Boat Reviews & Insights Menu
BOAT REVIEWS
Discover New Zealand’s best boats with expert reviews, specs, and local insights—sailboats, powerboats, and yachts covered.
BOAT REVIEW
Nautitech 47 Power
Launch
Businessman and philanthropist Dave Sutherland has teamed up with celebrity chef Ben Bayly to launc...
Displacement (M):
18168
Length Over All (M):
14.23
Construction:
Composite
BOAT REVIEW
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
BOAT REVIEW
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
BOAT REVIEW
Shaw 550
Last year’s level 4 lockdown was a difficult time for all Kiwis, but it also gave Bay of Islands rig...
Displacement (M):
600
Length Over All (M):
5.5
Construction:
Composite
BOAT REVIEW
Offshore Boats 750 HT
She certainly looked like a dedicated sport fisher, her 10-position rocket launcher festooned with S...
Horsepower (HP):
350
Length Over All (M):
7.5
Construction:
Aluminium
BOAT REVIEW
Yanmar X47 Express Cruiser
Launched at Germany’s Boot Dusseldorf in January last year, the America’s Cup editon of the X47 (47-...
Displacement (M):
14700
Length Over All (M):
14.53
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Fatcat 4000 Fisherman
Trailer Boat
Lightning Marine’s Fatcat 4000 sticks with the ‘simple is best’ small boat ethos.
Displacement (M):
240
Length Over All (M):
3.8
Construction:
Other
BOAT REVIEW
Moody DS41
When thinking about a new boat you always imagine the sun shining benignly and a playful 12-knot bre...
Displacement (M):
11200
Length Over All (M):
12.52
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Refurbished Corsair Mk I: Masquerade
Some 45 years after she rolled off the Salthouse production line, Masquerade isn’t immediately recog...
Displacement (M):
8000
Length Over All (M):
12
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Prestige 420s Coupé
The Prestige 420s is the sedan express version of the much-applauded flybridge motor yacht that was ...
Displacement (M):
14400
Length Over All (M):
13.06
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Rae Line 205
In a market flooded with facsimiles, the 205 is a refreshing departure from the norm and a great ste...
Horsepower (HP):
300
Displacement (M):
1520
Length Over All (M):
6.3
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Assegai 51
The assegai is the short stabbing spear once used in battle by the people of Southern Africa, most f...
Length Over All (M):
15.55
Construction:
Other
BOAT REVIEW
Dickey Boats Semifly 45
It was like a scene from Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Thanks to some COVID rescheduling, Dickey ...
Displacement (M):
12950
Length Over All (M):
14.20
Construction:
Aluminium
BOAT REVIEW
Stryda 600s
Auckland boatbuilder Stryda Marine has just released a centre-console variation of its popular 6m 60...
Displacement (M):
2000
Length Over All (M):
6
Construction:
Aluminium
BOAT REVIEW
Caribbean 420 Express
Melbourne’s International Marine has built around 60,000 boats in 60 years. Founded in 1958 by the S...
Displacement (M):
11200
Length Over All (M):
13.16
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Innovision 707 Explorer
Innovision’s range of bespoke aluminium boats is most certainly ‘different from the rest’ as the co...
Horsepower (HP):
300
Length Over All (M):
7.15
Construction:
Aluminium
BOAT REVIEW
Jeanneau Merry Fisher 795 Marlin
Trailer Boat
Clark Gayford, host of the Fish of the Day TV programme, has pretty exacting requirements. The press...
Displacement (M):
1750
Length Over All (M):
7.17
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Elliott 1350
The Elliott 1350 Tourer will be a familiar design to many, with boats such as Fiction, Flyer and des...
Displacement (M):
8200
Length Over All (M):
13.50
Construction:
Composite
BOAT REVIEW
Sealine C390
Once designed and built in the UK but now part of the Hanse Group and manufactured in eastern German...
Displacement (M):
10519
Length Over All (M):
11.99
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Sealegs 7.5m Amphibious RIB
Trailer Boat
With a modular deck plan, this is Sealegs’ most customisable model to date. Almost 30 have already s...
