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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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Merry Fisher 895 Marlin
Sportfishing, along with freediving, was very much on the agenda for the Merry Fisher 895 Marlin’s i...
Length Over All (M):
8.83
Displacement (M):
3899
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
5.98
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
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)
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
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)
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)
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
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)
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)
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)
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
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
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
Fountaine Pajot Soana 47
All boats – says the old adage – are something of compromise. An inevitable trade-off between great,...
Length Over All (M):
13.94
Displacement (M):
13800
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Dan Leech L825 Power Cat
A family-friendly power cat cruiser, the Leech 825 was the design of choice for international ocean ...
Length Over All (M):
8.25
Construction:
Composite
Length Over All (M):
6.7
CONSTRUCTION:
E-glass, epoxy and plywood
Riviera 4800 Sport Yacht
If, as the bumper sticker suggests, the worst day’s boating is better than the best day’s working, s...
Length Over All (M):
15.23
Displacement (M):
15725
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
Solid GRP
Extreme 645 Game King
Bait Balls – a new Extreme 645 Game King equipped as a demonstrator for Josh Western’s marine electr...
Horsepower (HP):
200
Length Over All (M):
6.45
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
5mm bottom, 4mm sides and decks
Fountaine Pajot MY44
Tapping into the growing power cat market, Fountaine Pajot’s new MY44 is destined to become a serio...
Length Over All (M):
13.4
Displacement (M):
22500
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
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
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
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
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
Southern XP896
Smart looking, nicely finished and boasting great performance and handling, the top of the range twi...
Horsepower (HP):
400
Length Over All (M):
9.43
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium with GRP hardtop
Stabicraft 2500 Ultracab XL
Just when you think Stabicraft’s design team has settled into a conventional frame-of-mind, along c...
Horsepower (HP):
300
Length Over All (M):
7.62
Displacement (M):
2500
Construction:
Aluminium
Length Over All (M):
7.62
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
Boat Review
Elite 18m Mid Pilothouse
The loving care and attention that has gone into every detail is clearly evident.
Length Over All (M):
18
Displacement (M):
28000
Construction:
Composite
Length Over All (M):
15.8
CONSTRUCTION:
Epoxy glass over balsa and epoxy glass over ply and foam for the superstructure
E-40 Powercat
The E-40 PowerCat is the latest in a long line of engineering and boating innovations by John McGett...
Length Over All (M):
12
Displacement (M):
3600
Construction:
Composite
CONSTRUCTION:
Core composite foam with carbon fibre inserts
Boat Review
Bavaria C45
Beautiful weather doesn’t always equal the best weather for going sailing, but sometimes you just ha...
Length Over All (M):
13.98
Displacement (M):
11935
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
12.87
Boat Review
Beneteau Oceanis 40.1 First Line
If you’re a retired airline pilot with a bit of a need for speed, you’re probably looking for perfor...
Length Over All (M):
12.87
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
11.99
Boat Review
Bavaria C42
Getting back out on the water after an extended period in lockdown felt so good — especially with ...
Length Over All (M):
12.9
Displacement (M):
9678
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
11.27
Swift Trawler 41 Fly
French boat manufacturer Beneteau is one of the oldest and largest boatbuilders in existence, still ...
Length Over All (M):
13.43
Displacement (M):
11040
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
12.52
Boat Review
Dehler 30OD
Looking a little like a miniature Volvo boat, the black-hulled Dehler 30od (one design) delivers the...
Length Over All (M):
10.3
Displacement (M):
2800
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
8.97
CONSTRUCTION:
Sandwich PVC hull
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