Indholdsfortegnelse for June 2025 i Motor Boat & Yachting

As a self-confessed pragmatist, pay-to-play boat clubs make a lot of sense to me. My own boat, a 22ft outboard-powered Karnic, spends nine months of the year sitting on its trailer in a boatyard doing nothing but costing me money. During the three months of the year it is afloat, I get a lot of pleasure from it. But even then I only manage to use it for a grand total of 30-40 engine hours a year spread across 10 or 15 days at most. It’s a painfully inefficient use of a relatively expensive asset. The logical thing to do would be to sell it and use the money to sign up to one of the nine UK-based subscription boat clubs featured on p98-103. For a fixed monthly fee, I…

I enjoyed a wonderful jog down memory lane this afternoon, courtesy of a short YouTube film that Princess Yachts recently put out to celebrate 60 years of boat building. My history with Princess Yachts goes back a long way. In 1973, when I was just five years old, my father took a job with a company called The Renwick Group as head office accountant, becoming finance director a year later. Based in Paignton, Devon, Renwick owned a consortium of businesses. Travel agents, coal merchants, car dealerships for Hillman and VW (Dad’s first company car was an executive Hillman Hunter GLS – black vinyl roof and Rostyle wheels!), even a business that converted VW vans into motorhomes. And a small company in Plymouth called Marine Projects. I was already mad about…

Making its world debut at this year’s Palma Boat Show is Windy’s new SR40. As the third entry in the SR Sports Line, it sits neatly between the Centre Console SR28 and the larger SR44, which (like the new 40) comes in both inboard and outboard (SX) variants. However, it’s also designed to inhabit the space between Windy’s original Sports Cruiser Line and its SR Yacht Tenders, and to that end, it’s designed as a fast, go-anywhere, multi-purpose family sports boat with a versatile combination of cruising facilities, day boating space and seagoing performance. That all starts with a clever semi-open superstructure. It comes with a sliding roof, large ‘disappearing’ doors and roof racks for SUP boards, fishing rods and bikes, plus the option of an aft bulkhead so you…

The Bering fleet comprises a range of hydrofoil-assisted powercats in both aluminum and fibreglass. Given that its parent company, the Bering Group, acquired Hysucat back in 2017, that much you might expect. But at 14ft larger than the BM34 and 20ft larger than the flagship fibreglass model, this new 50ft powercat is set to be far and away the biggest multihull Bering Marine builds. Named the BM50 SE (Swift Explorer), it aims to combine the increased space and living practicality of a cat with the reduced drag and uprated efficiency of a hydrofoil – and the company’s projected figures certainly appear to bear that out. With a quadruple rig of 400hp outboards and space for up to 3,400L of fuel, Bering expects a really useful cruising range of 700 Nm…

The boat you see here is the smallest proper De Antonio you can get. Yes, you could argue that the yard’s recently launched E23 electric powercat is now the formal entry point to the range but if you want the traditional De Antonio formula – a voluminous monohull with a plumb bow, hidden outboards, an extended aft end and some surprising overnighting spaces to supplement the class-leading day facilities – this D29 is where it all begins. And it does so because the old D28 is no more. But don’t be fooled by the name. This D29 is not a big boat. It’s actually only a shade over 26ft. If you add the extended aft platform, it pushes on toward 28ft and if you also chuck in the forepeak-mounted anchor,…

Here at MBY, we spend a lot of time on boats. But while the average press trip tends to involve an intensive spell at sea followed by an Uber back to the airport, this is one of those rare occasions when we get the chance to spend the night. Thanks to the guys at Argo Yachting in Mallorca, the plan is to jump on board the new 45 Fly Hybrid and go for a cruise, before finding a quiet anchorage to spend the night away from shore power. We can then run all the systems we require for an evening of entertainment and a comfortable night’s sleep before heading off again the next day. In other words, our job is to use the boat exactly as a keen cruiser might…