Displacement (M):
1600
Length Over All (M):
7.55
Construction:
Aluminium
BOAT REVIEW
King Water Jet 4m
Want a generous dollop of adrenalin-spiking fun? Hop aboard this waterjet-powered RIB and hold on t...
Displacement (M):
350
Length Over All (M):
4.0
Construction:
Aluminium
BOAT REVIEW
Haines Hunter SF635
Launch
Any new boat from Haines Hunter is big news, but a totally new design makes the SF/SP635 an especial...
Horsepower (HP):
200
Length Over All (M):
6.76
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Herley 3400 Electric Power Catamaran
The hottest topic in boating today is electric propulsion, and right now the Herley 3400 is perhaps ...
Length Over All (M):
10.4
Construction:
Aluminium
BOAT REVIEW
Beneteau Monte Carlo 52
The first impression of the new Monte Carlo 52 is that she’s big – high and wide, with lots of glass...
Displacement (M):
15000
Length Over All (M):
16.25
Construction:
Composite
BOAT REVIEW
Sun Odyssey 490
One of the advantages of reaching a certain age is that you know what you want and aren’t afraid to ...
Displacement (M):
11290
Length Over All (M):
14.8
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Fountaine Pajot MY 40
Launch
The latest addition to Ownaship’s Auckland-based fractional ownership fleet is a French-built Fount...
Displacement (M):
13500
Length Over All (M):
12.24
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Offshore 650 HT
Their new boat has opened up fresh horizons for the pair, who are taking full advantage of its capab...
Horsepower (HP):
200
Length Over All (M):
6.5
Construction:
Aluminium
BOAT REVIEW
Smuggler Strata 700 Amphibious
Once a ‘party trick’ with a limited market, amphibious boats have been steadily gaining traction wi...
Displacement (M):
1600
Length Over All (M):
7.0
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Dickey Custom 950
The 950’s hull comprises CNC-cut alloy panels laid up in an interlocking lattice framework that does...
Displacement (M):
4000
Length Over All (M):
10.2
Construction:
Aluminium
BOAT REVIEW
X Yachts Xp38
X-Yachts are highly-specced and the company’s been building performance-oriented cruisers in Denmark...
Displacement (M):
6775
Length Over All (M):
11.58
Construction:
Composite
BOAT REVIEW
Riviera 64 SMY
Launch
The new 64 SMY takes the very best from Riviera’s largest luxury cruising yacht models and incorpor...
Displacement (M):
42980
Length Over All (M):
21.3
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Merry Fisher 1095
Launch
French manufacturer Jeanneau has been building luxury yachts and powerboats since 1957 and owns Euro...
Displacement (M):
4638
Length Over All (M):
10.5
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Nimbus 405 Coupé
We like to think of ourselves as a nation of boaties but let’s be honest – for a large part of the ...
Displacement (M):
9647
Length Over All (M):
13.33
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Lagoon 50
She’s already sailed halfway round the world, but for this Lagoon 50 catamaran, the journey’s just ...
Displacement (M):
20862
Length Over All (M):
14.75
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
J Boat 112E
Auckland’s Peter Cunningham is an affable, easy-going sort of sailor – always ready to share a wry ...
Displacement (M):
5125
Length Over All (M):
11.0
Construction:
Composite
BOAT REVIEW
Tristram 821 Offshore
A new release from Tristram Marine is always significant, but the 821 Offshore is more so than most...
Horsepower (HP):
600
Length Over All (M):
8.77
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Boston Whaler 230 Vantage
If you were to have one boat to keep your beer-swilling, fishing mates happy, your teenage kids and...
Length Over All (M):
7.51
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Azimut Atlantis 45
A successor to the popular Atlantis 43, the very first Azimut Atlantis 45 in the southern hemispher...
Displacement (M):
16000
Length Over All (M):
14.61
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
BOAT REVIEW
Kinetic 62
Performance catamarans like this carbon 62-footer simply eat up those tradewind miles, while their ...
Displacement (M):
10350
Length Over All (M):
18.9
Construction:
Composite
BOAT REVIEW
Offshore 650 Pro Dive
Jonathan Barlow and the crew at Offshore Boats NZ gave boat designer Alan Walker a very specific br...
Horsepower (HP):
200
Length Over All (M):
6.5
Construction:
Aluminium