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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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OceanPro 533 Cuddy Cabin
OceanPro is not really a name that springs to mind when thinking about New Zealand-built aluminium t...
Horsepower (HP):
70-100
Length Over All (M):
5.5
YEAR:
2025
Construction:
Pontoon-style aluminium monohull
Length Over All (M):
5.33
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
XO Crossover DFNDR 9 Expedition
The DFNDR’s adventure-ready spirit is reflected in its layout.
Horsepower (HP):
450
Length Over All (M):
8.8
YEAR:
2025
Displacement (M):
2710kg, plus engines
Construction:
Amuminium hull, GRP decks, superstructure
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium/GRP
Buccaneer 605 Exeed
The 605 Exeed impresses with its quiet, dry, and supremely comfortable ride.
Horsepower (HP):
150-200
Length Over All (M):
6.46
YEAR:
2025
Length Over All (M):
6.05
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
Superbly Senator
Hawkes Bay’s Senator Boats is best known for its range of strong, capable, trailerable aluminium ‘ch...
Horsepower (HP):
90-115hp
Length Over All (M):
3.9
YEAR:
2025
Construction:
5mm bottom, 3mm chambers, 4mm sides & decks, 3/4mm hardtop
Length Over All (M):
5.65
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
Fin Chaser 700HTA
I have always been impressed with the hull performance of FC Boats and a change of name hasn’t alter...
Horsepower (HP):
250/27
Length Over All (M):
9
YEAR:
2025
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
Innovision 616 Venture
It is over a decade since we reviewed the first production boat from Innovision, and in many respect...
Horsepower (HP):
200-250
Length Over All (M):
6.27
YEAR:
2025
Construction:
6mm bottom plates, 4mm sides
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
Rayglass Legend 2700
Rayglass Boats’ new Legend 2700 is the spiritual (and, eventually, literal) successor to the Legend ...
Horsepower (HP):
270-450
Length Over All (M):
8.8
YEAR:
2025
Construction:
Moulded GRP with integrated liner and foam buoyancy
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
Stabicraft 2050 Frontier Profish
Where this model really excels is fishability.
Horsepower (HP):
150-200
Length Over All (M):
6.3
YEAR:
2025
Displacement (M):
875kg (dry, no motor)
Construction:
Arrow pontoons, wide-body hull
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
Candela C-8 Hardtop
The Candela C-8 is clearly a much more mature and technologically advanced model than its predecesso...
Horsepower (HP):
45/50kW
Length Over All (M):
8.5
YEAR:
2025
Displacement (M):
1850
Construction:
Vacumm-infused carbon fibre
CONSTRUCTION:
Carbon fibre
Proline Alloy 1860 HT
Mat says the hull is designed to cater for all, with ease of use being one of the main priorities.
Horsepower (HP):
90-115
Length Over All (M):
5.7
YEAR:
2025
Construction:
5mm hull, 4mm sides & decks
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
Fi-Glass Viscount
Modern engines are bigger and more efficient. They need bigger platforms to host them. Furthermore, ...
Horsepower (HP):
200-250
Length Over All (M):
6.8
YEAR:
2025
Construction:
Solid GRP, no wood in structure
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
Morris Metal Products S.J Seahawk
S.J. Seahawk is a development of the 7.6m Eliminator, which Phil and his team built 26 years ago.
Horsepower (HP):
700
YEAR:
2024
Construction:
Aluminium hull, fibreglass decks, carbon fibre superstructure
Length Over All (M):
9.7
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
Kiwi-Kraft 780WA
Pontoon alloy boats are seriously good sea handling vessels. I should know, having fished out of man...
Horsepower (HP):
400
Length Over All (M):
7.8
YEAR:
2024
Construction:
6mm hull, 4mm sides, 3mm superstructure
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
Radian R27 Nordarc
Overall, this is an impressive boat. The styling is bold and unique and will certainly turn heads. T...
Horsepower (HP):
200hp max
Length Over All (M):
6.67
YEAR:
2024
Displacement (M):
1800
Construction:
5mm bottom, 4mm sides, 3mm superstructure
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
Extreme 795 Game King
Performance-wise, the new 350hp Yamaha, plus the Helm Master EX with bow thruster and Seakeeper Ride...
Horsepower (HP):
350
Length Over All (M):
7.93
YEAR:
2024
Construction:
6mm bottom plates
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium
Rae Line 206
Some boats are good to look at from the outside and some are good to be onboard. Like her sister the...
Horsepower (HP):
200
Length Over All (M):
6.45
YEAR:
2024
Displacement (M):
1580
Construction:
Hand-laid GRP
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP
Buccaneer Five Seven Five
The spacious cockpit is uncluttered but has plenty of seating. The cockpit sole is covered in SeaDek...
Horsepower (HP):
150
Length Over All (M):
5.75
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
5.4
Sealegs 12RC
‘Behemoth’ is a word which springs to mind or, perhaps more nautically, ‘leviathan’.
Length Over All (M):
12.3
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
Alloy RIB, amphibious
Haines Hunter SP635
The hardtop SP635 shares the same underpinnings as the popular SF 635 which was a completely new mod...