Since the Maestro 82 was launched in 2008 – when the brand was still part of the ever-expanding Ferretti Group – we haven’t seen a new flagship Apreamare. Now back in private hands, it is starting to rediscover its mojo, helped immeasurably by this striking new Maestro 88. Built in collaboration with an existing Apreamare owner who wanted to go bigger, it features a semi-planing hull for comfortable cruising in any weather that sneaks in just below the 24m regulations. Designed by Marco Casali of Too Design, it’s a fine looking craft that manages to appear both modern and timeless while still retaining enough of the traditional Gozzo fishing boat styling cues to be instantly identifiable as an Apreamare. Teak capping on the tall bulwarks, heavy-duty mooring gear and acres…

Let’s begin with a confession. That muscular looking man in the pictures, peering past his own chiselled jaw in search of beautiful people to share his Chateau Margaux, is not me. And that pretty seascape you’re looking at is not here. In fact, the contrast could hardly be greater. We’ve headed a little way east of Rotterdam on a cold Dutch February day to the River Lek where Zeelander boats are built. There are compact harbours and parking spots on either bank and the commercial traffic is virtually constant. It means that getting the new Zeelander 8 up to speed for extended periods is all but impossible. There’s no sea state and not a great deal of space so assessing the 8’s handling and sea manners is also not on…

Until recently, if you wanted to fit a gyro stabiliser to a sub-40ft boat there was only one place to go – Seakeeper. Its compact Seakeeper 3 model was the only gyro small enough and light enough to fit on this size of planing boat and thanks to its DC motor, it could be run off the craft’s existing 12V circuitry rather than a separate AC generator. Now, however, the market for compact stabiliser systems is turning into a veritable battleground as other marine equipment manufacturers jump on the gyro bandwagon. Italian company Quick was first to respond with a range of new MC² gyro stabilisers for boats as small as 30ft and now Dometic is joining the fray with a brand new gyro of its own. Called the DG3,…

Improvement and product advancement matter to me. I like new ideas and innovation. How can I make something work better or more efficiently? This led me to look at Propspeed because, just as we apply antifouling to keep the hull clean, I figured that a clean prop would only help with performance and fuel efficiency on Molly, my Aquador 32C. In fact, according to research at the University of Strathclyde, a fouled prop can lose around 22% of its efficiency – and that’s with just 20% of its surface covered in barnacles. More than enough to make me sit up and take note. OPTING FOR PROPSPEED I routinely put on a snorkel and pop down to scrub the prop and the rudders throughout the season, and it’s amazing how quickly…

SUNSEEKER TOMAHAWK 37 COOL RATING POSITIVELY ANTARCTIC Launched in 1989 and penned by successful race boat driver and designer Don Shead, the Sunseeker Tomahawk 37 echoed many of his race-winning hulls, with a deep vee that has a 25-degree deadrise amidships and is still running at a knife-like 23 degrees at the stern. Above the waterline, the form is as simple as it is beautiful. Low, narrow and sleek, the windscreen frame is a gorgeous sweep of stainless steel and the slim radar arch jutts provocatively forward. The layout is equally simple with a large sunpad over the engines aft, allowing the cockpit to be sunk low into the boat ahead of it. There’s a curved bench seat aft and then a helm and navigator seat either side further forward.…

It’s hard to know which is the better kept secret – this stunning natural swimming pool hidden behind limestone cliffs near Sorrento, Italy, or the brand new but rarely seen motor yacht hovering by the entrance to it. The former is known as the Bagni Regina Giovanna after the 15th century Queen of Naples, who was rumoured to have bathed here with her lovers; the latter is the recently launched Apreamare Maestro 88, the first new flagship from the Neapolitan yard since it split from the Ferretti Group in 2010. The Maestro 88 took its time coming but judging from the photos, more of which you can see on p71, it looks like being almost as seductive as the fabled Queen Giovanna. SEE MORE mby.com/bigpic…

GOGOS RACECOURSE MARINA WINDSOR GOGOS (the owners spell it all in capitals) is an odd name for a restaurant. For those of a certain age, the word conjures up images of scantily clad dancers from a time gone by. But in Windsor, GOGOS is the name of an upmarket eatery serving a wonderful menu of unashamedly earthly delights of an entirely different nature. Located within the confines of Tingdene’s Racecourse Marina Windsor, GOGOS occupies a prime position that overlooks not only the boats but also a sizeable chunk of Windsor Racecourse. And the aforementioned earthly delights? Well, in a word, meat. According to manager Cam Wykes, the menu is inspired by the tastes of the family’s South African homeland. Hence, GOGOS is, to all intents and purposes, a temple to…

