):
15.8
CONSTRUCTION:
Epoxy glass over balsa and epoxy glass over ply and foam for the superstructure
Innovision 555
The boat had to be a ‘pure lure-fishing weapon’
Horsepower (HP):
150
Length Over All (M):
5.56
Construction:
Aluminium
Breezecraft Tuff Cat
Robust construction and pragmatic design are the dominant features of the latest and biggest catamar...
Displacement (M):
1,200
Construction:
Hull thickness: 15mm
Length Over All (M):
6.3
CONSTRUCTION:
polyethylene
Salthouse Sovereign Spirit Elite
By focusing on the Australian market, Salthouse Marine Group has built strong brand recognition and ...
Horsepower (HP):
635
Length Over All (M):
20.37
YEAR:
2001
Displacement (M):
21,000
Construction:
Lloyds certified, balsa core fibreglass reinforced plastic.
CONSTRUCTION:
Lloyds certified, balsa core fibreglass reinforced plastic.
Aluka 823 Walkaround
At rest, the boat was extremely comfortable, and certainly fits the family-friendly bill.
Horsepower (HP):
350
Length Over All (M):
8.23
Construction:
Aluminium
LSB Catalyst superyacht tender
After sea trials in Auckland, T/T Skorpios was shipped to Europe to join her mothership, the carbon...
Length Over All (M):
15.53
Construction:
Composite
Length Over All (M):
12.73
CONSTRUCTION:
E-glass with a foam core
E-40 Powercat
The E-40 PowerCat is the latest in a long line of engineering and boating innovations by John McGett...
Length Over All (M):
12
Displacement (M):
3600
Construction:
Composite
CONSTRUCTION:
Core composite foam with carbon fibre inserts
Bavaria C45
Beautiful weather doesn’t always equal the best weather for going sailing, but sometimes you just ha...
Length Over All (M):
13.98
Displacement (M):
11935
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
12.87
Prestige 520
This is a special review – two vessels at the same time. The Prestige 520 Fly model comes with a lar...
Length Over All (M):
16.11
Displacement (M):
15579
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
14.80
Beneteau Oceanis 40.1 First Line
If you’re a retired airline pilot with a bit of a need for speed, you’re probably looking for perfor...
Length Over All (M):
12.87
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
11.99
Bavaria C42
Getting back out on the water after an extended period in lockdown felt so good — especially with th...
Length Over All (M):
12.9
Displacement (M):
9678
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
11.27
Jeanneau Sunfast 3300
Jeanneau’s Sunfast 3300 joins its well-established siblings, the 3200 and later 3600, which have mad...
Length Over All (M):
10.11
Displacement (M):
3500
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Swift Trawler 41 Fly
French boat manufacturer Beneteau is one of the oldest and largest boatbuilders in existence, still ...
Length Over All (M):
13.43
Displacement (M):
11040
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
12.52
Dehler 30OD
Looking a little like a miniature Volvo boat, the black-hulled Dehler 30od (one design) delivers the...
Length Over All (M):
10.3
Displacement (M):
2800
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
8.97
CONSTRUCTION:
Sandwich PVC hull
Purekraft 800HT
Purekraft designs and builds custom aluminium boats – but its extraordinary flexibility was particul...
Horsepower (HP):
400
Length Over All (M):
8.0
Construction:
Aluminium
Prestige 420s Coupé
The Prestige 420s is the sedan express version of the much-applauded flybridge motor yacht that was ...
Length Over All (M):
13.06
Displacement (M):
14400
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)