BOAT REVIEWS
Discover New Zealand’s best boats with expert reviews, specs, and local insights—sailboats, powerboats, and yachts covered.
King K5000 RIB
If you’re in the market for a highly spec’d, high-quality RIB with good looks and performance, take ...
Length Over All (M):
5.1
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium hull, Hypalon tubes
Sea Ray SLX 260
Sea Ray has always been about raising the bar and going beyond the expected.
Length Over All (M):
9.41
Displacement (M):
2.52
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Caribbean 2400 Hardtop
These vessels will take you a long way out, run all day long, and get you back home safe, sound, and...
Horsepower (HP):
400
Length Over All (M):
8.0
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
7.2
Legacy L70
Legacy Marine’s first L70 is the sort of sportfishing paragon other vessels will be measured against...
Length Over All (M):
24
Displacement (M):
60000
Construction:
Aluminium
Sealegs 12m RIB Cabin
On land it’s a big machine to pilot – tall, wide, and long, with a very wide turning circle, though ...
Length Over All (M):
11.3
Displacement (M):
7000
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium hull, Hypalon tubes
Maritimo S600
Such is the refinement, handling and practical feel of the excellent Maritimo S600, it reminds me of...
Length Over All (M):
18.62
Displacement (M):
32600
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
18.43
Buccaneer Exess XL
The overwhelming impression I took away from our few hours on Lake Dunstan is how well this boat goe...
Horsepower (HP):
200
Length Over All (M):
6.46
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
6.05
NEEL 43
The NEEL 43 has a versatile sail plan, making it ideal for the varied conditions of bluewater voyagi...
Length Over All (M):
13.1
Displacement (M):
9000
Construction:
Composite
CONSTRUCTION:
Vinylester, vacuum moulded
ILIAD 62
Since the brand’s inception just over three years ago, ILIAD is quickly become an established brand ...
Length Over All (M):
18.95
Displacement (M):
40000
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Princess F55
Princess has been making high quality motoryachts since 1965, with a range that currently runs from ...
Length Over All (M):
17.6
Displacement (M):
4.6
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Fjord 38xpress
The angular lines of plumb bow, flat sheer and abrupt transom are reminiscent of the Banfield’s Wall...
Length Over All (M):
11.63
Displacement (M):
6060
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
11.28
Candela C7
One of the keys to the C7’s impressive performance is its light weight. All up, it weighs just 1.4 t...
Length Over All (M):
7.7
Displacement (M):
1300
Construction:
Carbon Fibre
Sasga 42 HT
The Menorquín range (pronounced Men-or-keen) are based on the look and shape of a traditional small ...
Length Over All (M):
13.2
Displacement (M):
11260
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
11.98
Dreadnort V5500 CC
Gypsy Rose is a highly-spec’d semi-custom V5500 CC model with several customer-driven features.
Length Over All (M):
5.76
Displacement (M):
1970
Construction:
Aluminium
Length Over All (M):
5.50
Riviera 78 Motor Yacht
On boarding the 78 MY, the words of Riviera owner Rodney Longhurst echoed in my head: “timeless and ...
Length Over All (M):
24.82
Displacement (M):
56299
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
Solid GRP hull, cored topsides and decks
Given 14.5m Sailing Catamaran Katoa
Despite the lumpy, confused seas and changeable breeze, Katoa felt great throughout.
Length Over All (M):
14.5
Displacement (M):
10500
Construction:
Composite
Length Over All (M):
14.25
CONSTRUCTION:
Foam sandwich hulls, ply-foam-ply bridgedeck, foam-glass panel decks
Fleury 6.7 Keeler
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” – Leonardo Da Vinci. A simple boat can mean basic; more ...
Length Over All (M):
6.7
Displacement (M):
850
Construction:
Wood
Length Over All (M):
6.7
CONSTRUCTION:
Plywood
Marex 330 Scandinavia
Norwegian boat builder Marex is on to winner with its Lithuanian-built 330 Scandinavia, as evidenced...