Wellcraft has followed up on its successful “Explorer” line yachts with what looks very much like an open variant of the Explorer 38. Launched at the Cannes Yachting Festival, this is the first in a new series of multi-purpose centre console sportsboats and it’s designed to bring together the kind of performance, seaworthiness and entertaining space that will appeal to younger boaters – and when you see this boat, you realise how critical that entertaining space is, because the 38 appears to put sociable gatherings above even fishing on the priority list. For proof of that, take a look at the cockpit arrangement. There’s still a fold-away bench at the transom and a live bait well hidden beneath the starboard seat, as well as drained storage spaces and integrated rod…

AMERICAN IDOL I am a boating enthusiast from south-east USA. I came across your publication quite by accident but have thoroughly enjoyed it. The story about Rodney Green was really inspiring (‘I bought a boat for £250’, MBY February 2025). Inspiring enough for me to write to you, which I never do. I was especially impressed by the lengths he went to, to restore and improve his Teal 18, Catch 22. The accompanying photos complemented the text perfectly and allowed me to actually see the product of his endeavours. The man is definitely devoted to his craft and there is no doubt in my mind that he could restore boats as a profession. Steve Uhler Thanks Steve, I’m glad you enjoyed our magazine and will pass on your kind comments…

This most compact model in the GTX line of ‘Sport Utility Yachts’ attempts to combine effortless beauty (inside and out) with lots of deck space and easy liveability. In compliance with established GTX design cues, it employs an exterior design in classic Pershing silver, with a slightly convex, stanchion-free sheerline that runs from the near vertical bow to a stern, where large bulwarks on either side of the cockpit open out into waterfront terraces. The beach area, with optional sunpad incorporated into the transom, provides around 250 sq ft of surface area with the side terraces deployed; and the stern platform also lifts, further increasing the beach area, while enabling you to carry and launch a Williams 325 jet tender. Created in collaboration with Vallicelli Design, the new boat is…

Size does matter, it turns out, at least when it comes to a certain type of boat. What started off as a gradual trend to squeeze ever more volume from a sub-24-metre category hull has evolved into a full-blown space race. Sunseeker, Ferretti, Pearl and Azimut are all at it, building upwards and outwards to maximise internal capacity, particularly in the key 80-100ft sector, but it’s Princess that really seems to have nailed it, first with its controversially styled but very successful X95 ‘superfly’ and latterly with its slightly shorter but arguably even more impressive X80. For a while, Sunseeker was left looking a little flat-footed. Its beamy Ocean 90 may have offered impressive space on its main and lower decks, but without a raised pilothouse or fully enclosed upper…

MERCURY SINGLE-ENGINE JOYSTICK CONTROL Mercury Marine has played a major part in the drive toward stress-free helming on multi-rig powerboats over the last decade or so. In fact, having introduced its first Joystick Piloting for Outboards (JPO) system back in 2013, it has since brought the full array of helming features on line – from 360-degree rotation to sideways movement and ‘sit-still-so-I-can-think’ Skyhook capability. But what about single-engined platforms? Well, that’s where Mercury’s snappily named ‘Joystick Piloting for Single-Engine Outboards with Thruster System’ comes in. By integrating the propulsive power of a single outboard engine with that of a variable-speed bow thruster, Mercury Marine’s new joystick piloting system aims to bring nearly all of the functionality of multi-engine JPO to traditional single-engine boats. Designed to operate seamlessly with CAN-based thrusters…

Sweden is a wonderful place to go boating. My wife, Eva, and I live in Karlskrona by the Baltic Sea. We own a Grandezza 40 Fly, a comfortable and fast cruiser for longer trips and overnight stays. We’re not fully retired yet but we’ve managed to cut back on work and make the most of our summers. And to make our boating lives even better, we also recently bought an Iron 827 Coupé to replace our Buster Magnum (see MBY April). The idea behind that was to extend our boating season for as long as the waters around here remain ice-free. Eva sometimes joins me but, to be honest, I’m the real boating fanatic in the family and I often take the boat out solo or try to convince a…

