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BOAT REVIEWS
Discover New Zealand’s best boats with expert reviews, specs, and local insights—sailboats, powerboats, and yachts covered.
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LSB custom Superyacht Tender
In recent years, custom boat builders Lloyd Stevenson Boatbuilders (LSB) has carved quite a niche fo...
Length Over All (M):
12.257
Displacement (M):
9324
Construction:
Composite
Length Over All (M):
10.751
CONSTRUCTION:
High-tech lightweight composites
Palm Beach 65
Elegance never goes out of fashion, as this timeless hull from Palm Beach attests.
Length Over All (M):
21.3
Displacement (M):
30000
Construction:
Composite
CONSTRUCTION:
E-glass and Corecell foam hull with carbon decks and superstructure
Sealegs 8.5 Alloy Cabin
Sealegs’ new 8.5m Alloy Cabin take’s the company’s aluminium recreational range up another notch, a...
Horsepower (HP):
250
Length Over All (M):
8.5
Displacement (M):
2230
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
5mm plate
Upfold Elite 13.2m Sports Sedan
They say ‘you can’t always get what you want’ – but happily that proved incorrect for the owners of...
Length Over All (M):
13.2
Construction:
Wood
Dynamic Composites 5.3m RIB
I knew something was up when Milton Bloomfield, managing director of Dynamic Composites turned up f...
Horsepower (HP):
60
Length Over All (M):
5.2
Displacement (M):
360
Construction:
Composite
CONSTRUCTION:
Corecell hull panels, PVC tubes
Solaris 47
The Italian Solaris 47 is intended to meet both sides of the performance-cruiser equation – and rew...
Length Over All (M):
14.35
Displacement (M):
12800
Construction:
Composite
Length Over All (M):
13.40
CONSTRUCTION:
PVC Airex core
Beneteau Swift Trawler 47
The latest addition to Beneteau’s growing Swift Trawler line-up – the Swift 47 – might just be the ...
Length Over All (M):
14.74
Displacement (M):
19617
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Nimbus 305 Coupe
Some boats kind of slip beneath the radar. There are around 10 Nimbus 305 Coupés already in the han...
Length Over All (M):
10.07
Displacement (M):
4100
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Innovision Active 515
Innovison’s smallest model, the 515 Active, is a surprising package: a small boat that feels much b...
Horsepower (HP):
130
Length Over All (M):
5.25
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
5mm bottom plates, 4mm sides
Dufour 520 Grand Large
The summer of 2019 has been uncharacteristically lacking in wind – great for cruising, not so great...
Length Over All (M):
15.2
Displacement (M):
15245
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
13.67
White Pointer 970 Pro Sportsman
Dipudo Patrol has already left these shores for the northern Philippines, where she’ll join a small...
Length Over All (M):
9.7
Construction:
Aluminium
Length Over All (M):
9.3
CONSTRUCTION:
8mm plate bottom
Jeanneau NC 33
Jeanneau’s feature-packed NC 33 delivers versatility, functionality and performance in a stylish pa...
Length Over All (M):
10.5
Displacement (M):
5366
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
8.81
Marex 375
Marex is a Norwegian company with a 45-year boatbuilding heritage and numerous international design...
Length Over All (M):
12.05
Displacement (M):
7700
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Dan Leech L925 Power Cat
Perhaps it’s the seaworthiness, the economy – or perhaps the indoor-outdoor flow of the accommodati...
Length Over All (M):
9.25
Construction:
Wood
Length Over All (M):
7.52
CONSTRUCTION:
E-glass over ply
Fountaine Pajot Lucia 40
Multihulls offer a heady blend of cruising and chilling. To taste this happy mix you should explore...
Length Over All (M):
11.73
Displacement (M):
8900
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Senator SL1170
This Mangawhai-based Senator SL1170 is the largest Senator pontoon boat to date and the first recre...
Length Over All (M):
12.5
Displacement (M):
6150
Construction:
Aluminium
Length Over All (M):
11.7
Circa 790
While Circa Marine never really went away, it’s been more than 20 years since the Whangarei enginee...
Length Over All (M):
8.1
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
6mm plate bottom, 4mm topsides and decks
Fi-Glass Lightning 5.8
In 61 years of boat manufacturing you can learn a thing or two. You’ll see good times and bad times...
Length Over All (M):
5.8
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Haines Hunter SS660
The Haines Hunter SS660 (Sport Sedan) debuted in 2006, quickly becoming a sought-after model that’s ...