Horsepower (HP):
200
Length Over All (M):
6.76
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
6.35
Surtees 750 Game Fisher
The Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show prize boat package would be every Kiwi angler’s dream to own.
Horsepower (HP):
300
Length Over All (M):
7.5
Displacement (M):
1590
Construction:
Aluminium
Buccaneer Six Fifteen
Based on the well-known Buccaneer 605 hull, the Buccaneer Six Fifteen has increased the 605’s waterl...
Horsepower (HP):
200
Length Over All (M):
6.78
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
6.15
Haines Hunter Overlander OP725
The Anura system is not only pleasingly quiet in operation (no noisy internal combustion engine in t...
Horsepower (HP):
300
Length Over All (M):
7.5
Displacement (M):
2400
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
7.25
CONSTRUCTION:
E-glass with carbon fibre reinforcement
Challenger 720HT
Like the rest of the Challenger range, the 720 HT’s fibreglass hull is designed by Terry Reid, who h...
Horsepower (HP):
250
Length Over All (M):
7.15
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Senator 500 Side Console
Senator allows owners to spec the boat however they want it, starting with a base, but very comprehe...
Length Over All (M):
5.2
Construction:
Aluminium
Oceanpro 540 GTS
He aimed to produce something that provided the best of both worlds: the tough, rigid hull sides of ...
Horsepower (HP):
115
Length Over All (M):
5.4
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
Alloy pontoon type
Caribbean 2300 Hardtop
Straight from the factory, the Caribbean 2300 is ready for fishing action.
Length Over All (M):
7.84
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
7.0
CONSTRUCTION:
Solid hand laid GRP
Stabicraft 1450 Frontier ProFish
Stabicraft boats will need no introduction to anyone with New Zealand boating experience.
Horsepower (HP):
50
Length Over All (M):
4.42
Construction:
Aluminium
CONSTRUCTION:
4mm hull, 3mm pontoons
Innovision 757 Explorer
The stern of the 757 is a great example of what a fishing boat should be.
Horsepower (HP):
400
Length Over All (M):
7.65
Construction:
Aluminium
Caribbean 2400 Hardtop
These vessels will take you a long way out, run all day long, and get you back home safe, sound, and...
Horsepower (HP):
400
Length Over All (M):
8.0
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
7.2
Buccaneer Exess XL
The overwhelming impression I took away from our few hours on Lake Dunstan is how well this boat goe...
Horsepower (HP):
200
Length Over All (M):
6.46
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
6.05
Candela C7
One of the keys to the C7’s impressive performance is its light weight. All up, it weighs just 1.4 t...
Length Over All (M):
7.7
Displacement (M):
1300
Construction:
Carbon Fibre
Dreadnort V5500 CC
Gypsy Rose is a highly-spec’d semi-custom V5500 CC model with several customer-driven features.
Length Over All (M):
5.76
Displacement (M):
1970
Construction:
Aluminium
Length Over All (M):
5.50
Assault Pursuit 8m Amphibious
New Zealanders have led the world in developing amphibious RIBs, and the latest offering from Assaul...
Length Over All (M):
8.6
Displacement (M):
1900
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
8.0
CONSTRUCTION:
GRP composite with Carbon Hypalon tubes
Innovision 616 Explorer
Painted in a striking metallic Brisbane Blue from Superyacht Coatings, this distinctive looking trai...
Length Over All (M):
6.18
Displacement (M):
1950
Construction:
Aluminium
Fatcat 4000 Fisherman
Lightning Marine’s Fatcat 4000 sticks with the ‘simple is best’ small boat ethos.
Length Over All (M):
3.8
Displacement (M):
240
Construction:
Other
CONSTRUCTION:
Roto-moulded PVC
Jeanneau Merry Fisher 795 Marlin
Clark Gayford, host of the Fish of the Day TV programme, has pretty exacting requirements. The press...
Length Over All (M):
7.17
Displacement (M):
1750
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
Length Over All (M):
6.98
Sealegs 7.5m Amphibious RIB
With a modular deck plan, this is Sealegs’ most customisable model to date. Almost 30 have already s...
Length Over All (M):
7.55
Displacement (M):
1600
Construction:
Aluminium
Length Over All (M):
6.29
CONSTRUCTION:
Aluminium hull, Hypalon tubes
Buccaneer 550 Enforcer, Zodiac Open 5.5
Rigid hull inflatables (RIBs) used to be the preserve of serious sailing coaches and Optimist mums b...
Length Over All (M):
5.5
Displacement (M):
595
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
RIB with fibreglass hull, PVC or Duotex tubes
2017 Yamaha PWCs
A little unfairly, society tends to view PWC owners as petrol-heads drowning in testosterone. As Yam...
Length Over All (M):
3.35
Displacement (M):
349
Construction:
Fibreglass (GRP)
CONSTRUCTION:
NanoXcel 2 composite
Innovision 555
The boat had to be a ‘pure lure-fishing weapon’
Horsepower (HP):
150
Length Over All (M):
5.56
Construction:
Aluminium