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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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OC Tenders
The cruising yachtie’s tender is a hardworking, ill-treated and vital part of the cruising experienc...
Horsepower (HP):
15
Length Over All (M):
3.5
Displacement (M):
54
Construction:
Composite
CONSTRUCTION:
Foam sandwich: Divinycell, bi-axial fibreglass cloth, carbon and West System epoxy
Jeanneau 51
I don’t want to stand accused of having a fickle heart, but I have fallen for the younger, smaller s...
Length Over All (M):
15.38
Displacement (M):
14400
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Whittley CR 2600
Whittley’s new CR 2600 model – the second-largest in the company’s Cruiser range, is an ideal vessel...
Horsepower (HP):
300
Length Over All (M):
8.5
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
Solid hand-laid fibreglass
Boat Review
Greenline 39 Hybrid
In hybrid cars, an internal-combustion engine is complemented by an electric motor. The same concept...
Length Over All (M):
11.99
Displacement (M):
7000
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
11.32
CONSTRUCTION:
Hand-laid fibreglass laminate
Given T9 Powercat
The Bay of Islands on a crisp winter morning is a far cry from the balmy air of Tahiti, but this Giv...
Length Over All (M):
9.7
Construction:
Composite
CONSTRUCTION:
Epoxy, ply, foam and fibreglass
Farrier F22
Good things take time they say, and good things are worth the wait. It’s the sort of advice you will...
Length Over All (M):
7.0
Displacement (M):
1400
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Boat Review
Assault Vesta 380 RIB
Exclusive to Family Boats in Auckland, Assault RIBs are manufactured in eastern Europe with GRP hull...
Horsepower (HP):
30
Length Over All (M):
3.8
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
PVC tubes
Boat Review
Assault 610 Adventure RIB
Exclusive to Family Boats in Auckland, Assault RIBs are manufactured in Eastern Europe with GRP hull...
Horsepower (HP):
130
Length Over All (M):
6.1
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
PVC tubes
Smuggler Strata 780 SuperSport
Smuggler Marine’s boats extend the boundaries of functionality and design. The latest iteration, the...
Horsepower (HP):
300
Length Over All (M):
7.8
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP hull, Hypalon tubes
Herley Commander
It’s always a buzz to step aboard a new boat, in this case the first offering from a newcomer to the...
Length Over All (M):
7.0
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
6mm bottom, 5mm sides
Everyman 840 CC
In a few short years Hamilton’s Everyman Boats has forged a reputation for producing high quality al...
Length Over All (M):
8.4
Construction:
Aluminium
Roger Hill 18.5m sailing cat
Her owner describes this 18.5m cat as a ‘fun’ boat. That she undoubtedly is, but she also represents...
Length Over All (M):
18.53
Displacement (M):
15560
Construction:
Carbon Fibre
Length Over All (M):
18.42
CONSTRUCTION:
Composite
Penguin 4m
It’s so simple, you wonder why no one’s done it before. But this Kiwi invention – a 4m amphibious in...
Length Over All (M):
4.0
Displacement (M):
151
Construction:
Inflatable
CONSTRUCTION:
Fibreglass hull, Hypalon tubes
Boat Review
Axopar 28
If you are expecting the Axopar 28 to look like a traditional 8.5m powerboat, you’re in for a surpri...
Length Over All (M):
8.6
Displacement (M):
2300
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Rayglass 3500
Rayglass 3500
The new, much-anticipated Rayglass 3500 is a very important boat for Auckland-based m...
Length Over All (M):
11.5
Displacement (M):
7500
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
Fully moulded liner
Lazercraft GT 650 HT
Since coming under the same umbrella as Southern Boats, Lazercraft has enjoyed a burst of developmen...
Horsepower (HP):
200
Length Over All (M):
6.5
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
5mm bottom, 4mm sides, fibreglass hardtop and decks
Smuggler Strata 820 Cabin
Big pontoons, a legendary deep-vee, triple-straked fibreglass hull, twin engines and a hardtop cabin...
Horsepower (HP):
300
Length Over All (M):
8.2
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
Hypalon-tubed RIB
Dickey Custom 800 O/B
Displaying all the hallmarks of her builder’s precision approach, the Dickey Custom 800 is a quality...
Length Over All (M):
8.7
Displacement (M):
2000
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium. 4-10mm thickness
Takacat Inflatables/Honda Portable Outboards
Takacat’s new inflatable cats are light, stable and fun –and tough enough to handle whatever your re...
Length Over All (M):
3.4
Displacement (M):
35
Construction:
Inflatable
Sealegs 7.7m Sport D-Tube
Sealegs continues to forge ahead, providing amphibious enablement systems (AES) to local and interna...
Horsepower (HP):
200
Length Over All (M):
7.8
Displacement (M):
1690
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
D-tube aluminium pontoon
Open Ocean 46
The cartoon cat Garfield is a fat, feline couch spud, but his maritime namesake, launched recently a...