Horsepower (HP):
250
Length Over All (M):
7.35
Displacement (M):
1231
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Extreme 885 Game King
I always look forward to reviewing an Extreme, but this one is something special – an 885 Game King ...
Length Over All (M):
8.85
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
8mm bottom, 4mm sides, decks
Jeanneau Leader 40
After 60 years of building luxury boats, Jeanneau’s become one of the best known and most respected ...
Length Over All (M):
12.33
Displacement (M):
7531
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
10.98
Riviera 72 Flybridge SMY
Riviera’s winning formula of building ocean-ready sports motor yachts is well-illustrated with its n...
Length Over All (M):
12.68
Displacement (M):
47000
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
Hand-laid GRP, foam-core topsides, solid GRP keel, longtudinals and structural areas
Smuggler Strata 900
Smuggler Marine’s latest model presents the usual craftsmanship and while the slightly unusual colou...
Horsepower (HP):
500
Length Over All (M):
9
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
RIB
Integrity 380 Sedan
Marvic is one of the most recent additions to Taupo’s pleasure boat fleet. She’s certainly one of th...
Length Over All (M):
11.5
Displacement (M):
11000
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
Hand-laid GRP
Dufour 36 Performance
Sometimes the stars align – the weather, the time, the opportunity – they all finally coalesce into ...
Length Over All (M):
10.99
Displacement (M):
6125
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
10.21
Dragonfly 25 Sport
Small trimarans are ideal boats for coastal waters thanks to their shallow draught, large deck space...
Length Over All (M):
7.65
Displacement (M):
1100
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Nautitech Open 40
Cruising catamarans can end up being a compromise, with sailing performance and convenience traded o...
Length Over All (M):
11.98
Displacement (M):
8500
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Haines Hunter SP725
Recently updated and refreshed, the SP725 is one of Haines Hunter’s premium models. Sarisha is the c...
Horsepower (HP):
300
Length Over All (M):
7.25
Displacement (M):
1450
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Greenline 48FC
The first Greenline 48 Flybridge Cruiser in the country, Kiwi Green was purchased from the factory i...
Length Over All (M):
14.99
Displacement (M):
13200
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Fountaine Pajot Astrea 42
Like her bigger sister (the Soana 47, reviewed in our June 2018 issue), Fountaine Pajot’s new 12.5m ...
Length Over All (M):
12.58
Displacement (M):
10.5
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Maritimo X60
It might have been mid-winter, but Sydney turned on a cracker day for our run down the coast in the ...
Length Over All (M):
19.42
Displacement (M):
30500
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
18.16
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP hull, balsa-cored composite topsides, decks and superstructure
Beneteau Oceanis 51
Sailing is a breeze aboard Beneteau’s new Oceanis 51.1, thanks to some smart systems.
Length Over All (M):
15.94
Displacement (M):
13930
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Sealegs Electric E4
Sealegs has been making amphibious craft for 17 years, driving a continuous process of development a...
Length Over All (M):
7.3
Displacement (M):
1390
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
Alloy RIB, Hypalon tubes
Southern Pacific Cormorant 600 RIB
“Built by Kiwis for Southern Pacific Conditions” is the proud claim of Southern Pacific Inflatables,...
Length Over All (M):
6
Construction:
Inflatable
CONSTRUCTION:
Alloy-hulled RIB, PVC tubes
Roper 9000
Forty years ago, the splash of amateur-built yachts being launched was a weekly occurrence; these da...
Length Over All (M):
9
Displacement (M):
1500
Construction:
Wood
CONSTRUCTION:
Plywood, sheathed with epoxy
Aquila 36
The new Aquila 36 made its Downunder debut at the Sydney Boat Show and it won’t be long before we se...
Length Over All (M):
9.94
Displacement (M):
8800
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
Fibreglass powercat
Caribbean 49 FC
There’s no mistaking the new Caribbean 49 for anything other than a Caribbean. And that’s a good thi...
Length Over All (M):
16.55
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
Hand-laid GRP
Sun Odyssey 440
With its new-generation Sun Odyssey 440, Jeanneau has introduced a yacht with design features so goo...
Length Over All (M):
13.39
Displacement (M):
8561
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Riviera 395 SUV
Sports utility cruisers can be likened to the hot hatchbacks of the boat world. They have to work ha...
Length Over All (M):
13.27
Displacement (M):
11300
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
12.06
CONSTRUCTION:
Solid GRP
Haines Hunter SF535SB
Haines Hunter has sold over 3000 SF535s and the model’s been around so long it’s become part of the ...
Horsepower (HP):
150
Length Over All (M):
5.8
Displacement (M):
620
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
Handlaid GRP