BOAT REVIEWS
Discover New Zealand’s best boats with expert reviews, specs, and local insights—sailboats, powerboats, and yachts covered.
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
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
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
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
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
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
Dickey Semifly 45
There are sport fishing boats and there are family cruisers, but there aren’t too many family sport ...
Length Over All (M):
14.3
Displacement (M):
12750
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
aluminium, 6mm hull, 6mm sides, 5mm superstructure
Sealine C330
When Carsten and Sabine Mueller went looking for a suitable family boat, they instantly knew they’d ...
Length Over All (M):
10.31
Displacement (M):
7100
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
Southern XP726
Developed from the successful XP676, Southern’s latest model is longer with subtle hull tweaks for b...
Length Over All (M):
7.3
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
Smuggler Strata 11.2m Coastguard RIB
Boaties on Northland’s east coast will feel safer following the recent launch of the Coastguard’s ne...
Length Over All (M):
11.2
Displacement (M):
4850
Construction:
Inflatable
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
Jeanneau Merry Fisher 695
A trailerable launch, Jeanneau’s 695 Merry Fisher is billed as multi-use, family-oriented vessel. Th...
Length Over All (M):
6.55
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
White Pointer 1050 Custom
The new White Pointer 1050 Custom Oona is the first vessel Honda Marine New Zealand has fitted with ...
Horsepower (HP):
750
Length Over All (M):
10.5
Displacement (M):
7300
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
Dufour 460
You can pull on another oilskin, sheet in the jib and grit your teeth – or you can ease back and sai...
Length Over All (M):
14.15
Displacement (M):
10760
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP, injected deck