They like quality, the Dutch, so it comes as no surprise to learn that when the ISO 9001 quality standard was introduced back in 1987, firms the length and breadth of Holland began champing at the bit to gain accreditation. Leading that charge was Aquanaut’s range of steel-hulled boats and, to this day, the firm’s website proudly boasts that it was the first in Holland to receive the ISO 9001 stamp of approval. At the time, the company was known as Dutch Craftsmanship BV. Founded in 1961 by brothers, Johan and Wim Bakker, in the picturesque Dutch Lake District town of Sneek, the business enjoyed many years of success. Initially, cabin cruisers were the order of the day, but these were soon superseded by trawler-style motor yachts. Built for comfort…

1 NEW MAREX 390 Marex has revealed details of a new 390 that will slot in between the current 375 and 440 models. Strangely, the 390 is actually a bit shorter than the 375 (39ft 4in vs 39ft 6in) due to a more vertical bow with a slightly squared off forepeak, but in every other regard it’s considerably bigger. The beam has grown by 6in to 12ft 2in, the height above water level by 9in to 10ft 2in and the weight by an estimated 2-3 tonnes. The net result is a substantially bigger boat with more interior volume, additional creature comforts and a wider choice of engine options. Outwardly, the 390 follows the familiar Marex pattern of a large open aft cockpit covered by a full-length roof extension leading to an…

Drawing on the success of the multi-award-winning Pearl 62, this smallest of the four boats in the modern Pearl fleet exhibits some very welcome upgrades. An improved aft cockpit comes with a pair of dining tables, opening balconies on both sides and an L-shaped sofa with a backrest that flips over to face out over the balcony. In addition to a high-low hydraulic bathing platform, the new stern arrangement also enables you to choose between an ensuite crew cabin and a transverse tender garage. The old 62 had a garage option too, but while that was only big enough for a PWC, the new 63 can house a Williams 285 TurboJet, leaving your swim platform free. And with wide side decks, a skipper’s door, joystick control, proportional thrusters, a dynamic…

When it comes to bang for your buck, few yards can match the sheer amount of boat that Polish builder Cobra Yachts is able to offer. Its latest model, the Campione 41 Fly, is a good case in point. With its volume-enhancing vertical bow, full beam saloon and a flybridge that extends all the way back over the cockpit, it offers a lot of real estate for a 42ft boat. But despite a recent price rise to reflect a sensible increase in the power of the entry-level engine from 80-170hp and some extra standard kit, the base price is still only a whisker over €360,000. Having taken a tour at January’s Düsseldorf show, it’s not hard to see where some of those savings have been made but the real question…

Sometimes it’s a peaceful haven wandering lazily through countryside; at other times, it’s a raging torrent sweeping your craft towards bridge supports like a helpless twig. The River Thames is indeed a fickle companion, but despite the risks, I wasn’t going to pass up our chance to see England’s longest river at its best. Our plan was to cruise in company from our East Coast base on Mersea Island, Essex, up to St Katharine Docks – the iconic marina next to Tower Bridge – and on to Teddington Lock where the tidal river ends. We have a Delphia 11 Fly Lounge with a cruising speed of around 10 knots, depending on the tide. Our fleet included a Broom 45 and Marex 370, both capable of speeds over 20 knots, as…

AND SAVE 30% * PLUS DIGITAL ACCESS TO 130+ ISSUES PRINT + DIGITAL MAGAZINE ONLY £22.99 every 6 months by Direct Debit NEW! digital access to 130 + back issues when you subscribe to print + digital** SAVE ON THE NEWSAGENT’S PRICE FREE DELIVERY to your door PLUS DIGITAL ACCESS TO 130+ ISSUES DIGITAL ONLY ONLY £20.95 every 6 months by Direct Debit INSTANT ACCESS anytime, anywhere www.magazinesdirect.com/QMY/DH44B or call 0330 3331113 AND QUOTE CODE DH44B TERMS AND CONDITIONS: Offer closes 1 September 2025. *Save 30% is based on the print cover price. Payment is non-refundable after the 14-day cancellation period. **Access to the digital library will end with your subscription. For full terms and conditions, visit www.magazinesdirect.com/terms. For enquiries and overseas rates please call: +44 (0) 330 333 1113.…