Length Over All (M):
14
Displacement (M):
14000
Construction:
Aluminium
Elan S3
A sunny day on the Hauraki Gulf might be half a world away from Dracula’s castle – but the dead trav...
Length Over All (M):
9.25
Displacement (M):
3690
Construction:
Composite
Length Over All (M):
8.71
CONSTRUCTION:
Foam sandwich
Boat Review
AMF 950 RIB
Replacing Coastguard North Shore’s 10-year-old Quick Response Vessel was a complex project, but a de...
Horsepower (HP):
500
Length Over All (M):
9.6
Displacement (M):
3505
Construction:
Aluminium
Length Over All (M):
9.6
JP RIBS Custom 800
The words ‘luxury’ and ‘RIB’ are seldom used together, but innovative Kiwi boatbuilder JP RIBS is ma...
Horsepower (HP):
400
Length Over All (M):
8.0
Construction:
Inflatable
Length Over All (M):
7.25
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP RIB
Jeanneau Leader 36
The comfort, performance and versatility of the Leader 36 are ably demonstrated in the pursuit of in...
Length Over All (M):
11.47
Displacement (M):
6616
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
9.86
CONSTRUCTION:
Solid fibreglass laminate
Pachoud 24m Power Cat
A Canadian electrical engineer and his botanist wife have taken delivery of Samara – their NZ-built,...
Length Over All (M):
24.2
Displacement (M):
74000
Construction:
Composite
CONSTRUCTION:
epoxy composite
Surtees Game Fisher 700
With each new edition of the Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show the gate prize seems to be even more i...
Horsepower (HP):
250
Length Over All (M):
7.0
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium, 6mm bottom, 4mm sides
Grand Soleil 43
If you’re wanting a little performance with your cruising, this new Italian import could be just the...
Length Over All (M):
13.25
Displacement (M):
9100
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
11.7
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP hull and decks
Hanse 455
Following its 2015 debut, Hanse’s mid-sized 455 cruiser (13.95m LOA) has quickly become one of the m...
Length Over All (M):
13.95
Displacement (M):
11600
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
12.20
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
Upfold Elite 13.5m Sports Sedan
NZ’s launch market might be import-heavy, but international designers don’t have the monopoly on cla...
Length Over All (M):
13.5
Displacement (M):
10200
Construction:
Composite
Length Over All (M):
10.4
CONSTRUCTION:
Epoxy timber composite
Boat Review
Bluefix BoatWorks NorthCape 40 Commercial
A rising star proves that with the right experience and attention to detail great challenges can lea...
Length Over All (M):
12.2
Displacement (M):
14000
Construction:
Composite
CONSTRUCTION:
Foam core epoxy composite
Riviera 52 Enclosed Flybridge
While the Riviera 52 Enclosed Flybridge debuted in Australia, this model – one of the stars of Octob...
Length Over All (M):
17.26
Displacement (M):
24960
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
Navetta 58
The Navetta 58 might look unusual to Kiwi eyes, but it packs a lot of Italian flair into its generou...
Length Over All (M):
17.0
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Elite 15.5m Sportfisher
Bill Upfold’s Elite 15.5m ‘Humdinger’ is part game-fisher, part luxury family cruiser.
Length Over All (M):
15.5
Construction:
Composite
CQS
In the realm of modern maxi racers, ‘radical’ is almost the default description. The newly-launched ...
Length Over All (M):
33.7
Displacement (M):
24500
Construction:
Carbon Fibre
CONSTRUCTION:
carbon fibre/Nomex sandwich
Integrity 380 Flybridge
The full-bodied Integrity 380 is a ringing endorsement of the old adage: forget the destination – th...
Length Over All (M):
11.12
Displacement (M):
12000
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
Super Air Nautique G23
Sitting high and mighty on a custom Enduro trailer, the Super Air Nautique G23 exudes tow sport powe...
Horsepower (HP):
550
Length Over All (M):
7.7
Displacement (M):
2676
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
Elite mid-pilothouse 50
When an Auckland couple commissioned a new 15.2m Elite motoryacht, they held firm to what they wante...
Length Over All (M):
15.2
Displacement (M):
19200
Construction:
Composite
CONSTRUCTION:
Strip-plank cedar sheathed in e-glass
Lagoon 42 Catamaran
The new Lagoon 42 catamaran is a fun, spacious vessel designed for easy sail handling. She’s also ch...
Length Over All (M):
12.8
Displacement (M):
12000
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
Takacat 260 Sport
If you’re in the market for a new tender, you might consider the new Takacat – a lightweight, robust...
Length Over All (M):
2.6
Displacement (M):
28
Construction:
Inflatable
CONSTRUCTION:
1000 denier PVC