Length Over All (M):
10.49
Displacement (M):
5500
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
9.99
Innovision 616 Explorer
Painted in a striking metallic Brisbane Blue from Superyacht Coatings, this distinctive looking trai...
Length Over All (M):
6.18
Displacement (M):
1950
Construction:
Aluminium
Assault Pursuit 8m Amphibious
New Zealanders have led the world in developing amphibious RIBs, and the latest offering from Assaul...
Length Over All (M):
8.6
Displacement (M):
1900
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
8.0
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP composite with Carbon Hypalon tubes
Takacat Predator T640P
Takacat started in Takapuna on Auckland’s North Shore in 2007 supplying a range of inflatable catama...
Horsepower (HP):
180
Length Over All (M):
6.4
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
Solid GRP hull, Hypalon tubes
Gran Turismo 41
The Italian phrase Gran Turismo, meaning Grand Touring, has been used by the car industry to signify...
Length Over All (M):
12.67
Displacement (M):
7958
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
11.5
Absolute 47 Flybridge
We’re parking the Absolute 47 back on her Westhaven berth in a 18-knot breeze. The fairway looks awf...
Length Over All (M):
14.63
Displacement (M):
23000
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
11.55
Saxdor 200 Pro Sport
It is not often that we get to review a boat as innovative as this one, with features I have not so ...
Length Over All (M):
5.94
Displacement (M):
1100
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
ZeroJet OC350
According to a quote in the United Nation’s Our World publication, “the future has arrived, and it i...
Length Over All (M):
3.51
Displacement (M):
183
Construction:
Carbon Fibre
CONSTRUCTION:
Carbon fibre or fibreglass versions
Dreadnort D7500
It takes considerable courage to design and then build a trailer boat as radically different as the ...
Horsepower (HP):
350
Length Over All (M):
7.9
Displacement (M):
3520
Construction:
Aluminium
Length Over All (M):
7.5
CONSTRUCTION:
6mm bottom, chine, transom, stiffening; 5/6mm frames; 5mm sides; 4mm decks, superstructure
Sasga Menorquín 34 HT
Occasionally you see a boat that makes a memorable impression, as happened to Ernest Henshaw a few y...
Length Over All (M):
10.03
Displacement (M):
9000
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Stryda 900C Amphibious
2019 was an auspicious year in New Zealand, although thinking back to those heady pre-Covid days som...
Length Over All (M):
9.0
Construction:
Aluminium
Innovision 656 Explorer
Like the rest of the range, the 656’s distinctive styling – largely the result of function dictating...
Horsepower (HP):
250
Length Over All (M):
6.65
Construction:
Aluminium
Brig Eagle 8 and Eagle 6.7
The two Eagles are birds of a feather, with versatile layouts, good quality fittings, similar trim l...
Horsepower (HP):
300
Length Over All (M):
7.98
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
Solid GRP hull, Orca (Hypalon) tubes
BRABUS Shadow 900
Scandinavian design gets a major boost from German engineering in this turbocharged BRABUS, reports ...
Length Over All (M):
11.73
Displacement (M):
5000
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
Carbon-reinforced hull
Blue Diamond 680HT
If you can’t find exactly the boat you want to buy, and you’re a handy chap, why not design and buil...
Horsepower (HP):
300
Length Over All (M):
7.1
Construction:
Aluminium
Salthouse Coach Boat
How a decades-long family boat building empire has happily downsized to build the world’s best coach...
Horsepower (HP):
70
Length Over All (M):
6.3
Displacement (M):
500
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Rae Line 180 XS
Christchurch-based Rae Line’s latest is the 180 XS featuring Volvo Penta’s new Aquamatic Sterndrive ...
Horsepower (HP):
200
Length Over All (M):
5.59
Displacement (M):
953
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Rapido 50 Trimaran
So, the pointing ability of the R60 is right up there with racing monohulls.
Length Over All (M):
15.24
Displacement (M):
8200
Construction:
Carbon Fibre
Length Over All (M):
14.96
Machina 551
The Machina 551 sets its foundations on the well-proven principles of strong alloy construction.
Horsepower (HP):
150
Length Over All (M):
5.5
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
Integrated pontoons