This new flagship model from Sunreef’s Ultima line of luxury powercats looks like an extraordinary piece of work. Created in collaboration with the Netherlands-based Phathom Studio, it’s designed to bring together ‘monohull dynamics with multihull living space’ on a platform with automotive-inspired styling. It certainly looks fantastically sleek and low-slung for a cat of this scale but with a length of nearly 120ft and a beam in excess of 37ft, there’s still all kinds of space to play with. The standard layout is arranged around five ensuite cabins for ten guests, as well as four crew cabins for seven crew and two dedicated day heads – one on the port side of the aft cockpit and another straddling the wheelhouse and the enclosed sky lounge on the upper deck. While…

The huge aft sundeck extends well beyond the remit of the hardtop This is a stupendously lovely looking boat – and it becomes all the more so when you view it in its proper context. Consider Princess’s X80 or Sunseeker’s Ocean 156. While they’re both excellent examples of modern crossover yachts, they’re also pretty erudite ambassadors for the fact that making elevation and volume look good is a difficult thing to achieve. Well, not so here. Other-worldly from the beam, potent from the bow and elegant from the stern, there’s simply no angle without some form of stylistic merit. True, the muscular angles might prove a bit forthright for some but at least what you’re seeing here feels more like a conscious design choice than a side-effect of the vessel’s…

DAY 1: SATURDAY 4 MAY COBBS QUAY, POOLE After months of planning, preparation and growing excitement, the start of my three-month-long ‘sabbatical’ cruise from Poole to the Isles of Scilly was finally here. The last minute rush to complete various jobs on the boat prior to departure induced a peaceful sleep, aided by still marina waters, before my alarm startled me into action. The protocol on board my Fairline Targa 40, Easily Distracted, is now pretty routine after eight seasons with her: remove the canopies (the rear covers always come off, sometimes the sides and front too, depending on the weather); dry the seats with a towel; no breakfast, just a tea and a coffee before the electricity is unplugged; then crank the engines to warm them up before departure.…

Swedish company, Roxen, is calling this ‘the electric jetski that changes everything’, and it might just have a point. It weighs just 84kg (55kg for the hull and 29kg for the battery pack), which means you can ditch the trailer, mount it on the roof of your car and launch it from a beach, a boat or a jetty without the need for a ramp. Better still, the fact that it’s an electric PW with near-silent operation means you’re far more likely to get access to sensitive cruising zones where traditional PWs are often prohibited. With a 22kW electric motor hooked up to a removable 5.5kWh battery bank that will charge in less than three hours, you can expect a range of 15 miles and a top speed of 30…

Last month we explained why it’s important to make a proper passage plan for every boat trip, however small, and how to do that by using the recommended APEM mnemonic (Appraise, Plan, Execute and Monitor). To illustrate the Appraise part of it, we looked at how you might go about preparing for a cross-Channel passage from Poole to Honfleur. This month we’ll be looking at the Plan stage of this trip; specifically choosing waypoints and working out tides and timings. Most people only use waypoints when a change of heading is required, but they can also be used as reminders to do something. In our route from Poole to Honfleur, for instance, I might add a waypoint as we leave UK waters on the edge of the 12-mile limit; then…

Half a million pounds. It sounds a lot, doesn’t it? Especially if, like me, you are from an era when being a millionaire really meant something. And it is still a lot of cash, but as wages, prices and asset values continue to spiral upwards, it’s no longer the preserve of the super-wealthy. And yet £500,000 still buys you a seriously big-league boat. Stars of the half-million club on the used market currently include this beautiful Windy sportscruiser; a classic high-quality Princess flybridge; a rock solid, go-through-anything Aquastar; and a practical and easy-to-live aboard Beneteau Swift Trawler 41 Fly. Something for everyone – provided they have a spare £500,000. As ever, you pays your money and you takes your choice. PRICE: £495,000 BOAT: Beneteau Swift Trawler 41 Fly DATE: 2022…